Defenseman, second round pick in 2024, selected to represent Team USA on Thursday, joining Stenberg (SWE), Lindstein (SWE), Jiricek (CZE), Kos (CZE), Stancl (CZE), Jecho (CZE), Pekarcik (SVK)
Colin Ralph can keep his bags packed.
The defenseman, a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues, was chosen to represent USA at this year's World Junior Championship in Ottawa:
Ralph will join fellow Blues prospects Theo Lindstein and Otto Stenberg of Sweden, Jakub Stancl, Adam Jiricek, Ondrej Kos and Adam Jecho of Czechia, and Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Pekarcik of Slovakia. It will be the most representatives the Blues will have, beating last year's seven that played in Sweden.
It would have been 10 with defenseman Paul Fischer also named to Team USA but the 2023 fifth-round pick by the Blues was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in the aftermath of the Philip Broberg/Dylan Holloway offer sheet saga.
Ralph (6-foot-4, 216 pounds) is a big, lanky and strong defenseman who has a goal and three assists and is a plus-1 in 17 games for St. Cloud State University.
Ralph spent time in St. Louis this past summer at developmental camp and also spent a year of his life in the area three years ago playing midget hockey for the CarShield U16 AAA program and attended Kirkwood High School in 2021-22.
Ralph will be playing for the defending champions when play begins on Dec 26 and runs through Jan 5.
