PLYMOUTH — The United States National Team Development Program saw 13 players from the U-18 team get selected by NHL clubs in the 2023 NHL Draft, highlighted by forward Will Smith going No. 4 overall to the San Jose Sharks.
Smith played on arguably one of the best lines ever to come through junior hockey, skating alongside Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault.
During his two-year residency at the NTDP, Smith finished second all-time in program history in points (191), besting Clayton Keller’s 189 points, previously set back between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Perreault came up just four points shy of Keller for third all-time in NTDP with 185 points during his two years in Plymouth. However, the New York Rangers’ first-round pick in 2023 set the NTDP record for most points (132) and assists (79) in a single season.
Leonard was no slouch either, potting 94 points (51 goals, 43 assists) in 57 games in 2022-23.
The Amherst, Mass., native notably recorded the overtime winner in the championship game of the 2023 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship, helping Team USA to their 11th gold medal in tournament history.
“That line was dynamic as any line I’ve seen,” said Nick Fohr, who will be entering his first season as the NTDP U-18 head coach in 2023-24 after moving up from the U-17 squad. “I think back to a line with Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, and Jack Roslovic, that was dynamic as well, but this line out-pointed it, that’s for sure.
“The chemistry that the three of them had was undeniable. It was just amazing to watch. They complemented each other so well, and they were dominant. Honestly, they were as dominant of a line as I’ve seen in junior hockey in a really, really long time, if not ever. They just had a little bit of everything.”
As for the U-17 team, Team USA finished with a 36-21-3-2 record, securing the No. 3 seed in the Clark Cup Playoffs.
However, the No. 6 seed Cedar Rapids RoughRiders ended the NTDP U-17 team’s season with a decisive Game 3 victory at USA Hockey Arena in the first round.
‘We were fortunate enough to be able to play in the playoffs and get in a really tough series with Cedar Rapids, which went three games. We ended up losing, but it was really tight-checking and a really good series,” said Fohr.
“I think those experiences will hopefully help us going into this year as the U-18 team and take some steps forward and continue our development path that we really focus on here, and hopefully that leads to some more success for us.”
Added, all players from the U-17 team will return as the U-18 team in 2023-24, a rare feat from year to year.
“We have all of our kids returning. All 23 of them are back, which is great. That doesn't always happen for us. Sometimes we lose a kid here or there, but we are really excited that we have all 23 of them returning,” said Fohr.
Key Departures
Trey Augustine, G
Will Smith, F
Ryan Leonard, F
Gabe Perreault, F
Oliver Moore, F
Will Vote, F
Ryan Fine, F
Beckett Hendrickson, F
Zeev Buium, D
Alex Weiermair, F
Drew Fortescue, D
Brady Cleveland, D
Carsen Musser, G
Zach Schulz, D
Key Returners
Cole Eiserman, F
Cole Hutson, D
Will Skahan, D
James Hagens, F
Kamil Bednarik, F
Christian Humphreys, F
Kristian Epperson, F
Max Plante, F
Teddy Stiga, F
Logan Hensler, D
John Whipple, D
Noah Lapointe, D
Charlie Pardue, F
EJ Emery, D
Sam Laurila, D
Jack Parsons, G
Nick Kempf, G
U-17 Team Announced
As for the incoming U-17 class, the NTDP finalized its 24-man roster back in early April after narrowing down the initial 45 players invited to participate in the program's week-long selection camp.
The U-17 team is comprised entirely of 2007-born players, broken down into 13 forwards, eight defensemen, and three goaltenders.
Goaltenders (3)
Harrison Boettiger, G
Patrick Quinlan, G
Joseph Slavick, G
Defensemen (8)
Carter Amico, D
Asher Barnett, D
Donato Bracco, D
Lincoln Kuehne, D
Garrett Lindberg, D
Mace'o Phillips, D
Drew Schock, D
Charlie Trethewey, D
Carter Amico comes to Plymouth at a towering 6-foot-5 and weighing 205 pounds as a 16-year-old. The Westbrook, Maine native had the second-most points (30) among defensemen for the Mount St. Charles 15U team in 2022-23.
“(Carter) has really impressed me early in this first week in practice,” said Greg Moore, who will be entering his first season as the NTDP U-17 head coach in 2023-24. “He is maybe one of the guys coming from Maine who hasn't had as much exposure to different levels of play growing up, but he has shown a lot of ability with the puck, especially for how long he is.
“Sometimes the lankier guys’ puck skills lack compared to the smaller, undersized guys, but I was really impressed with his puck skills. He plays fluidly and skates well for a bigger person and looks really strong in the weight room. There's a lot of upside there. So, I'm really excited to get him in the game and see what he's capable of.”
Schock recently committed to the University of Michigan after recording 44 points (11 goals, 33 assists) in 23 games for Notre Dame Academy, adding 11 points in five postseason games as well in 2022-23.
Trethewey brings a combination of size and skill into the program, already listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds and scoring 20 goals and 66 assists for the Little Caesars 15U club. Trethewey’s 86 points led all blueliners on the team.
Forwards (13)
William Belle, F
Conrad Fondrk, F
Richard Gallant, F
Landon Hafele, F
William Horcoff, F
Jacob Kvasnicka, F
Cole McKinney, F
L.J. Mooney, F
William Moore, F
Jack Murtagh, F
Andrew O'Neill, F
Cullen Potter, F
Jake Stuart, F
Like Schock, Cole McKinney recently committed to the University of Michigan. The Chicago native spent last season with the Chicago Mission 15U club, recording 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) in only 15 games. McKinney added 15 points in five playoff games as well.
Cullen Potter led all Dallas Stars Elite 16U skaters in 2022-23 by a wide margin with 87 points (43 goals, 44 assists) in 52 games. Similarly, L.J. Mooney led the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U team with 80 points (33 goals, 47 assists) in 54 games. He comes into the program listed at 5-foot-6, 146 pounds, and is the cousin of former NTDP standout Logan Cooley.
Ultimately, several U-17 players will be elevated to the U-18 after Team USA’s international events have concluded.
Who the players are is more of a complex question to answer. A lot of factors go into the decision. It’s not simply based on production. The U-17 and U-18 coaches spend the first half of the season evaluating their players and identifying those making steps and strides.
Once they have had a chance to get to know their own players, the two coaches discuss which U-17 players could step in and help the U-18 squad the most.
“We will have plenty of communication between the two of us on, ‘Here's my issues, here's where I can really help. You have anybody that can come in and help us do these types of things?’” Fohr said of his process with Moore and the U-17 staff.
“I'll lean on (Moore) and his advice and what he's seen with his players and which ones he feels would be ready or have the ability to even have a chance to make those steps and try to hop in and see if they can help us or not. It really becomes a joint effort between us to make those decisions as we move along,” added Fohr.
As a recent example, when the U-18 team decided which player to select from the U-17 squad in the 2018-19 season, Thomas Bordeleau was the preferred target from the U-18 side.
However, after some discussion and heeding the advice of the U-17 staff, the big league club ultimately selected forward Matty Beniers.
“I go back to our 2001s as they were in their U-18 year, and our 2002s were buzzing around out here, there was lots of talk of what we need to get,” said Fohr. “I remember the coaches having those conversations, and we were like, ‘Hey, you really need to look at this, Matty Beniers kid. He struggled early, but man, he's made major strides. He's been one of our best players down the stretch,’ and that's who they ended up taking. They tried the guys they wanted, and they ended up taking the guy that we suggested at the end anyway, so it really evolves as we go a little bit for sure.”
Tender Signings
N/A
Three Keys To 2023-24
Eiserman, Hagens Lead The Way
With the Leonard-Smith-Perreault line moving onto Boston College, the attention now shifts to Cole Eiserman on the U-18 team.
The Minnesota commit is entering his draft-eligible season in 2023-24, and he’s already being projected by most media outlets to be a top-5 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
As noted, Eiserman was promoted to the U-18 squad in February and was a goal-scoring machine for Team USA. In 32 games, the 17-year-old recorded 26 goals and 32 points in only 20 games.
At the Under-18 Men's World Championship, Eiserman finished tied with Smith for most goals (9) while contributing two assists en route to the gold medal.
Overall, Eiserman finished with 69 goals, smashing Cole Caufield’s previous mark of 54 goals in 2017-18 and setting the record for most goals in a single season by an Under-17 player at the NTDP.
“You start thinking of goal-scorers at the NHL level, and you come back to a guy like Auston (Matthews). He doesn’t score like Auston, he scores more like Alexander Ovechkin,” Fohr said of Eiserman. “He sits there and hammers pucks. Everybody knows what he is going to do, and it is still hard to stop him from doing it and very similar to Ovechkin in that right.”
James Hagens does not turn 17 until November, but he’s already projected to be a top pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The young forward is entering his second year with the NTDP and will try to outdo his U-17 season.
Just after turning 16 in 2022-23, Hagens broke the World U17 Hockey Challenge scoring record, finishing the tournament with 21 points and besting the previous mark of 18.
“He’s a little bit of a cross between Jack Hughes and Logan Cooley,” said Fohr. “He’s got a lot of the edge work and the ability like Jack does. He skates similarly, in my opinion, and watching him, he can make a lot of plays. Really smart player.”
Hagens finished with the second-most points (66) for the U-17 squad last season and averaged just over one point per game with the U-18 team, recording 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 17 games.
Now, he’ll get a full season with the U-18 squad in 2023-24, where he’s expected to be a significant contributor despite his age.
“Honestly, he’s a big cog in what we do. He’s a dynamic player that makes the players around him better. He can score, he can make plays, he’s pretty good on faceoffs — like, he does a lot of stuff really, really well. And then he's got some elite attributes just in his hockey sense and his playmaking ability and some of the things he can do, so I’m really excited for him and for the future that sits in front of him,” said Fohr.
“There's people already talking about him being a potential one or two in the draft two years from now. He's a heck of a player. He's a really humble, fun kid to be around and just works and tries to get better every day, which is refreshing,” Fohr continued.
While he’s uncommitted at this time, Hagens is expected to have his college commitment finalized before the start of the season so that he can focus solely on hockey.
Replacing Augustine
The NTDP U-18 squad will feature a new primary netminders with Trey Augustine moving onto the NCAA.
The 18-year-old made 33 appearances for the U-18 squad in 2022-23, posting a 2.13 goals-against average and one shutout. Augustine’s .926 save percentage was the second-best single season save percentage in NTDP history.
The netminder was a pillar for Team USA over the last two seasons, playing nine games for the big league club in 2021-22. Augustine was fantastic at both the U18 World Championship and the 2023 World Juniors.
“Trey was just a pro in that his approach was great, his demeanor was great, and he gave his team a chance to win every day,” said Fohr. “He’s not the biggest, he’s not the fastest, he's not the tallest. He's just really good at all of it, and he found a way to keep the puck out of the net. So, he was a very important piece to the last couple of years around here.”
The U-18 squad will look for one of Jack Parsons or Nick Kempf to emerge as the featured netminder.
Kempf had a 4.04 goals-against average and a .866 save percentage in 27 games in 2022-23. Committed to Notre Dame, the 17-year-old backstopped Team USA to a gold medal at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in mid-November last season.
He earned his fourth and final win of the tournament, stopping 33-of-36 shots on net against Team Canada.
“He had a really good year. He was up and down a little bit, but goalie is the hardest position for our kids here,” Fohr said of Kempf. “It was normal for him to be up and down a little bit, but he still had a lot more success than a lot of goalies do when they come into the program because it’s difficult having a team of 16-year-olds in front of them.”
Parsons made 32 appearances for the U-17 squad, recording a 3.40 goals-against average and a .885 save percentage. The Providence commit also made two of the three postseason starts for the NTDP against Cedar Rapids.
He saw three games of action in the World U17 Hockey Challenge, posting a 1.67 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. At 6-foot-4, he is also the bigger of the two netminders that the U-18 team will feature in 2023-24.
“We expect Jack to continue where he left off. He was really solid for us as a 17-year-old kid playing in the USHL last year,” said Fohr. “I was really impressed with what he was able to do, and hopefully, between (Parsons and Kempf), they can create that competitive environment that allows them to push each other and become the next Trey Augustine.”
Deep D Corps
For the first time in a number of years, the NTDP U-18 squad saw just one defenseman taken before the third round in the 2023 NHL Draft.
That looks to change in 2024 as the U-18 squad returns a loaded D corps, highlighted by Cole Hutson. The younger brother of former NTDP standout Lane Hutson, Cole is small in stature but has a ton of skill and offensive ability like his brother.
The younger Hutson was a point-per-game player for the U-17 team before being elevated, recording 42 points in 42 games. With the U-18 team, the Boston University commit had 26 points (eight goals, 34 points) in 19 games. Overall, Hutson set the NTDP single season record for most points (68) scored by a defenseman.
“Cole (Hutson) is obviously a dynamic, offensive, power play-type kid, super competitive, and reminds everybody of his brother and for good reason,” said Fohr.
Hutson was also a key contributor at the Under-18 Men's World Championship, pacing all defenders with 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in seven games.
Along with Hutson, the U-18 squad will feature potential first-round picks in Will Skahan, EJ Emery, and John Whipple.
The latter led the way for defensemen not named Cole Hutson, recording 13 points in 60 games, followed closely by Emery (12 points in 60 games) and Skahan (11 points in 60 games). All three should see an increase in production with expanded roles for the U-18 roster in 2023-24.
“They all got a lot of experience last year, earned their stripes, made a million mistakes, and got better from them, so we're excited for our depth back there. We believe in those guys and the ability that they have, and we'll see where they go. Hopefully, the strength they've gained over the offseason will really help them this year,” said Fohr.