Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS was pretty nervous about it. "I really didn't want to get cut, so I told myself that I had to be confident." Those positive thoughts worked. Bjork was one of 13 forwards to earn his way onto the final team, making him the 19th Irish player to participate in the IIHF World Junior Champion- ships since 1997. "It was a dream come true," he said. "It helped me hockey-wise, learning things from the coaching staff. "Then just mentally, playing against some of the top players in the world and realizing that those guys are freak- ishly good, but I can play with them. It's helped my confidence and helped me believe in myself more." That was only step one of his confi- dence-boosting journey over Christ- mas break. Bjork would go on to play in all seven games for Team USA, tal- lying three points on three goals over the entirety of the event. Maybe his best game came in the bronze medal matchup against Swe- den, an 8-3 victory in favor of the Americans. The Irish sophomore scored the game's first goal, and then added a highlight tally later that put Team USA ahead 5-2. Numerous folks on social media picked up the latter goal, including the NHL Network's official Twitter account. "It was a little lucky," said Bjork, reflecting on the goal. "Sonny Milano made a nice pass to me and I was com- ing into the zone, and I just had one defenseman and the goalie. So I just kind of pulled it in tight and made a quick turn. "I saw the short side was open and I just tried to flick it in there." The game experience combined with practice sessions to provide Bjork some valuable lessons to bring back home and use on the ice for his sec- ond semester with the Irish. He made many memories of a lifetime, too, out- side of just the notable playing mo- ments. Christmas Day was tough for Bjork to be apart from his family. With the rest of his teammates also unable to celebrate the holidays with their close ones, they used the opportunity for some bonding — forming relation- ships that will last down the line. "It was a great group of guys, so that helped cheer us up," Bjork said. "A bunch of us just hung out after Christmas Day practice and watched 'Elf' together. It was fun. "I called my family every day. But that was hard; last year I was away for Christmas as well. They understand though that it's a great opportunity. It's hard, but it's worth it. I try to make it up to them and talk to them as much as I can." On Christmas Eve, the team held a meeting where they each had to stand up and say something, then they received a present — a Nike USA Hockey collared shirt. Bjork joked he may not make much use of his new gear for a while. Notre Dame is an Under Armour school, which competes head-to-head with Nike in the sporting apparel world. "No Nike around here," Bjork quipped. "I'll wait until summer for that." All the positives aside, there's no