BROTHERLY LOVE: The NTDP's 2021-22 rosters feature five sets of younger brothers of players who formerly played for the program. 

The U18s feature Brady Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.), whose brother, Brett, played at the NTDP from 2018-20 and was a member of the 2021 U.S. National Junior Team that won a gold medal in 

Edmonton. Seamus Powell's (Marcellus, N.Y.) brother, Eamon, was on the same NTDP team.

Tyler Duke (Strongsville, Ohio) and Cruz Lucius (Lawrence, Kan.) both had older brothers on last year's Under-18 Team. Dylan Duke was named one of Team USA's three best players at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship in Texas while Chaz Lucius was the Winnipeg Jets' first-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.

On the U17s, Carter Slaggert (South Bend, Ind.) is the third and final Slaggert brother to come through the NTDP. Older brothers Graham and Landon are both currently skating for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Landon was on the gold-medal winning World Junior Team last year.

BEANTOWN BOUND: Boston College boasts seven current NTDP commits, the most for any NCAA school. After this season, current U18 players Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Charlie Leddy (Fairfield, Conn.) and Seamus Powell will head off to play for head coach Jerry York. 

The U17s have four current Eagles commits in defensemen Drew Fortescue (Pearl River, N.Y.) and Aram Minnetian (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) and forwards Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.).

In addition to BC, the NTDP has five Boston University commits, two to Harvard University and another at Northeastern University in the greater Boston area.

COMING OFF 30: Forwards Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wis.) and Frank Nazar III (Mount Clemens, Mich.) both recorded 30+ goals for the NTDP in the 2020-21 season. Howard led the 2004-born squad with 33 combined goals between the U17s and U18s, and his 77 points (33g-44a) led all NTDP skaters. 

Nazar notched a pair of goals in the second-to-last regular season game of the year to give him 30 on the season, to go along with 28 helpers for 58 total points. 

MINNESOTA MADE: The Gopher State is the most represented state of all NTDP players for the 2021-22 season. Nine players across the two teams hail from Minnesota, including the U18s' Ryan Chesley (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Maddox Fleming (Rochester, Minn.), Jimmy Snuggerud (Chaska, Minn.) and Charlie Stramel (Rosemount, Minn.). 

The U17s' Austin Burnevik (Blaine, Minn.), Beckett Hendrickson (Minnetonka, Minn.), Oliver Moore (Mounds View, Minn.) Carsen Musser (Sherburn, Minn.), and Gracyn Sawchyn (Chaska, Minn.) all hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

NEW FACES: Aside from the entirety of the new Under-17 Team, the NTDP has some new faces in the front office. Brent Darnell (Livonia, Mich.), an assistant coach for the U17s last season, took the position of assistant director of player personnel, where he will be responsible for recruiting and evaluating potential future NTDP players.

Jimmy Mullin (Philadelphia, Pa.) was hired as an assistant coach for the Under-18 Team for the 2021-22 season while former NTDP player (2000-02) and NHL All-Star Ryan Kesler (Livonia, Mich.) was named volunteer assistant coach for the U18s. Kesler will help the team for a few days each week, focusing on faceoffs, defensive-zone coverage and penalty kill. 

PLAY WITH PURPOSE: Saturday's U18s vs. Muskegon game also marks the 4th Annual Play With Purpose charity hockey game, to remember and honor the fifth anniversary of Mitchel Kiefer's passing due to a distracted driver. The event will help raise money for local organizations focused on educating local communitites about the dangers of distracted driving in an effort to save lives.