AMHERST, N.Y. – Five players from New England have made the cut to compete in the Hlinka-Gretzky Camp All-Star Games following the conclusion of the four days of competition at the USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp.
Three games will be played over the course of two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, at the Northtown Center, a multi-ice sheet facility just outside of Buffalo. From here, the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team will be chosen to compete in Red Deer, Alberta, from July 31-August 6 at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Cup. The event is traditionally the first big international competition for the upcoming NHL Draft class. Players born between Sept. 16, 2004, and Sept. 15, 2005, are in their first year of eligibility for the NHL Draft in 2023. The Americans haven’t won the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup since 2003. In fairness, USA Hockey opts to bring a group of players outside of the National Team Development Program, so it is without the high-end players that other countries are bringing.
Two forwards, one defenseman and two goaltenders make up the New England contingent at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup All-Star Games. Avon Old Farms and Yale Junior Bulldogs U16 center Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.), Sioux Falls Stampede right wing Will McDonough (Duxbury, Mass.), Brunswick and Mid Fairfield U16 defenseman Lucas St. Louis (Greenwich, Conn.), Maine Nordiques U18 goaltender Thomas Kiesewetter (Plymouth, Mass.) and Belmont Hill and Junior Eagles U16 goaltender Sam Scopa (Lexington, Mass.) are the five players vying for a spot on the U.S. roster at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.
Here is the complete list of players from across the country who will be playing over the next two days at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Camp:
Forwards
Tanner Adams, Tri-City Storm (Providence)
Cameron Briere, Tri-City Storm (Nebraska-Omaha)
Finn Brink, Maple Grove High School (Wisconsin)
Connor Brown, Waterloo Black Hawks (Western Michigan
Mikey Burchill, Dubuque Fighting Saints (UMass)
Joe Connor, Avon Old Farms/Junior Bulldogs U16
Griffin Erdman, Long Island Gulls U16 (Dartmouth)
Ty Henricks, Anaheim Junior Ducks U16 (Western Michigan)
David Klee, Colorado Thunderbirds U16 (North Dakota)
Andrew Kuzma, Des Moines Buccaneers
A.J. Lacroix, Chilliwack Chiefs
Will McDonough, Sioux Falls Stampede
Javon Moore, Minnetonka High School
Quentin Musty, Sudbury Wolves
Cooper Pierson, Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Denver)
James Reeder, Chicago Mission U16
Harper Searles, Centennial High School
Jayson Shaugabay, Warroad High School (Minnesota Duluth)
Ryan Smith, Buffalo Junior Sabres U16 (UMass)
Carey Terrance, Erie Otters
Chris Thibodeau, Kingston Frontenacs
Tanner Walos, Fargo Force (Wisconsin)
William Whitelaw, Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Wisconsin)
Defensemen
Phillippe Blais-Savoie, San Jose Sharks U16 (Colorado College)
Nicholas Fascia, Long Island Gulls U16 (Penn State)
Luke Gramer, Moorhead High School (Nebraska-Omaha)
Michael Hagens, Mount Saint Charles U16 (Harvard)
Ty Hanson, Hermantown High School (Minnesota Duluth)
Charlie Kinsman, Buffalo Junior Sabres U16 (Vermont)
Ryan Koering, Eden Prairie High School (Colorado College)
Brian Lonergan, Sioux Falls Power U16
Gavin McCarthy, Muskegon Lumberjacks (Boston University)
Zach Sharp, Chicago Mission U16 (Western Michigan)
Lucas St. Louis, Brunswick/Mid Fairfield U16 (Harvard)
Andrew Strathman, Tri-City Storm (North Dakota)
Goaltenders
Will Ingeman, Wayzata High School
Thomas Kiesewetter, Maine Nordiques U18 (Princeton)
Sam Scopa, Belmont Hill/Junior Eagles U16
Hampton Slukynsky, Warroad High School
Calvin Vachon, Shattuck-St. Mary’s
