GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- University of North Dakota sophomore defenseman Jake Sanderson will once again don his country's red, white and blue. The Whitefish, Mont., native has been named to the 2022 United States Olympic Men's Hockey Team, as announced by USA Hockey on Thursday afternoon. 

"It is such an honor to be selected," said Sanderson. "It's something that I've dreamed of for a long time. I'm so blessed and honored to be able to represent the United States again." 

Sanderson will become the 30th UND product to compete in men's hockey at the Winter Olympics and the 15th to represent the United States. He is hoping to join John Noah (1952, Silver), Gordon Christian (1956, Silver), Dan McKinnon (1956, Silver), Ken Purpur (1956, Silver), Mike Curran (1972, Silver), Dave Christian (1980, Gold) and Zach Parise (2010, Silver) as medalists while wearing the Stars and Stripes. 

"We are very proud and honored to have Jake Sanderson accept such a tremendous and deserved opportunity to represent the United States in the upcoming Winter Olympics," said UND head coach Brad Berry. "Jake's elite hockey skill set combined with his relentless work ethic and outstanding character will greatly enhance the U.S. team. We wish Jake all the best and look forward to having him back for the remainder of our season and the opportunity of winning future championships."

Sanderson has emerged as one of the top defensemen in the nation, posting six goals and 16 assists in 17 games this season for the Fighting Hawks. Those 16 helpers are tied for 13th among all skaters in the nation while sitting third among blueliners and tops in the NCHC for defensemen. The sophomore is also averaging 1.29 points-per-game this season, ranking tops in the country for defensemen and on a better pace than all previous Hobey Baker winners on the blue line since Matt Carle in 2005. 


UND has now had representatives at 16 of the last 19 Winter Olympics in men's ice hockey, with Christian (1980, USA), Ed Belfour (2002, Canada) and Jonathan Toews (2010/2014, Canada) all winning gold. 

Sanderson has competed at the international level for the United States at the IIHF Under-17 Championships and most recently served as the team captain for the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. 

The defenseman will play the final two series in January with UND before competing at the Games. USA's first game at the Olympics is Feb. 10 against China. It also has pool play games scheduled for Feb. 12 (vs. Canada) and Feb. 13 (vs. Germany). Qualification playoffs are scheduled for Feb. 15, the quarterfinals Feb. 16, semifinals Feb. 18 and the medal games Feb. 19 (bronze) and Feb. 20 (gold).

Sanderson will be made available to media beginning on Monday through Wednesday each week leading up to the Games. Please contact Director of Athletic Communications Alec Stocker Johnson (alec.stocker.johnson@und.edu) with requests. 

UND Men's Hockey Olympians:

 

Year	Site	Player	Country	Medal
1952	Oslo, Norway	John Noah	USA	Silver
1956	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Gordon Christian	USA	Silver
		Dan McKinnon	USA	Silver
		Ken Purpur	USA	Silver
1964	Innsbruck, Austria	Tom Yurkovich	USA
		Bill Reichart	USA
		Don Ross	USA
1968	Grenoble, France	Don Ross	USA
1972	Sapporo, Japan	Mike Curran	USA	Silver
1980	Lake Placid, N.Y.	Dave Christian	USA	Gold
		Roger Lamoureux	Canada
		Kevin Maxwell	Canada
1984	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	Bob DePiero	Italy
		Dave Donnelly	Canada
		James Patrick	Canada
		Dave Tippett	Canada
1988	Calgary, Canada	Bob Joyce	Canada
		Gord Sherven	Canada
1992	Albertville, France	Dave Tippett	Canada	Silver
1994	Lillehammer, Norway	Greg Johnson	Canada	Silver
2002	Salt Lake City, Utah	Ed Belfour	Canada	Gold
2006	Turin, Italy	Jason Blake	USA
2010	Vancouver, Canada	Zach Parise	USA	Silver
		Jonathan Toews	Canada	Gold
2014	Sochi, Russia	T.J. Oshie	USA
		Zach Parise	USA
		Jonathan Toews	Canada	Gold
2018	Pyeongchang, South Korea	Chay Genoway	Canada	Bronze
		Ludvig Hoff	Norway
2022	Beijing, China	Jake Sanderson	USA