DENVER – Denver junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp has been named to the U.S. Collegiate Selects roster that will compete in the 2025 Spengler Cup in December. Pohlkamp is among 10 college hockey players, including two from the NCHC, now on the U.S. Collegiate Selects roster after five more, including Pohlkamp, were added on Thursday.
 
Pohlkamp becomes the second National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) player selected to the team, joining fellow junior blueliner Jake Livanavage of North Dakota, who was announced last Thursday as part of the ‘First Five.’  Both were Preseason All-NCHC Team honorees this season.
 
The 2025 Spengler Cup will be the first time a select team representing college hockey has ever competed in the event. The U.S. Collegiate Selects team will be comprised of active NCAA Division I players of any nationality representing all six conferences and the Division I independent programs.
 
Pohlkamp was a Third-Team All-NCHC selection last season in his first year in a Denver sweater. The Baxter, Minn. native earned NCHC Defenseman of the Week accolades earlier this week after becoming only the fourth NCHC blueliner in conference history to record a hat trick. Pohlkamp scored three goals in DU’s shutout of Bentley last Saturday, including the game-winner and a short-handed tally. He has four points (3g/1a) in two games this season.
 
Last year as a sophomore at Denver, the San Jose Sharks draft pick totaled 35 points (11g/24a) in 44 games, ranking second among all NCHC defensemen in scoring and fourth in the NCAA. Pohlkamp’s 11 goals were also second among NCHC rearguards last season and tied for fifth nationally among defensemen. In a little more than two years of college hockey, Pohlkamp has amassed 63 career points (25g/38a) in 78 games between Denver and Bemidji State. His 25 goals are the most among active NCAA defensemen.
 
Along with Pohlkamp, Charlie Cerrato (Penn State), T.J. Hughes (Michigan), Cole Knuble (Notre Dame) and Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) were added to the U.S. Collegiate Selects roster on Thursday.
 
The U.S. Collegiate Selects team will be coached by Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky. Among the U.S. Collegiate Selects support staff is long-time (22 years) University of Denver Hockey athletic trainer Aaron Leu, also representing the NCHC.
 
The remaining 15 players on the 25-man roster will be announced in November. The team will be constructed by the USCS coaching staff and organizing committee, with guidance from select NHL scouts.

The Spengler Cup has been held annually in Davos, Switzerland since 1923. It is a six-team invitational tournament traditionally featuring club and national teams from Europe and North America. It is hosted by the Swiss professional team HC Davos each year from Dec. 26-31 at Eisstadion Davos. The University of North Dakota competed in the 1982 Spengler Cup and the University of Minnesota participated in 1981.
 
The United States Collegiate Selects will face Team Canada to open Spengler Cup play on December 26. Along with the U.S. Selects, host HC Davos, Team Canada, HC Fribourg-Gotteron, Sparta Praha and IFK Helsinki will be taking part in the 2025 edition. Each team will play a minimum of three contests and maximum of five during the six-day event.