LAST TIME OUT: The U.S. National Under-17 Team notched another win  in USHL play, this time against the Muskegon Lumberjacks, skating to a 10-6 victory on Sunday.  Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wis.) and Frank Nazar (Mount Clemens, Mich.) each tallied five points in the game, and goaltender Dylan Silverstein (Calabasas, Calif.) made 28 saves. 

HAT TRICK HOWARD: Isaac Howard notched his first career hat trick in Sunday's 10-6 win. The forward now leads the U17s in goal scoring with 10 tallies, and is just one point off the team scoring lead with 16 points, behind Rutger McGroarty's (Lincoln, Neb.) 17 points (6g-11a-17). 

GONE STREAKING: With a goal in Sunday's 10-6 win over Muskegon, Ryan Chesley (Mahtomedi, Minn.) extended his scoring streak, having recorded at least a point in every game this season. The defenseman leads all U.S. blueliners in scoring with four goals and 13 points. In addition, Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who has five goals and 13 points, has scored in each  of the six games he has played. 

POINTS, POINTS, POINTS: Thirteen U17 skaters are recording at least a point per game so far this season. Cutter Gauthier averages a team-high 2.17 points-per-game, while Rutger McGroarty is averaging  2.12 points. In addition, all 21 skaters have recorded points this season, and seven players, including Seamus Casey (Estero, Fla.), Ryan Chesley, Maddox Fleming (Rochester, Minn.), Gauthier, Isaac Howard, McGroarty and Frank Nazar, have double-digit points on the season.

STELLAR ON THE  KILL: The U17s have been formidable on the penalty kill through the first eight games of the season, allowing just two goals in 24 power-play attempts by opponents. 

SUCCESS IN THE SECOND: The U17s continue to produce stellar scoring stats in the second periods of their games, outscoring opponents 30-5 in the frame throughout their first eight contests of the season. The U17s also outscore opponents, 15-12 and 15-6 in the second and third periods, respectively. The U17s  are a perfect 7-0-0-0 when  outscoring their opponents in the middle frame. 

BOUNTIFUL BOUCHER: U18 forward Tyler Boucher (Haddonfield, N.J.) scored a pair of goals in Sunday’s 10-6 win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks. The Boston University commit scored a goal in each of his first six games played this season and now has eight tallies in nine games, one shy of his season total from 2019-20. Boucher’s eight goals tie him with Sasha Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla.) for the team lead.

DUKE OF YORK: Under-18 forward Dylan Duke (Strongsville, Ohio) has had a tremendous start to the season, having recorded a point in every U18 game this year. Duke carries a nine-game U18 point streak into the weekend and has scored all four of his goals over the past four U18 contests. The University of Michigan commit finished second on the U17 team in goals scored last season when he finished the year with 29. 

PASTA PARTY: U18 forward Sasha Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla.) has matched Duke with 14 points (8g-6a) through nine games after his three-point weekend in Iowa the last time the U18s hit the ice. The 6-foot tall forward now has three multi-point efforts on the season including a four-point outburst (2g-2a) in the U18s 8-2 win over Concordia University (Wis.) on October 23.

POINTS IN BUNCHES: Forward Jack Devine (Glencoe, Ill.) recorded a pair of goals in Waterloo on Oct. 29 to give him six markers on the season, tied for second-most on the U18 team. Devine has yet to record a single point in a game on the year, instead putting up multiple points in every game he's hit the scoresheet. The future Denver Pioneer put up four points in the season opener in St. Cloud and has followed with two points apiece in Austin, Muskegon and Waterloo.

GASSING UP: Former Shattuck St. Mary's standout and U18 newcomer Andre Gasseau (Garden Grove, Calif.) averages over a point-per-game with 10 (6g-4a) through the team's first nine games, including seven points over the last quartet of matchups. 

NTDP PLAYER FEATURE: In hockey, the game is about how you adapt and overcome challenges. For defenseman Aidan Hreschuk, going into his Under-17 season, that meant a new team and teammates, a new training regimen at the National Team Development Program and yes, moving away from home in sunny California to wintry Plymouth, Michigan. Read more here.

TERRIFIC 23: Twenty members of the 2020-21 U.S. National Under-18 Team and three former NTDP players were named to the National Hockey League Central Scouting's first rankings ahead of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. All 20 age-eligible U18 skaters for the draft were rated on the opening list.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Two sets of siblings are currently skating for the NTDP. Newcomers Cruz Lucius (Grant, Minn.)and  Tyler Duke (Strongsville, Ohio) each join their brothers, Chaz Lucius and Dylan Duke.  The Lucius brothers will also suit up for the same college program when the pair joins the University of Minnesota after their NTDP years.                  

In total, 17 sets of siblings  have come through the NTDP since the program's inception.