From CSU Hockey’s Blog: 

Yuval Rosenthal, #20 for your CSU Rams hockey team, took the ice with his native Team Israel at the IIHF II-B Championships in Mexico City this past April.  Yuval has been a supporting member of his Nation’s ice team before, but took the spotlight this year and earned Team Israel’s Most-Valuable-Player (MVP) for the tournament after netting 4 goals and 1 assist in 5 games south of the border.  Team Israel went 2-3 overall and placed 3rd of the 6 participating teams losing out to the national teams from Mexico and Australia.  Other teams were from Bulgaria, North Korea, and New Zealand.

The IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) is the governing body of international hockey.  Most people are familiar with the Olympics -this is typically the IIHF Championship level and includes noted favorites such as USA, Russia, Finland, Canada, Sweden, etc.  IIHF I-A includes teams such as Italy, Poland, Japan, Austria, and South Korea.  IIHF I-B has Ukraine, Romania, Great Britain and more and IIHF II-A has teams from China, Spain, Netherlands, and Serbia. 

The lay observer may be surprised that there are hockey teams from New Zealand, Mexico, or Israel.  The facts are that most of these teams’ ranks are filled with high-caliber transplants who have ended up in Canada, Europe, or the U.S. via a variety of routes to further their hockey careers.  For example, many players on Team Israel play in top leagues in Canada or Europe.  Yuval started with roller hockey in Israel, ending up a couple years ago playing junior hockey in Canada, and is currently in Ft. Collins playing for your Colorado State Rams. 

The team would like to congratulate Yuval on his success in representing his homeland and the Rams and we look forward to him getting back on the ice for the Knights of the Green and Gold this coming season in Fort Collins.  Go Rams!