The culmination of two years of practice and competition within USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program arrives this week as the U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team begins play at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's Under-18 World Championship in Lappeenranta and Imatra, Finland.

Team USA finished its training camp with a 9-1 exhibition win over Germany on Monday in Vierumaki, Finland.

Team USA opens round-robin play on Thursday against Switzerland. The squad’s second game is Saturday against the Czech Republic followed by a Sunday contest against Denmark. Team USA closes out round-robin play against host Finland next Tuesday.

“The biggest thing, and the best advice I can give going in, was just to make sure you enjoy it,” said Danton Cole, head coach of Team USA for his second U18 World Championship. “We have done a lot of work, and everybody hopes it works out as we want it. We want the kids to be peaking, playing hard and having fun, and to make sure as coaches, you go through and enjoy it. It’s a great experience and the guys are ready to play and just enjoy it.”

• This year’s tournament features the top 10 nations in the world in a round-robin event with two brackets. Group A features Canada, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. Group B has the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and the United States.
• After a single round-robin series in each group, the top four teams from each group advance to the playoff round while the fifth-place team in each group moves to the relegation round. The quarterfinals will be April 24, followed by the semifinals on April 26, and the medal-round games on April 27.
• The fifth-place teams in each group will play a best-of-three series to avoid relegation. The loser of this series will be relegated to Division I.
• Team USA has won 11 medals at the U18 World Championship, the most of any country, including 10 in a row. The U18s have seven gold medals (2002, 2005-06, 2009-12), three silvers (2004, 2007, 2013) and one bronze (2008).
• This year marks the third time the U18 World Championship has been held in Finland. The 2001 tournament took place in Lahti and Heinola, and the U.S. team finished with a 3-3-0 mark to place sixth. In 2007, the event was held in Rauma and Tampere, when the U18s claimed a silver medal with a 4-3-0 record. 
• The U18 roster is highlighted by forward Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.). He is the lone returnee from last year’s team.
• Team USA's roster includes 20 players born in 1996 and two from the 1997 birth year. Forward Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.), born Sept. 17, 1997, is Team USA's youngest player, while goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio), born Jan. 7, 1996, is the oldest.
• Twenty members of Team USA come from the NTDP. Kyle Connor (Shelby Township, Mich.) was a member of the United State Hockey League’s Youngstown Phantoms, while Alex Nedeljkovic played for the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers.
• The U18s carry a 36-15-2 (W-L-OTL) record into the U18 World Championships.
• Jack Eichel (33-42) paces the U18s with 75 points, while Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y./24-49) is second with 73 points. Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y./28-32) ranks third with 60 points. Rounding out the top-five are Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./29-20), who is fourth with 49 points and Ryan Hitchcock (Manhasset, N.Y./9-34), who is fifth with 43 points.
• In net, Edwin Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) is 21-9-1 with a 2.75 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage. Alex Nedeljkovic saw his first game action with the U18s in Monday's pre-tournament tilt versus Germany.
• Former NTDP netminder John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./2009-11) made his National Hockey League debut for the Anaheim Ducks on April 7. Gibson stopped all 18 shots in a 3-0 win at Vancouver. In doing so, he became the first Ducks goalie to record a shutout in his debut.
• U.S. National Under-17 Team head coach Don Granato has been named an assistant coach for the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team. Granato is in his third season with the NTDP. He led the U18 Team to a silver medal at the 2013 U18 World Championship. Granato also has coaching experience at the NHL, AHL, ECHL and USHL levels. Granato won an NCAA national title as a player at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a teammate of U.S. National Junior Team coach Mark Osiecki from 1987-90.
• In addition, former NTDP goaltending coach Mike Ayers (2011-13) also will serve as an assistant coach. 

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.