Carman and Stoa, University of Minnesota teammates hoping to land with the Avalanche in the next few years, are playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championships in Sweden’s Lake Siljan region, in the cities of Leksand and Mora.
Carman, a freshman center, was a third-round Colorado choice this year, while Stoa, a sophomore center, went to the Avalanche in the second round in 2005. Both had passed through the U.S. National Team Development program in Ann Arbor, Mich., on their way to Minnesota.
Carman, 18, was born in Augusta, Ga., the home of the Masters, and had lived in Texas, Ohio, and Manchester, England, before he wound up in the national program. His hockey introduction was on in-line skates when his family lived in Amarillo, and his introduction to ice hockey actually came in England. He was by far the youngest member of an under-12 team in Manchester, the only one available for him, and the team’s practice began at 11 p.m., given the scarcity of ice in England. (And not just in drinks.)
Eventually, his family moved back to this side of the Atlantic, and Carman picked up his hockey in Apple Valley, Minn., and played for the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minn., before going on to the NTDP in Ann Arbor, and finally to the Gophers this season. With Minnesota, he has four goals and five assists in 19 games. Stoa, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound center, played at Kennedy High in Bloomington, the Twin Cities suburb, before going to the NTDP and to Minnesota. He has eight goals and six assists for the Gophers this season. Stoa and Carman are two of five Gophers on Team USA, which also includes Colorado College’s Bill Sweatt.
The Americans went into the weekend with an 0-2 record in Group A play after losing 2-1 to Germany in overtime Tuesday and 6-3 to Canada on Wednesday. Carman and Sweatt each had a goal in the loss to the Canadians.
Team USA’s next games in the five-team pool were scheduled to be against Slovakia on Saturday and Sweden on Sunday before the medal and relegation rounds begin. The third-place and championship games are scheduled for Friday at Leksand.
