Penn State men’s hockey will have a representative at the U-20 World Junior Championship for the first time in program history.

Sophomore center Evan Barratt made the United States’ final roster for the tournament after being selected to the preliminary roster in November. Barratt is currently tied with Alex Limoges as college hockey’s leading scorer with 29 points through 17 games played.

Making the final cut for the U-20 World Junior Championship is a huge achievement for Barratt himself and Penn State’s hockey program as a whole. Barratt will play with and against some of the best amateur hockey players in the world at this tournament, which kicks off on December 26 in Western Canada.

First-round NHL Draft picks Oliver Wahlstrom, Quinn Hughes, and Josh Norris are just some of Barratt’s teammates on the United States’ roster, and Jack Hughes — the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft — will also represent USA Hockey at this tournament. 

The Bristol, PA native is no stranger to USA Hockey’s junior system — he won a gold medal at the U-18 World Junior Championship in 2017 and spent two seasons with the United States’ National Team Development Program before beginning his collegiate career in Happy Valley. Barratt played in one of his team’s two exhibition games before the start of the tournament, tallying an assist and scoring a shootout goal in a 3-2 victory against Russia.

Sophomore defenseman Cole Hults is the only other Nittany Lion to ever make the United States’ preliminary roster for the World Junior Championship, but he was cut prior to the start of last year’s tournament. 

Barratt and the Americans will drop the puck on the 2019 World Junior Championship with a game against Slovakia. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. on December 26 and will be broadcast on the NHL Network.