On Monday, USA Hockey unveiled its roster for the 2018 U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team that will compete in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.
While four New Englanders were selected and will compete against other countries’ top 2001-born prospects in the first major scouting showcase for the 2019 NHL Draft, the bigger story reverberating around hockey circles was the omission of several deserving players.
USA Hockey is routinely criticized for its selection process when it comes to the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, now referred to as the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. USA Hockey allows its American Development model personnel to have a heavy hand in picking the team, and it usually backfires.
From that, we’ve highlighted six players who are all incredibly deserving of a roster spot, but were surprisingly left off.
It’s a shame that USA Hockey will not put its best roster available from Select 17 Player Development Camp forward when the Hlinka begins August 6th in Alberta.