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Sophomore forward Jason Zucker returned to DU hockey Jan. 13-14 after playing on the United States World Junior Team in a tournament from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 and serving as captain of the team.

Zucker also played on the USA World Junior Team in 2010 and 2011, but this year he was honored with being named the team captain.

“[Being named captain] was a huge honor for me,” said Zucker. “It was something that I really wanted to accomplish, and it was a huge goal of mine, so I was very happy to get it done. A lot of great players have been captains of Team USA, and it was a huge honor for me.”

The team trained and competed in Alberta, Canada, spending time in both Calgary and Edmonton. While the team didn’t finish as high in the tournament rankings as they had hoped, the experience was still important.

“[The tournament] was good. Obviously the turnout wasn’t what we wanted, finishing seventh, but it was a lot of fun and a good experience over all,” said Zucker.

After Zucker’s return on Jan. 13, the Pioneers swept Bemidji State and Zucker tallied two goals and three assists during the series.

Matt Carle, the first Pioneer to play on the USA World Junior Team in the 2003-2004 season, left head coach George Gwozdecky with experience in dealing with this unique opportunity. After Zucker spent 15 days competing with the USA team, Gwozdecky gave Zucker a week off to go home and visit his family.

“I think the time off really helped to give me a break, and to be able to see my family was huge,” said Zucker. “So I don’t think anything was really different, I think the team played great and the time off really helped me.”

The most recent DU athletes to compete in the World Junior Tournament were forwards Tyler Ruegsegger and Rhett Rakhshani, who participated in 2008. Both Pioneers returned to DU hockey immediately after the tournament, missing only the Wells Fargo Denver Cup due to the tournament.

According to Zucker, he had to adjust in switching between the two teams.

“They’re completely different games. [At Denver] it’s a lot more systems and structured play because you’re with the team all year long,” said Zucker.  “With that team, its only a few weeks so you have to improvise a little bit and play a little different game, and the speed is a little different.”

The Pioneers will travel to  Alaska Anchorage to play on Friday and Saturday at 9:07 p.m.