LAST TIME OUT: The U.S. National Under-17 team traveled to Youngstown, Ohio on Thursday, April 12, and defeated the Youngstown Phantoms, 6-2. Thirteen NTDP players recorded a point in the victory, and Ryder Rolston (Birmingham, Mich.), Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.), Ryan Siedem (Madison, N.J.), Patrick Moynihan (Millis, Mass.), Michael Gildon (Plano, Texas), and Danny Weight (Lattingtown, N.Y.) all tallied goals.

The following day, Friday, April 13, the U17s hosted their final regular season game at USA Hockey Arena against the Muskegon Lumberjacks. They fell, 5-4, despite a late rally in the third. Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.), Erik Middendorf (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Marshall Warren (Laurel Hollow, N.Y.), and Owen Lindmark (Naperville, Ill.) scored in the loss.

NTDP PLAYOFF HISTORY: Team USA has made two previous trips to the USHL playoffs since entering the league. Its most recent postseason experience was during the 2011-12 season when they were swept by the Dubuque Fighting Saints (L, 6-3 and L, 7-3) in the first round. They also made the playoffs during the 2010-11 season and were swept in the first round by the Muskegon Lumberjacks (L, 2-0 and L, 5-2). The U17s seek to record the first postseason win for the program this year.

ROOKIE USHL LEADERS:  The NTDP leads the league in rookie scorers. Team USA had 10 of the top 20 rookie points leaders, by far the most of any team. Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) lead rookie scorers with 54 points (21-33-54) in just 27 games played. He was also second among rookies in goals and assists with 21 and 33 respectively. Hughes led rookies in power-play points and power-play assists with 13 and nine respectively.

Matthew Boldy (Millis, Mass.) came in sixth in rookie scoring with 35 points (12-23-35).

Cole Caufield (Stevens Point, Wis.) tallied 33 points (23-10-33) this season, good for ninth place among rookies. His 23 goals in 32 games, led all rookies.

Ryder Rolston (Birmingham, Mich.) came in a 10th in rookie scoring with 32 points (21-11-32). Rolston was fourth in goals and first in power-play goals with six.

Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.) (11-21-32) and Alex Turcotte (Island Lake, Ill.) (8-24-32) also each tallied 32 points in their rookie campaigns.

John Beecher (Elmira, N.Y.) was 15th in rookie scoring with 25 points (9-16-25), Michael Gildon (Plano, Texas) came in 16th with 23 points (12-11-23), Danny Weight finished in 17th with 22 points (12-10-22) and Judd Caulfield (Grand Forks, N.D.) finished 19th in rookie scoring with 21 points (5-16-21).

SHOOT YOUR SHOT: Team USA claimed all five spots in players with the highest shooting percentage throughout the regular season. Cole Caufield (Stevens Point, Wis.) led the way with 29.5% of his shots ending up in the back of the net.

He was followed by Michael Gildon (Plano, Texas) (27.9%), Ryder Rolston (Birmingham, Mich.) (25.6%), Jonathan Gruden (Rochester, Mich.) (25.0%), and Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) (23.3%).
 

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 25 total wins on the season currently has him tied with Jake Oettinger and Luke Opilka at seventh place on the single-season wins list.

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 PASSES 100-POINT MARK: After a 15-0 pre-tournament game win against France at the 2018 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship,  Jack Hughes now has 103 points in 53 games which  places him in sole possession of third place on the all-time single-season points list passing Patrick Kane who tallied 102 points in his under-18 season.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team forward 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 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 68. 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 tied for fifth place with Kieffer Bellows on the all-time single-season goals list with 50. 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.

Caufield has at least four games at the Under-18 Men’s World Championship to top Matthews record.

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.  

GETTING OFFENSIVE: The offense has flowed for the NTDP this season. The combined Team USA teams finished the regular season with a league-leading 295 goals. That’s an average of 4.91 goals per game. By comparison, the Chicago Steel have the second ranked offense with 219 goals through 60 games which averages out to 3.65 goals per game. It is the highest goals for mark by a team since Team USA joined the USHL in the 2009-10 season; the next highest goals for total was 273 goals scored by the Waterloo Black Hawks in the 2012-13 season.

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), Alex Turcotte (1.03), Trevor Zegras (1.03), and Matthew Boldy (1.00)