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Team USA announces its World Junior roster

2016 NHL Draft - Portraits

BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 24: Clayton Keller poses for a portrait after being selected seventh overall by the Arizona Coyotes in round one during the 2016 NHL Draft on June 24, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Jeffrey T. Barnes/Getty Images)

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USA Hockey announced its final 23-player roster for the 2017 World Junior championships that will begin on Monday.

Team general manager Jim Johannson said the talent level in the United States is currently among the best in the world, and their difficulty in assembling this roster spoke to that.

The team will be coached by St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko, and the roster has a heavy NCAA influence with 19 of the 23 players on the final roster currently playing collegiate hockey in the United States. Only three players are currently playing major junior hockey, while (forward Jack Roslovic) is playing in the American Hockey League.

Boston University alone has six players on the roster.

Arizona Coyotes first-round draft pick Clayton Keller (pictured above) is one of the players that headlines the roster.

Here is a look at the final roster.

Goalies

Tyler Parsons, London Knights (Calgary Flames)

Jake Oettinger, Boston University (2017 draft)

Joseph Woll, Boston College (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Defensemen

Ryan Lindgren, University of Minnesota (Boston Bruins)

Jack Ahcan, St. Cloud State (2017 draft)

Caleb Jones, Portland Winterhawks (Edmonton Oilers)

Casey Fitzgerald, Boston College (Buffalo Sabres)

Adam Fox, Harvard University (Calgary Flames)

Charlie McAvoy, Boston University (Boston Bruins)

Joe Cecconi, University of Michigan (Dallas Stars)

Forwards

Luke Kunin, University of Wisconson (Minnesota Wild)

Tanner Laczynski, Ohio State University (Philadelphia Flyers)

Patrick Harper, Boston University (Nashville Predators)

Jordan Greenway, Boston University (Minnesota Wild)

Joey Anderson, University of Minnesota-Duluth (New Jersey Devils)

Erik Foley, Providence College (Winnipeg Jets)

Jeremy Bracco, Kitchener Rangers (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Colin White, Boston College (Ottawa Senators)

Clayton Keller, Boston University (Arizona Coyotes)

Troy Terry, University of Denver (Anaheim Ducks)

Kieffer Bellows, Boston University (New York Islanders)

Jack Roslovic, Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets)

Tage Thompson, University of Connecticut (St. Louis Blues)

The heavy NCAA influence on the roster is especially interesting when you look at who is not on the roster, especially when it comes to Alex Debrincat and Logan Brown.

DeBrincat, a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016, is one of the most dominant offensive players in junior hockey and is currently working on what should be his third consecutive 50-goal, 100-point season for the Erie Otters in the OHL. He had a tough showing at last year’s tournament, but he is still a potential game-breaker that the United States left at home, something that has become a habit at all levels of USA hockey in recent years.

The Brown decision is probably a little more understandable because he has been battling a wrist injury this season that has limited him to only 15 games for the Windsor Spitfires, but he and Debrincat are probably two of the best offensive players Team USA would have had at their disposal.

The Ottawa Senators selected Brown with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.

The tournament opens on Monday and runs through January 5. It is being co-hosted by Toronto and Montreal.