Excuse Sean Behrens, Shai Buium and Jack Devine if they packed a little heavier than normal for this weekend’s trip to Duluth, Minn.

The trio of Denver sophomores had to prepare for the possibility that they might not be back for nearly a month.

The three Pioneers were among 32 players selected this week to attend Team USA’s training camp for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, which begins Dec. 26 in eastern Canada.

Upon the completion of No. 1 DU’s two-game NCHC series against Duluth, the trio will board another plane and head to Plymouth, Mich., home of the training camp, which begins on Dec. 12.

Behrens knows the drill

This is experience is nothing new for Behrens, who made the 2022 team along with fellow DU sophomore Carter Mazur but only appeared in one game due to injury. Suffice to say, he wants another opportunity.

“It would be an honor,” said Behrens, who like Buium and Devine is a 2003 birth year, meaning this is the final year they’re eligible for the Under-20 best-on-best tournament. “Every time you put on that USA jersey it’s special. For me, you never know when the last time is you’ll put that jersey on.

“It’s about approaching it like it’s going to be your last and giving it everything you can. It’s something way bigger than you. It’s for your whole country and the people who have sacrificed a lot to get to that point.”

Behrens and Devine came up through the prestigious U.S. National Team Development Program, and both have competed in various Under-18 and -17 tournaments for Team USA. It’s an experience that doesn’t get old.

“Once you get into a tournament setting you can use those experiences to your advantage,” Devine said.

He said winning the Four Nations tournament in Russia, and avenging a loss to the Russians at the U17 Challenge in the process with a convincing 6-0 win, remains his biggest international highlight. “It’s really cool when you play so well that you dominate like that,” he recalled.

Summer camp laid the groundwork

All three players participated in Team USA’s summer camp, as did freshman center Aidan Thompson. For Buium, it was his first opportunity to get this close to representing his country.

“It was a really good camp to go through,” he said. “From the start they told us things that are non-negotiables that they want on the team for us to play there. Just knowing that is nice. You learn a lot. They teach you how important it is to represent the country, and obviously everybody wants to do that. I’m super excited to get a chance.”

So is there any great key to making it through the final cut-down and earning a spot on Team USA through months of hotly contested competition? Behrens, the voice of experience with the DU trio, said, in essence, not really.

“The last couple of times I’ve been through this process it’s just being yourself, playing your game,” he said. “Not doing anything more than what you’ve been doing before. You’re there for a reason. There’s a lot of talented players who are there to play different roles, do different things.

“I think it’s important to be yourself, play your game, and go out and work hard. That’s the biggest thing to having a good camp and making that team.”

Still, the camp is competition at its best, and Devine noted it’s important to be ready for everyone’s best every day.

“There definitely is some internal competition before the picks,” he said. “After that, you have to gel as fast as possible because that helps with the collective effort.”

The three Pios present plenty of options

All three DU players bring different attributes to the table, something the Team USA braintrust focuses on a lot in picking teams. Different players typically are forecast for specific roles.

In Devine, a Florida Panthers draft pick last summer, Team USA would get an excellent playmaking forward who can play anywhere in the lineup. While his creativity is impressive, it’s important to note that he matched his freshman total for goals (three) in just 10 games this season.

Behrens has been an every-situation, top-pair defender for the Pioneers since Day 1. The second-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2021 had 29 points as a freshman, and after some battles with injury earlier this season, he picked up half of his eight points last weekend. But there is more to his game than just points.

“I think my defensive game has improved a lot, closing quicker on guys, being a little more physical in the D zone,” he said. “I think I’m getting more shots through, not necessarily they’ve been going in, but it’s creating offensive opportunities for us.”

And Buium, a second-round selection of the Detroit Red Wings in 2021, brings a different dimension because he’s taller (6-foot-3), defends well and moves the puck either with excellent passes or by transporting it, something DU fans saw on his set-up to Jared Wright on Saturday against Arizona State. He also has eight points thus far. And both defensemen receive time on both special teams units.

“I’ve tried to learn things every year, and the (summer) camp was no different,” Buium said. “(Team USA and Quinnipiac coach) Rand Pecknold has different systems than we’ve got here so it was good to learn those while you’re there and have those in the back of your head (for the upcoming camp.”

By the end of next week, the trio should know their World Junior fates. All three reflected on what it would mean, particularly if multiple ones or all of them make Team USA:

Said Devine, “It would be really special to represent not only Denver, all of the alumni, and my teammates but the U.S. on an international stage.”

Said Behrens, “It’s awesome to have those guys by your side. You battle with them all year, and then to go on to something like that and be able to play together and try to accomplish something really big, it’s special.”

Added Buium, “I’d just be really honored. Getting to represent your country would be a pretty amazing thing. It’s pretty special. When we go there, there’s one goal … to win gold. I just really hope all three of us get a chance to do that.”

©First Line Editorial 2022