USA Hockey will split the 44 players among two squads, USA White and USA Blue, and will play games against Finland and Sweden. All games will be streamed live on Hockey TV. Five returners from the gold medal-winning 2021 U.S. National Junior Team are expected to be skating in the showcase including Brett Berard, Brock Faber, Tyler Kleven, Jake Sanderson and Landon Slaggert. Goaltender Drew Commesso most recently skated with the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2021 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
Twenty-five players invited to the showcase are also hoping to hear their names called in the 2021 NHL Draft. Due to the delayed NHL season, the Draft and Showcase will overlap this year, leading to some players potentially skating in morning practice when they are selected on Saturday. Players and team officials will join together Friday night to watch the NHL Draft live in a closed event.
Eighteen players were selected in the 2020 NHL Draft, including Sanderson who was selected fifth overall by the Ottawa Senators. Forty players are committed or have already played college hockey, including 10 members of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 and Under-17 teams.
Staff will have nine days of camp to evaluate players hoping to make the U.S. National Junior Team. John Vanbiesbrouck (Detroit, Mich.) is serving as general manager of the 2022 U.S. National Junior Team, with Providence College men’s ice hockey head coach Nate Leaman (Providence, R.I.) at the helm on the bench. They are joined again by last year’s staff of assistant coaches Ted Donato (Scituate, Mass.), Kris Mayotte (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Steve Miller (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and Theresa Feaster (Providence, R.I.).
