A trio of IceDogs have either already taken part in or are preparing to take part in international competition, with Simon Grovaldt having suited up for Team Denmark at the IIHF World U20 Division I - Group B Championships, Mark Visentin helping backstop Team Canada in the Top Division of the IIHF World U20 Hockey Championships and Jesse Graham taking part in the World U17 Hockey Challenge with Team Ontario.

Gronvaldt is back with the IceDogs now, having helped Denmark win the group to achieve promotion to the Top Division for the 2012 IIHF World U20 Hockey Championship.  The promotion for Denmark came after to back to back second place finishes that saw Denmark just barely miss promotion the last two years.  During his time with Denmark in Slovenia, Gronvaldt had a solid tournament, picking up a pair of assists and a +2 rating in five games.

Visentin is currently with Team Canada in Buffalo, taking part in the World U20 Hockey Championships, which Canada began with a 6-3 win over Russia on Sunday.  While he has not had a chance to play in the tournament yet, there is a very good chance that Visentin will get the start in tomorrow's game vs. Norway.  While he has not had his chance yet in the main tournament, Visentin was solid in a pair of pre-competition game starts.  In those two games he picked up a pair of wins and a shutout, while allowing only two goals in the games against Switzerland and Finland.

Graham, the youngest IceDog to be participating in international competition this year, will begin his journey with Team Ontario starting tonight with an exhibition game vs. Finland, before getting the tournament going tomorrow with Team Ontario's first round robin game against the Czech Republic.  Team Ontario will be looking to reclaim the World U17 Hockey Challenge title this year, after falling to the American's in last year's Gold Medal game.

The IceDogs would like to congratulate all three players on being selected to their respective teams and wish Mark and Jesse all the best throughout the rest of their tournaments!  We hope to see this trio of international competitors come home a trio of international champions!