This is Rod Braceful's first time serving as assistant general manager of the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team.

Braceful, who is in his first year as director of player personnel for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, has been on staff for various international tournaments with Team USA, including the Junior Select Team that won gold at the 2022 World Junior A Challenge and the U.S. Under-18 Men's Select Team that competed at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. 

Braceful returned to the NTDP in August 2023 after serving as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks for the previous two seasons (2021-23), where his duties ranged from amateur scouting across the United States for upcoming NHL Drafts, to pro scouting, including evaluating players who may be involved in future trades or free agent signings for Chicago.

Prior to departing for the NHL, the Detroit native served as assistant director of player personnel for three seasons at the NTDP (2018-21), where his focus was on recruiting and evaluating prospective players for the NTDP.

Before his time with USA Hockey, he served as the director of scouting for the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for one year (2017-18), a scout for the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede for two seasons (2015-2017) and worked for Legacy Global Sports as the Midwest hockey director, where he organized and led camps for Selects Hockey.

The Michigan native also served as a youth hockey coach in the Metro Detroit area for the Little Caesars and Compuware Youth Hockey programs. Braceful graduated from New England College in 2012 with a dual degree in sports and recreation management and business administration after a playing career that took him through his first two years at New England.