CAPTAIN CLUTCH: U18 forward and team captain Brodie Ziemer (Hutchinson, Minn.) notched three assists over the team's two games last weekend to give him 100 career points at the NTDP.

Ziemer becomes the fourth member of his birth year to hit the century mark, after Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.), James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Kamil Bednarik (Chicago, Ill.) most recently.

Ziemer, a University of Minnesota commit, has been on a tear to end the season. Over his last eight regular season games, he has produced four goals and 10 assists for 14 points to push himself to a 1.08 points-per-game average on the year.

The 5-foot-11 winger has been exceptionally good in international play this season, a great way to lead into the IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship. In eight games across two tournaments this season, Ziemer has racked up nine goals and seven assists to average 2.00 PPG.

In total, the Minnesota native ranks fifth on the team in scoring with 57 points (24g-33a) in 53 games played. Ziemer will retain the captain's 'C' for Team USA at the U18 World Championship.

FUN FOR FONZ: U17 forward Conrad Fondrk (White Bear Lake, Minn.) continued his impressive stretch to end the season as he dumped in another trio of goals in last weekend's pair of games in Madison.

Fondrk got the U17s on the board Saturday night with a late second-period goal in an eventual 5-2 loss. On Saturday, he netted the game's final two goals of regulation to collect the game-winning tally and an insurance score midway through the third period.

With the impressive weekend, Fondrk leapfrogged teammate Will Moore (Ithaca, N.Y.) and tied LJ Mooney (West Mifflin, Pa.) for second on the team in points with 43, one off Cullen Potter's (Minneapolis, Minn.) team lead of 44 points.

Fondrk's game-winning score was his third of the season, tying him with Mooney for most of the 2007-born NTDP group.

FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT: To close out the 2023-24 campaign, Team USA is hosting Fan Appreciation Night for Saturday's season finale as the U17s take on Youngstown.

Throughout the game, all fans in attendance will be eligible to be chosen as winners of prize packs, merchandise and signed apparel from select NTDP players. The Under-18 Team will be in attendance and helping staff to hand out some of these prizes!

We owe a huge deal of gratitude towards all of our fans this season, as the National Team Development Program set a yearly attendance record with over 55,000 tickets sold throughout the season at USA Hockey Arena.

U18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: The U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team will leave next week to compete in the IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship, set to take place this year in Espoo & Vantaa, Finland, from April 25 through May 5.

Team USA will be led by head coach Nick Fohr (Grand Forks, N.D.) and assisted by Matt Gilroy (North Bellmore, N.Y.), Ryan Bourque (Topsfield, Mass.), David Lassonde (Durham, N.H.) and Mike Hamilton (River Rouge, Mich.).

The United States will participate in the tournament's  Group A alongside Finland, Latvia, Norway and Slovakia. All Group A games will be played at Metro Arena in Espoo, Finland, while Group B action will take place at Vantaa Trio Arena in Vantaa.

Team USA begins play with a pre-tournament matchup against Sweden on Saturday, April 20 and then starts round-robin play against Slovakia on Thursday, April 25.

The U.S. has won gold 11 times at the Under-18 Men's World Championship, the most of any participating country. They look to defend gold after topping Sweden, 3-2 in overtime, in last year's gold-medal contest.

All Team USA games will broadcast live on NHL Network.

For the latest news and updates with the U18 Men's World Championship, follow along @USAHockey on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or visit TeamUSA.USAHockey.com/2024u18mensworlds.