USA Hockey is holding their annual Junior Evaluation Camp this month in Lake Placid, New York. This camp ultimately decides some of the players that will be on the USA Junior squad for the IIHF tournament that takes place during late December and early January.
According to the Rangers, 2011 first-round pick J.T. Miller scored twice in his Team White's 4-2 victory over Team Blue during the first week of the camp, and one of those goals turned out to be the game-winner. Shane McColgan, a fifth round pick of the Blueshirts this year, was the only player to score for either team in an exhibition shootout following the scrimmage.
It may not seem like it, but these camps are vital to the future of these youngsters. For Miller, if he wants the opportunity to participate in the World Junior tournament like fellow prospects Chris Kreider and Ryan Bourque have, he will need to perform well and stand out in evaluation camp this month. So far, it appears that he has done a fairly good job of doing that to this point.
The World Junior tourney is where a lot of the league's top prospects make names for themselves before reaching the NHL because of its growing popularity among the fans. Would we know as much about Kreider and Bourque without watching them in the tournament? No. Would we have known so much about Derek Stepan's leadership capabilities if we had not watched him captain Team USA to the Gold Medal? Absolutely not.
J.T. Miller is on the right track in his development, but making this team and impressing at this camp would be an incredible boost for the youngster from Ohio.
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