Karlis Cukste to play in U20 World Junior Championships

According to Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register, Quinnipiac freshman defenseman Karlis Cukste will be on the Latvian roster for the Under-20 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships that are set to take place at the end of December and into January. The tournament will be held in Toronto and Montreal. Latvia has a very difficult bracket as they have to face Canada, Russia, Slovakia and the United States.

Karlis Cukste (photo courtesy of USHL)

Cukste, a 2015 5th round draft pick by the San Jose Sharks, has four goals and four assists in 17 games played this season for the Bobcats and has been a key player for them both on the power play and penalty kill. He will miss two games in Three Rivers Classic with one of them a key matchup against Boston College. It's possible he will also miss games against Harvard and Dartmouth on January 6th and 7th as the tournament ends January 5th.

Jonathan Singer is a 2004 Quinnipiac alum. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathan_singer.