Aspen native Mbereko to tend goal for 2023 U.S. National Junior Team
Colorado College freshman goaltender Kaidan Mbereko has been selected to the 25-player Team USA roster that will travel to Moncton, N.B., and Halifax, N.S., for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Mbereko was one of 32 players that participated in an evaluation camp at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., last week.
Mbereko is making his fourth appearance on an international roster. He posted a 2-1 record with a 2.85 GAA and .927 save percentage in three games for the silver-medalist Team USA at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, then backstopped three of the 2022 World Junior Championship squad’s four victories in pool play before falling in the quarterfinals this past August.
He was also on the roster for the original 2022 World Junior tournament, which was canceled in Dec. of 2021, due to COVID-19.
Team USA will play a pair of pre-tournament games against Finland (Dec. 19) and Sweden (Dec. 21) before opening pool play on Monday, Dec. 26 against Latvia, beginning at 2 p.m. (MT). Every Team USA game will be televised on NHL Network.
Mbereko, an Aspen native, played youth hockey for the Aspen Leafs and Rocky Mountain Snow Kings.
Photo/Casey B. Gibson
(December 19, 2022)