The U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team will have one goal on its mind when the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup gets underway Aug. 5 in Edmonton, Alberta.

“Whenever you go to these international events, whether it’s the World Juniors or [this event], you’re competing for gold,” said Garrett Raboin, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team. “You’re going with gold-medal ambitions, and that’s no different this year.”

The U.S. has finished second eight times since the event began in 1991. A year ago, the U.S. placed third with a 5-3 victory over Finland.

Prior to departing for the U.S. selection camp in St. Paul, Minnesota, Raboin— the head coach at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota —discussed his group of U.S. prospects.

“I feel like we have depth in all three areas,” Raboin said. “We have a bigger, stronger, heavier group than we saw last year. But again, I’m excited to see how it all culminates.”

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be played at Rogers Place, the home of the Edmonton Oilers. Raboin said it’ll be awesome to be able to play in an NHL venue, especially one that’s in a city with such rich hockey tradition. 

The U.S. will play preliminary round games against Czechia on Aug. 5, Finland on Aug. 6, and Germany on Aug. 7. The semifinals take place Aug. 9 and then the third place and championship games will take place on Aug. 10.

NHL Network will broadcast all of the U.S. games.

“It’s one-game shots in these short tourneys,” Raboin said. “You’ve just got to be ready to go every night, and then you’ve got to be ready to play potentially five games in six days. It’s the uniqueness of the tournament, but that’s why it’s so awesome.

“You have to have some durability in your group, and that goes into how you form it in camp and how you monitor their energy throughout. We feel we have a really good group on the sports science side to help guide us in some of this stuff, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Raboin wants to establish a “blue collar, hard-working group” to bring to Edmonton. He emphasized the importance of the United States playing selfless and together if they’re going to be competitive. 

Coaching younger players is nothing new to Raboin. Before landing the head coaching job at Augustana, he worked as an assistant coach for more than a decade in the college ranks. 

Raboin faced an especially unique challenge last year, coaching Augustana’s first Division I season.

“It was something new every day,” Raboin said. “Truly unique, but what a great opportunity. We felt like it was a great foundation on which to build. We were able to achieve some great moments. You saw our youth at times, but by and large it was tremendous.”

Raboin wants his U.S. players focused on winning gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. While it’s been 21 years since the Americans have done that, Raboin noted they haven’t been far off in recent years.” 

“We’ve had a lot of close calls and we’ve been extremely competitive – even with the bronze last year,” Raboin said. “It’s been a long road to find our guys, but we feel like we’re getting darn close, and the time will come just to take the ice, and that’s what I’m most excited for.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.