Thirty-five current or former USHL players were among the 42 invitees named to USA Hockey’s 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase, giving them an opportunity to represent their country and defend Team USA’s gold medal at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase will run from July 29 to Aug. 5 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., home of Team USA. The showcase is part of the process that will determine the final roster for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will run from Dec. 26, 2017, through Jan. 5, 2018, in Buffalo.
Team USA is looking for its fifth gold medal and second straight title at the World Junior Championship following last year’s dramatic gold-medal winning victory in a shootout over Team Canada. Team USA also took home gold in 2013, 2010 — thanks to an overtime goal from John Carlson (Indiana Ice) in the gold-medal game — and in 2004. Twenty-two players on last year’s gold-medal team previously played in the USHL.
All four goaltenders named to the 2017 showcase are USHL alumni, including top-ranked NHL Central Scouting North American goaltenders Jake Oettinger (Team USA/Boston University) and Keith Petruzzelli (Muskegon Lumberjacks/Quinnipiac/Wilbraham, Mass.). Additionally, 12 of the 13 defensemen named to the showcase played in the USHL, including Mikey Anderson (Waterloo Black Hawks), Quinn Hughes (Team USA) and Andrew Peeke (Green Bay Gamblers). Nineteen of the 25 forwards selected by USA Hockey have USHL experience, which include 2017 Clark Cup champion Jack Badini (Chicago Steel/Old Greenwich, Conn.), Casey Mittelstadt (Green Bay Gamblers) and Ryan Poehling (Lincoln Stars), and 2016 NHL draft first-round pick Riley Tufte (Fargo Force).
Seven players named to the showcase helped Team USA to a gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Championship: Oettinger, Joseph Woll (Team USA/Boston College), Adam Fox (Team USA/Harvard), Ryan Lindgren (Team USA), Joey Anderson (Team USA), Kieffer Bellows (Team USA) and Patrick Harper (Omaha Lancers/Boston University/New Canaan, Conn.).
Others players with New Englander connections slated for World Junior Showcase participation include Oliver Wahlstrom (Harvard/Cumberland, Maine), Brady Tkachuk (BU), Trent Frederic (Boston Bruins draftee), Logan Cockerill (BU), Chad Krys (BU/Ridgefield, Conn.), Phil Kemp (Yale/Greenwich, Conn.) and Max Gildon (UNH).
St. Cloud State University head coach Bob Motzko (North Iowa Huskies/Sioux Falls Stampede) was named Team USA head coach for the second straight season. 2017 Clark Cup champion Dan Muse (Chicago Steel) also was named a guest coach at the Showcase.
USHL, NHL, USA Hockey to team up
With the 2017 NHL Entry Draft as a backdrop, three of the most significant organizations on the hockey landscape in the United States announced a multi-year partnership geared toward maximizing developmental and business opportunities throughout the country.
Bill Daly, deputy commissioner of the NHL, joined senior leadership from USA Hockey and the United States Hockey League in announcing a long-term agreement that will provide financial support and other resources in furthering development of players, coaches and officials participating in the nation’s top level of junior hockey — a primary springboard to NCAA Division 1 and professional ice hockey. The agreement establishes cooperation in the following areas: both onice and off-ice player development, coaching, officiating, playing rule development and cross-promotion, in addition to marketing, communications and community engagement.
"We depend on amateur hockey organizations all over the world to develop the players, coaches and officials that aspire to matriculate to the NHL," said Daly. "The USHL has consistently demonstrated an ability to produce outstanding talent. Going forward, it is our continued intent to focus resources on the USHL’s developmental efforts."
Sanctioned by USA Hockey, the national governing body of ice hockey in America, the USHL is the nation’s only Tier 1 junior hockey league.
"The USHL’s ongoing commitment to development has been a key contributor to the continued elevation of our sport," said Pat Kelleher (Belmont, Mass.), executive director of USA Hockey. "Together with the NHL, we’re extremely pleased to escalate our efforts in support of the league."
Support from the NHL and USA Hockey will complement the ongoing investment made by the ownership of the 16 USHL member clubs. "The developmental partnership with the NHL and USA Hockey will support the efforts of league shareholders to operate one of the top junior hockey leagues in the world," said Bob Fallen, USHL president and commissioner. "We are excited about the opportunities created by working closely with the NHL and USA Hockey."
