June 15, 2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State sophomore defenseman A.J. Thelen (Savage, Minn.) has been selected to attend the 2004 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp, which will include 42 of the best American players under the age of 20, as announced by USA Hockey. The camp will be held Aug. 9-14 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., and will include exhibition contests between two U.S. squads (Teams Blue and White) and under-20 select teams from Finland and Sweden.

Participating players in the camp are candidates for the 2005 U.S. National Junior Team, which will compete in the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. The tournament will take place Dec. 25, 2004-Jan. 4, 2005 in Grand Forks, N.D., and Thief River Falls, Minn.

The 2004 All-America Second-Team honoree finished second among CCHA blueliners in scoring with 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) and tied for fifth in the nation is scoring among rearguards. His 11 goals placed him tied for ninth on MSU's single-season list for goals by a defenseman. The Savage, Minn., native has five power-play goals among his 11 tallies to rank first on MSU. All told, he paced the team with 10 power-play points (five goals, five assists).

Thelen, a member of the 2004 CCHA All-Rookie team, becomes the first Spartan rookie to be selected to the all-league first team. He also becomes just the second MSU player, joining Ryan Miller in 2000 (CCHA All-Rookie and All-CCHA Second Team) to earn both all-rookie and all-league honors in the same season. He also earned the CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman award, joining John-Michael Liles (2002 and 2003) and Jason Woolley (1991) as the other Spartans to receive the honor.

Last year's squad, which included current Spartans David Booth, Corey Potter and Dominic Vicari, posted a 6-0-0 record and earned the first-ever gold medal for the United States at the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, Finland.

The schedule for the 2004 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp is as follows:

Date                    Matchup                 Location	        Time (CST)
Mon., Aug. 9    	Practice                Grand Forks, N.D.	TBD
Tues., Aug. 10  	USA Blue vs. Sweden	Grand Forks, N.D.	4 p.m.
                        USA White vs. Finland	Grand Forks, N.D.	7 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 11   	USA Blue vs. Finland	Thief River Falls, Minn.	5 p.m.
                        USA White vs. Sweden	Thief River Falls, Minn.	8 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 13   	Sweden vs. Finland	Grand Forks, N.D.	4 p.m.
                        USA Blue vs. USA White	Grand Forks, N.D.	7 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 14   	USA White vs. Sweden	Grand Forks, N.D.	1 p.m.
                        USA Blue vs. Finland	Grand Forks, N.D.	4 p.m.