HOW SWEEP IT IS: Last weekend, the U17s and U18s combined to go 4-0, the first weekend sweep of the season for the NTDP.

The U18s traveled to South Dakota to finish up their 2023-24 Kroger College Series, earning a pair of wins against Augustana University, 8-3 on Friday and a 3-0 shutout on Saturday.

The younger team traveled to Illinois to skate past the Chicago Steel and kick them out of a playoff position, winning by 7-5 and 3-1 finals on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

SHUT THE DOOR: Behind stout defense and impressive play from both Jack Parsons (Ithaca, N.Y.) and weekend addition Caleb Heil (Victoria, Minn.), the Under-18 Team shut out the Augustana Vikings by a 3-0 final on Saturday night.

The blanking was the NTDP's first shutout of an NCAA opponent since Tyler Muszelik (University of New Hampshire / NTDP 2020-22) put up a zero in a 2-0 win over North Dakota on January 1, 2022. 

The win was the team's second shutout of the season after Nick Kempf (Chicago, Ill.) earned the first with a 5-0 win over Finland on November 10 at the U18 Five Nations.

MAKE YOUR BED-SY: U18 forward Kamil Bednarik (Chicago, Ill.) had a big part in leading the U18s to two victories over Augustana.

The Boston University commit began the weekend with a pair of special teams assists on Friday night, collecting one on Cole Eiserman's (Newburyport, Mass.) power-play marker in the second period and following it up with an excellent play on Max Plante's (Hermantown, Minn.) shorthanded marker in the third period.

Bednarik led the offense on Saturday night, earning a point in all three of Team USA's goals in the 3-0 win. He put the U18s on the board with less than a minute to play in the opening period, assisted on Eiserman's goal in the second frame and then sealed the win with his second tally of the night midway through the third to cap the victory.

With the five-point weekend, the Chicagoland native native is up to 52 points (21g-31a) from 47 games played this season. On the NHL Central Scouting Midseason Ranking, Bednarik was named the 22nd best North American skater in advance of the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas this June.

NTDP EVALUATION CAMP: Forty-seven of the top American hockey players born in 2008 have been invited to USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp. The camp, which will help select the 2024-25 U.S. National Under-17 Team, will take place March 19-23, at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

The 47 players, including 26 forwards, 16 defensemen and five goaltenders, will be divided into two teams during the evaluation, Team Larkin and Team Tkachuk. The squads will participate in on-ice practices, off-ice training and a six-game schedule during their week in Michigan.

The 47 players on the 2024 National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp roster represent 17 different states. Minnesota leads the way with 14 invitees on the roster, while Illinois and Massachusetts are home to five attendees apiece. California and Pennsylvania have four representatives and Florda, Texas and Wisconsin all have a pair. Nine states are home to one invitee: Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota and Oregon.

MILITARY APPRECIATION: This weekend's games against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders marks the NTDP's annual Military and Veterans Appreciation Weekend.

The Under-18 Team will don specialty black camo jerseys with a red, white and blue eagle across the chest. After the weekend, the sweaters will get auctioned off on the DASH app to raise funds and awareness for the Region 9 and 10 Veterans Community Action Teams right here in Michigan.

In addition to the jerseys, USA Hockey Arena will have veteran resources available along the concourse, family friendly fun and games, face painting and there will be special guests in the house to honor.

For this weekend only, doors to USA Hockey Arena will open at 5:00 p.m. for the veteran resource fair and the tables will be open until 8:30 p.m.

The Region 9 Veterans Community Action Team (R9VCAT) connects area support, services, resources and programs to veterans and their families in Washtenaw, Livingston, Monroe, Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties. Region 10 covers Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties.