Yesterday featured the first five games of the Boys Select 16 Player Development Camp. With the 10 teams divided into two divisions - American and National - four of the five American division teams came out victorious.
The day opened with Team Royal claiming a 4-3 shootout win over Team Red before Team Black defeated Team Columbia, 3-2. After Team Kelly edged Team Grey, 5-4, Team White and Team Navy each defeated their opponents - Team Forest and Team Gold, respectively - by 7-3 scores.
Day 1 Top Performers
Several notable performances stood out on day one of action. Among the skaters, Team White's Oliver Flynn leads the way with four points and a camp-high three assists while four players are tied with three points for second place. Four players, including Patrick Neal (Team Kelly), David Hymovitch (Team White), Jackson Blake (Team Navy) and Billy Norcross (Team Navy), sit atop the goal-scoring column with two goals apiece.
In goal, Team Columbia's Justin Cataldo registered a camp-high 21 saves on 23 shots in 25 minutes played while both Conor Sullivan (Team White, 12 saves) and Ewan McDevitt (Team Royal, 14 saves) did not allow a single goal in their first camp action.
NHL BLOODLINES
A number of players taking part in this week’s camp have ties to NHL players and coaches, including Team Black defenseman Brendan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald aims to follow in the footsteps of his brothers, father and numerous cousins in reaching the NHL ranks. First, there are his brothers, Casey and Ryan, who skated together at Boston College before entering the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins organizations, respectively. Then, there is their father, Tom, who skated 17 seasons in the NHL and is now the assistant general manager with the New Jersey Devils. Among the Fitzgerald’s cousins with NHL and U.S. ties are the Tkachuk’s – Keith, Matthew and Brady – and the Hayes brothers, Kevin and Jimmy.
Seth Jones Tries Sled Hockey
UNDER-17 SELECT TEAM ALUMNI AT THE 2019 NHL DRAFT
Eight members of the 2017 U.S. Under-17 Select Team that took first at the 2017 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic heard their names called at this year’s NHL Draft. Those players include former PDC skaters John Farinacci, Ethan Haider, Ryan Johnson, Arthur Kaliyev, Michael Koster, Robert Mastrosimone, Joshua Nodler and Cade Webber. Those eight players, in fact, were part of a collective 52 Americans selected who once skated in a USA Hockey Player Development Camp. Eighteen Americans heard their names called within the first 50 selections, the most of any nation, and 14 of those players once skated in a USA Hockey Player Development Camp.
Chipotle is an official sponsor of USA Hockey's National Player Development Camps.
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