COACHES AND ROSTER NAMED FOR IIHF UNDER-18 MEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: The rosters and coaching staff for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team that will travel to Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, Russia to compete in the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federations Under-18 Men’s World Championship was released this week.

All 23 players on the roster are current NTDP Under-18 Team players. The coaching staff is led by U18s head coach Seth Appert (Cottage Grove, Minn.) and includes an additional assistant coach, Rand Pecknold, current Quinnipiac University head coach.

Current NTDP U18s forwards Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y.) and Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) are the only two returning players in the tournament. The forward duo helped lead the U.S. to gold in last year’s event in Poprad and Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia.

Full tournament information can be found here.

PLAYOFFS & FIRST ROUND BYE CLINCHED: Team USA clinched its spot in the USHL playoffs following a 10-3 win by the U.S. National Under-18 Team against the Madison Capitols at USA Hockey Arena on March 15. In addition, they clinched a first round bye following the 4-1 record (W-L) weekend against Chicago and Central Illinois.  Team USA is heading to the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season. This marks the third time the combined Team USA will compete in the Clark Cup Playoffs.

Information and tickets for the Team USA playoffs is available at USAHockeyNTDP.com/Playoffs.

DERIDDER STAYS PERFECT ON HISTORIC RUN: U.S. National Under-18 Team goaltender Drew DeRidder (Fenton, Mich.) finished his USHL play with a record of 15-0-0-0 (W-L-OTL-SOL). He’s the only goaltender in the league with over 2 games played that didn’t recorded a loss.  He leads Team USA goaltenders in wins, save-percentage (.903), and goals-against-average (2.55). His 24 total wins on the season currently has him tied with John Gibson (2009-11/Anaheim Ducks) and fellow teammate Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) for the 9th most wins in a single season in NTDP history.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: This season, Team USA players to earn USHL Honors this season include Jack Hughes (Forward of the Week, March 12 and Jan. 22), Oliver Wahlstrom (Forward of the Week, March 5 and Oct. 16), K’Andre Miller (Defenseman of the Week, Dec. 11 and Nov. 20),  Jonathan Mor (Goaltender of the Week, Nov. 20), Jake Wise (Forward of the Week, March 19), and Ryder Rolston (Forward of the Week, March 25).

JACK HUGHES APPROACHING MILESTONES: U.S. National Under-18 Team forward Jack Hughes broke the scoring record during the under-17 season on March 2nd. He surpassed Clayton Keller (2015-16/Arizona Coyotes) and Phil Kessel (2003-05/Pittsburgh Penguins) who each had 82 points during their under-17 seasons. Hughes accomplished this feat in 15 fewer games than Keller and 16 fewer games than Kessel.

Hughes now has 99 points in 52 games which  places him in sole possession of fourth place on the all-time single-season points list passing Kessel who tallied 98 points in his under-18 season.

Hughes has already surpassed Jack Eichel (2012-14/Buffalo Sabres), Sonny Milano (2012-14/Columbus Blue Jackets), Andy Hilbert (1998-99/New York Islanders), Jeremy Bracco (2013-14/ Toronto Marlies), and Matthew Tkachuk (2013-15/Calgary Flames). Auston Matthews (2013-15/Toronto Maple Leafs) holds the record with 117 points followed by  Clayton Keller (107), and Patrick Kane (102). All of those records occurred during the player’s under-18 season.

Hughes is in second place for single-season assists with 65. Keller is atop the list with 70 assists during his under-18 season.

CAUFIELD MOVING UP NTDP ALL-TIME GOALS RECORD BOOK: U.S National Under-18 Team forward Cole Caufield is in sole possession of 6th place on the all-time single-season goals list with 49. He’s already passed notable NTDP alumni: Matthew Tkachuk (2013-15/Calgary Flames), Jack Eichel (2012-14/Buffalo Sabres), and James van Riemsdyk (2005-07/Toronto Maple Leafs).

At the top of the list is Auston Matthews (2013-15/Toronto Maples Leafs) with 55 goals, followed by Patrick Kane (2005-06/Chicago Blackhawks) and Phil Kessel (2003-05/Pittsburgh Penguins) with 52 goals in both his under-17 and under-18 seasons. Kieffer Bellows (2015-16/Portland Winterhawks) is fifth with 50 goals.

TWO-WAY GAME: Team USA boasts four of the top-ten plus-minus leaders in the USHL. Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) leads the league with +30. Jonathan Gruden is second with +28, and Joel Farabee and Jack Hughes are tied for fourth with +26.  

ESPECIALLY SPECIAL TEAMS: Team USA has made its special teams truly special this season though its first 54 USHL games. With the man advantage, the combined U17s and U18s have the third-ranked power play percentage (23.0% on 239 opportunities) and third-most power play goals (55). They have also been deadly on the penalty kill, recording 12 goals while short handed (second best in the league).

GETTING OFFENSIVE: The offense has flowed for the NTDP this season. The combined Team USA teams currently lead the USHL in goals with 285 through 58 games. That’s an average of 4.91 goals per game. By comparison, the Chicago Steel have the second ranked offense with 210 goals through 58 games which averages out to 3.62 goals per game. Team USA is on pace to score more than 294 goals this season; in the USHL last season, only two teams eclipsed 200 goals.

1+ POINTS PER GAME PLAYERS: A quartet of Team USA players are at the top of the USHL rankings in points per game. In his rookie season in the USHL, Jack Hughes is averaging two points per game (2.00). Oliver Wahlstrom is second with 1.73 points per game. Jake Wise is third with 1.56 PPG, and Joel Farabee is fourth with 1.54 PPG.

Other Team USA players averaging at least a point per game in USHL play include Jonathan Gruden (1.36), Cole Caufield (1.03), and  Alex Turcotte (1.03).

NTDP ALUMNI SHINE IN NHL ROOKIE SEASONS: Clayton Keller (2014-16/Arizona Coyotes) finished the season second among rookies in points with 65. He is second in assists with 42.  Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for October after posting 9 goals and 15 points in 13 games. Continuing his strong rookie campaign, Keller was again named NHL Rookie of the Month for March after registering a 10-game point streak and recording 13 assists and 19 points in 17 games. Keller broke three Arizona Coyotes’ rookie records for most goals, assists and points in a rookie campaign, breaking the records previously set by Peter Mueller in 2007-08. Keller is one of 10 players to reach the 60-point mark in Coyotes history.

Will Butcher (2011-13/New Jersey Devils) finishes the season third among rookies, and first among rookie defensemen,  in assists with 39. He is first in points among rookie defensemen with 44.

Charlie McAvoy (2013-15/Boston Bruins) is third in points among rookie defensemen with 32. He is third in plus/minus among rookies with plus-20. He is averaging over 22 minutes per game as part of Boston’s top defensive pairing. On February 27, he became the youngest Bruins player to score an overtime game-winning goal.