When 9-year-old K’Andre Miller watched John Carlson score the overtime game-winning goal as USA beat Canada in Canada to win the gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship, he knew he wanted to be on this team.

But, if you had asked him five years ago if he could see himself manning the blueline for Team USA at this year’s tournament, which starts next week in the Czech Republic, he would have looked at you sideways and responded with a flat out no.

That’s because until four years ago, he was a forward.

“My coach at Minnetonka HS needed another defenceman and he thought I might fill that role pretty well with my size and speed and my stick and just my hockey sense,” the now 19-year-old explained.”When he presented it to me, I wanted to take on that challenge. I figured that even