Anchorage goalie Swayman thrilled to wear Team USA hockey sweater

Jeremy Swayman got a new sweater just in time for Christmas, and it's everything he always wanted.

Swayman, a 19-year-old from Anchorage, will don a Team USA hockey sweater Tuesday when the 42nd World Junior Hockey Championships begin in Buffalo, New York.

A freshman goaltender for the University of Maine, Swayman is the eighth Alaskan in history, and the first Alaska goalie, to earn a spot on the elite team for players under 20.

"I've always wanted to put a USA sweater on for my country," Swayman said Saturday after the U.S. roster was finalized. "It's such a humbling feeling."

In a 3-1 exhibition win over Sweden on Friday night, Swayman played the second half of the game and allowed no goals while making eight saves. On Saturday morning, he was one of 23 players named to the final roster.

Swayman and the United States will take on Denmark in their first game Tuesday at the Key Bank Center.  The game begins at 4 p.m. AST and will be shown on the NHL Network.

The 6-foot-3, 191-pound Swayman graduated from South High last spring and was selected by the Boston Bruins in the fourth round of last summer's NHL draft.

He has become an instant success at Maine, which is 8-7-1 and at its best with Swayman in the net — he is 7-3-1.

Swayman's .927 save percentage is the eighth best in the NCAA, and two weeks ago he was named the Hockey East player of the week for making 95 saves in a two-game series sweep of Quinnipiac.

He's listed as the No. 3 goalie for Team USA, behind two players who were members of last year's gold-medal winning team — Boston University's Jake Oettinger and Boston College's Joseph Woll.

"I'm here to be a great teammate and do whatever I can to help this team and be the most reliable teammate I can be," Swayman said.

"… I've always been trying to get on these different USA teams, and to actually make the highest level out of nowhere is a really cool experience. It shows the hard work paid off."

Swayman says he came out of nowhere to make the U.S. team because he was never chosen to play on a USA age-group team.

"The biggest difference-maker was going to the University of Maine," he said. "Having the opportunity to get to the collegiate level of play and just having a phenomenal coaching staff helping me through each day and being surrounded by high-quality players has taken my game to a new level and helped me get where I am now."

Swayman played two seasons of Alaska high school hockey for the South Wolverines before spending his junior season with the Pikes Peak Miners of the North American Prospects Hockey League and his senior season with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the U.S. Hockey League. Each year he returned to South High for the end of the school year, and he was able to graduate with his class last spring.

Swayman, one of 27 players invited to try out for Team USA in early December, got a taste of international hockey Friday against Sweden. It's a challenge, he said.

"International play is a lot more skilled," he said. "They're used to a bigger ice sheet and that increases their passing ability and skating abilities. I'm expecting a lot of odd-man rushes and nifty passes, especially 2-on-1. I just have to adapt to those situations and do my best."

Swayman will miss two games with Maine in order to participate in the 10-team World Junior Championships, which end Jan. 5.

His participation in the prestigious tournament will be the first by an Alaskan in 14 years. Of the seven who proceeded him, two left with medals — Matt Carle (gold in 2004) and B.J. Young (silver in 1997). Carle is the last Alaskan to play in the tournament.

Team USA is the defending champion. The Americans claimed the gold medal at last year's championships by beating Canada 5-4 in a shootout.

"It's a new tournament, a new year and a new team," Swayman said. "It's gonna be a fun ride no matter what. Being a part of it is really cool."

Alaskans on the world hockey stage

Eight hockey players from Alaska have represented the United States at the men's World Junior Championships:

1996 — Brian Swanson
1997 – B.J. Young
1998 — Ty Jones
1998-99 – Scott Gomez
1999-2000 – Barrett Heisten
2002 – Joey Hope
2004 – Matt Carle
2018 – Jeremy Swayman