Former Los Angeles Jr. King Cayla Barnes has been named captain of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team that will compete at the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Under-18 Women's World Championship, which will be held from Jan. 7-14 in Zlin, Czech Republic.

“Cayla has earned the opportunity to be our captain and has been a valuable leader in the Under-18 program," said Joel Johnson, head coach of the 2017 U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team. “She’ll continue to set a great example for our team and we have full confidence all three captains (along with alternates Taylor Wente and Grace Zumwinkle) will help lead us in this tournament.”

No stranger to the international stage, Barnes, a 1999-born defenseman, was a member of Team USA's 2015 and 2016 World Championship-winning squads.

Barnes was named the Best Defenseman at last year’s tournament and also recognized as one of Team USA's top players.

A Corona native who has committed to play her NCAA Division I hockey at Boston College, Barnes is in her senior year at New Hampshire’s New Hampton School.

Team USA has played in the gold-medal game in all nine of the previous IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championships, capturing the event’s top prize five times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016).

Barnes most recently served as team captain for the 2016 U.S. Women's Under-18 Select Team that competed in a three-game series against Canada in August in Calgary.

Last month, Barnes made her U.S. Women’s National Team debut as the youngest player on the roster for a pair of exhibition games against Canada.

FORMER JR. KING COPS HOCKEY EAST HONOR

Providence College freshman forward Josh Wilkins, a former Jr. King, was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week for the week ending Jan. 2.

Wilkins gave the Friars a 2-1 lead on the power play just 1:16 into the third period with the eventual game-winning goal in Providence’s 3-1 win over then-No. 2-ranked University of Denver on New Year's Eve and recorded a shot on goal in Friday’s 2-2 tie with the Pioneers. He also tallied a season-high eight shots on goal in the Friars’ win on Saturday.

This season, Wilkins, a native of Raleigh, N.C., has totaled six goals for 15 points through 18 games.