Long Island's Ryan Ufko Excels For U.S. Junior Ice Hockey Team

MONCTON, CANADA — Ryan Ufko, a Smithtown native, has excelled for Team USA in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Ufko, a defenseman, has notched eight assists in his past four games with the Americans, including five in an 11-1 romp of Germany on Monday.

Team USA was eliminated in a 6-2 loss to Canada on Wednesday, but the squad will vie for the bronze medal against Sweden on Thursday. USA vs. Sweden is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on the NHL Network.

Ufko, 19, was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round of the 2021 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

He previously told Patch it felt great being drafted to the Predators.

"It’s every hockey player’s dream to be drafted into the NHL, and that was my dream," Ufko said. "I feel relieved and excited."

Ufko has racked up three goals and 10 assists in 16 games with the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 2022-23 season so far.

"He anticipates puck movements, limits the dangerousness of opposing plays, shoulder checks and positions his stick in passing lanes, and even if he stands at 5-foot-10, he is surprisingly sturdy, winning his share of battles on the walls," EliteProspects wrote of Ufko before he was drafted by the Predators. "He laces deception in his feeds and occasionally manipulates high opposing defenders with feints."