Joey Anderson named captain of Team USA

Joey Anderson is Captain America.

The University of Minnesota-Duluth product will captain the American squad at the upcoming World Junior Championship, USA Hockey announced Sunday.

"Joey has been among the leaders of this group since this summer and we couldn't be happier than to have him leading this locker room," Team USA coach Bob Motzko said in a statement.

"We have a strong leadership group and will announce our alternate captains in time, but in putting our mission together, every mission needs a leader and we're excited to have Joey take that step forward."

Anderson was a part of last year's squad that toppled Team Canada in a shootout to win the gold medal. The forward notched two points in seven games in the tournament.

Anderson has tallied four goals and five assists through 13 games with Minnesota-Duluth this season.

The Minnesota native was a third-round draft choice by the New Jersey Devils in 2016.