His family continued to be a strong foundation for Kaplan as his hockey journey began to take off.

The youngest of three, Kaplan’s brothers have served as role models in his pursuit of success at every level of hockey. Jordan, Kaplan’s oldest brother, plays college hockey at the University of Vermont, while his brother Jalen is in his second year playing at Colby College.

Not to be outdone, the youngest Kaplan will join the Terriers at Boston University in 2022.

Through it all, however, Kaplan’s father, Scott, has been the rock in his development.

“Growing up, after games in the car, we would always talk about the game and how I played. I think that helped a lot,” said Kaplan. “I still text him after every game.”

Kaplan was raised in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where he played for the New Jersey Rockets and the North Jersey Avalanche and was able to progress on and off the ice.

When the opportunity to represent the United States came along, Kaplan called it a “no-brainer,” and packed his bags for the storied program in Plymouth, Michigan.

“The guys who came through before me, the path they paved for everybody else is incredible,” said Kaplan. “Just seeing how much success they've had, there’s nowhere else better to be at this age.”

Kaplan was also excited for the chance to play with the country’s elite 16 and 17-year-olds. Before Kaplan donned the red, white and blue with his U17 teammates, he shared the ice with several of them as opponents, meeting them in games around the country and, interestingly, at the prestigious Quebec International PeeWee Hockey Tournament.

“That was the first tournament where I really got to see the other competition around North America,” said Kaplan. “The other kids that are on my team now, I was able to see them for the first time and see how good they really were.”

Despite being foes on ice, Kaplan is happy to represent the United States with his former opponents.

“It's unbelievable,” said Kaplan. “Being able to represent the country every day, it's something not everybody has a chance to do so you can't take it for granted.”

When his time at the NTDP comes to an end, Kaplan will take the next step in his hockey journey suiting up for Boston University.

Many factors contributed to his choice to play there, including the campus and the alumni.

“Growing up, we always had to go travel to Boston a lot, so I kind of fell in love with the city during tournaments there,” said Kaplan. “Then in 2015, they made it to the finals and being able to see like Jack Eichel guys like that live, it kind of made me solidify my decision. I've always wanted to go there.”

His decision was also pushed along by a helpful friend in current U18 forward and Boston University commit Jeremy Wilmer.