Augustine and Štrbák Secure Spots on World Junior Teams!

East Lansing, Mich. — Michigan State’s sophomores Trey Augustine (South Lyon, Mich.) and Maxim Štrbák (Košice, Slovakia) will represent their respective countries in the forthcoming 2025 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, officially named to the rosters late this week.   
 

The 2025 competition will take place in Ottawa, Ontario.   The US and Slovakia clash today (Saturday, Dec. 21) in a pre-tournament exhibition match at 7 pm.  Team USA officially commences play on Dec. 26 against Germany at 2:30 pm ET, while Slovakia starts pool play the following day at 1 pm ET against Switzerland. There will be no broadcast for the pre-tournament match on Saturday, but when the tournament kicks off 

 

Official IIHF World Juniors Site 

NHL Network World Juniors Broadcast Schedule

Both athletes are returning selections for their home nations. 

Štrbák will participate in his fourth World Juniors this winter, which is a record in IIHF history – only 11 other players have previously featured in four WJC tournaments in their careers.  The defenseman has actually been chosen for five national team rosters for this event, but one tournament was annulled due to Covid.   He has participated in 14 all-time WJC matches, recording one goal and nine assists.
 
Augustine has been part of two prior WJC teams with Team USA, where they earned a bronze in 2023 and a gold medal last January in Sweden.  Together with fellow Americans Jack Campbell (2010-12) and Alan Perry (1984-86), he is one of 19 goaltenders throughout history to have made three WJC teams over their careers, also a record for goaltenders in IIHF history.  In his gold medal performance from a year ago, he displayed a 1.75 GAA and .936 save percentage, playing in both the semifinal and gold-medal match. He possesses an 8-1-0 record, 2.20 GAA, and .911 save percentage in 10 all-time tournament appearances.
 
Their presence will be missed by the Spartans during their absence.  The Spartans, who entered the break as the top team in the nation, currently hold a 13-2-1 overall record and are 6-1-1 in the Big Ten.   As a sophomore, Augustine – a second-round draft selection by the Detroit Red Wings – remains the youngest starting goaltender in Division I college hockey, maintaining a 1.98 GAA and .930 save percentage, both of which rank among the top in the Big Ten and within the top 15 nationally. Štrbák, a draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, has a scoring line of 1-8-9 across 16 games as part of the defensive top pair.  He ranks fourth on the team in assists, carries a +4 rating, and is third on the squad with 17 blocked shots (and tied for second in points among the defensemen).

Michigan State will resume play on Dec. 29-30 at the Great Lakes Invitational held in Grand Rapids.