LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey season doesn't begin for another 12 weeks, but two members of the Big Red will be in action for the next eight days when sophomores Cole Bardreau and Joakim Ryan participate in USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp from Aug. 4-11 at the Olympic Center.

There are a total of 45 U.S. players in the camp, split into two teams. Bardreau and Ryan will be competing for Team White in the four-team field, rounded out by squads from Sweden and Finland. The event is used as a way for USA Hockey to evaluate potential members of the U.S. National Under-20 Junior Team for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ufa, Russia. Games can be viewed online for a fee at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com.
 
Bardreau has plenty of experience with the national team's junior teams at younger levels. A product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, Bardreau won a gold medal with the U.S. in the IIHF U18 World Championships in April 11, having also played in the 2010 U17 World Hockey Challenge. Bardreau scored four goals to go with four assists in 34 games as a freshman with Cornell.
 
Ryan has the unique distinction of having competed at the same event last season — but with a different team. The New Jersey native with Swedish lineage played with Sweden last year at Lake Placid. Ryan is coming off a terrific freshman season with Cornell in which he set the program record for goals by a freshman defenseman with seven. He also tacked on 10 assists for 17 points in 34 games, including a shorthanded goal in the Big Red's overtime victory over Michigan in the NCAA tournament. The strong season helped lead to Ryan's selection in the NHL Entry Draft in June, when the San Jose Sharks picked up his rights in the seventh round.