PyeongChang Olympian Ryan Donato is among 18 Americans who played in the NHL this season named to the 26-man U.S. roster for the world men’s hockey championship that starts next week.
Donato, a 25-year-old San Jose Sharks forward, led the 2018 U.S. Olympic hockey team with five goals and six points during his junior year at Harvard.
He was one of four NCAA players on the U.S. Olympic roster of 25 that otherwise included veterans from the American Hockey League and European leagues. The NHL did not participate in the 2018 Olympics, but is expected to send players to the Winter Games next year.
The world championship roster lacks the top Americans whose NHL teams are about to start the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
MORE: Who makes 2022 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey roster?
All three goalies come from NHL teams -- Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars), Cal Petersen (Los Angeles Kings) and Anthony Stolarz (Anaheim Ducks).
The team also includes one collegian, 18-year-old Michigan center Matthew Beniers.
The U.S. opens worlds in Latvia on May 22 against Finland. The top four nations from its group -- Canada, U.S., Finland, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Italy, Kazakhstan -- make the June 3 quarterfinals.
The U.S. made the quarterfinals of the last nine world championships, earning three bronze medals in that stretch. Its lone standalone world title came in 1933.
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