June 21, 2008
By Doug Jones
Team USA for the World Championships reads like the NARCh pro division!
|  TEAM USA for the IIHF world championships reads like the NARCh pro division...
USA Hockey today named 16 players to the U.S. InLine National Team that will compete at the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation InLine Hockey World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia, June 21-28.
The roster is highlighted by seven players that earned a gold medal at the 2006 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship, including goaltender Jamie Bufalino (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.); defensemen Derek Kern (Kings Park, N.Y.) and Lee Sweatt (Colorado Springs, Colo.); and forwards Tommy Bruce (Riverhead, N.Y.), Sam Ftorek (Wolfboro, N.H.), Aaron Moss (Tustin, Calif.) and Chris Peterson (Macomb, Mich.).
Other U.S. InLine National Team veterans include forward Pat Lee (Tustin, Calif.) who will be making his fourth appearance with the U.S. InLine National Team (2002-04) and blueliner James Beilsten (St. Charles, Mo.) who will return to Team USA for the second time (2007).
Seven players will be making their U.S. InLine National Team debut, including netminder Kyle Mikel (Centennial, Colo.); defensemen Steven Oleksy (Chesterfield, Mich.) and Rafael Rodriguez (Oceanside, Calif.); and forwards Itan Chavira (Big Bear, Calif.), Dan Comrie (San Diego, Calif.), Kevin De Vergilio (Rockland, Mass.) and Kyle Gouge (Wentzville, Mo.).
Tournament Format
The 2008 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship will include 16 teams divided into the A-Pool and B-Pool World Championship. The United States will compete in the A Pool alongside Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden. Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Great Britain, Hungary, Japan and New Zealand will comprise the B Pool.
Seeding for the pools is based on the results of the 2007 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship. The A Pool features the eight highest ranked teams from the 2007 World Championship, while the B Pool includes the next five lower ranked teams as well as the three newly qualified teams.
Remember after the IIHF world championships, you can see all these players competing in San Jose this summer.
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