COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey has invited 42 players -- including five goaltenders, 14 defensemen and 23 forwards – to participate in the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase, set for July 25-Aug. 2 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.

The World Junior Summer Showcase, which will also include players from Canada, Finland and Sweden, serves as an evaluation for athletes seeking to make their respective national teams for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held Dec. 26, 2025, through Jan. 5, 2026, in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The week-long World Junior Summer Showcase will include 11 international games and tickets to those contests are available by clicking here. For a complete WJSS schedule, click here.

Of the 42 players expected to attend, nine were part of the gold medal-winning 2025 U.S. National Junior Team including defensemen Logan Hensler (Woodbury, Minn./University of Wisconsin), Cole Hutson (North Barrington, Ill./Boston University), and Adam Kleber (Chaska, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth), along with forwards Trevor Connelly (Tustin, Calif./Henderson Silver Knights), Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass./Boston University), James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y./Boston College), Max Plante (Hermantown, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth), Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass./Boston College), and Brodie Ziemer(Hutchinson, Minn./University of Minnesota).

For the full U.S. roster, click here.

NOTES: Players representing 13 different states have been invited to the World Junior Summer Showcase. Minnesota leads the way with 14 players, followed by California (5), Illinois (5), New York (4), Michigan (3), Massachusetts (2), Pennsylvania (2), Vermont (2), Alaska (1), Missouri (1), Ohio (1), Texas (1) and Wisconsin (1) … All but three of the 42 invited players have been drafted by NHL teams, including nine first-round picks, 13 second-round selections and four players chosen in the third round. A total of 23 different NHL teams are represented among the drafted players with the LA Kings and New York Islanders leading the way with four selections each …  John Vanbiesbrouck (Detroit, Mich./USA Hockey) is the general manager of the U.S. National Junior Team for the eighth straight year while Bob Motzko (Austin, Minn./University of Minnesota) is back as head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team for the third time … The U.S. has won the last two gold medals in the World Juniors and has medaled in eight of the last 10 IIHF World Junior Championships, its best medal stretch ever.