The United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) represents the United States in the

IIHF World U18 Championship The IIHF U18 World Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a sys ...

. Additionally the team plays domestically against opponents in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(under-17 and under-18 teams), the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(under-18 team), and other international tournaments. The program was started in 1996 by

USA Hockey USA Hockey is a national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United S ...

as a way to identify elite ice hockey players under the age of 18, and centralize their training. There are two teams in the program: under-17 and under-18. Both teams are based in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

History

The stated goal of the NTDP is "to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on the U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice". While enrolled in the NTDP, players stay with billet families. From its founding until 2014–15, the program was based in

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, Michigan, playing games at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. However, following that season, the

Plymouth Whalers The Plymouth Whalers were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They played out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth Township, Michigan, Plymouth, Michigan, United States, a suburb of Detroit until 2015 when they were relocated t ...

of the OHL relocated, freeing up the what was then known as the Compuware Arena. USA Hockey purchased the facility from

Peter Karmanos Peter Karmanos Jr. (born March 11, 1943) is an American businessman who was most recently the minority owner and alternate governor of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise until June 30, 2021. He served as their principal owner from 1994 (when the H ...

, renamed it the

USA Hockey Arena The USA Hockey Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Plymouth Township, Michigan, opened in 1996. Originally known as the Compuware Sports Arena, its name was shortened to Compuware Arena on September 11, 2007, to better market the venue for non-sp ...

and moved the NTDP to Plymouth. The under-17 and under-18 teams play games domestically against opponents in the

(under-17 and under-18 teams) and the

(under-18 team), as well as three international tournaments for each team plus occasional friendlies. The NTDP teams previously competed in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

until 2009. The NTDP became part of the annual

CHL/USA Prospects Challenge The CHL/USA Prospects Challenge is an annual junior ice hockey series between the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. The two-game series showcases the talents of top Prospect (sports), prospects f ...

in 2024, a two-game series versus the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; , LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three me ...

to showcase the talents of top prospects for the upcoming entry draft of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Competitive record

IIHF U18 World Championship

The United States has won 11 gold medals in

Hlinka Gretzky Cup

USA Hockey does not send players in the program to this event anymore. The U.S. has been represented by non-NTDP players at this tournament.

Record book

Single season *Most goals:

Cole Caufield Cole Caufield (born January 2, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey winger for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 15th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2019 NHL entry draft. ...

, 72 (2018–19) *Most assists:

Jack Hughes Jack Hughes (born May 14, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), center and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). A product of the U ...

, 78 (2018–19) *Most points:

Gabe Perreault Gabriel Perreault (born May 7, 2005) is a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 23rd overall by the Rangers in the 2023 NHL entry draft. He played colle ...

, 132 (2022–23) Career *Most goals: Cole Caufield, 126 (2017–19) *Most assists: Jack Hughes, 154 (2017–19) *Most points: Jack Hughes, 228 (2017–19)

Notable alumni

As of the 2024-25 season, 408 NTDP alumni were drafted in the

. This includes

Rick DiPietro Richard W. DiPietro Jr. (born September 19, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender and current co-host of ESPN 98.7 FM New York's "DiPietro and Rothenberg" with Dave Rothenberg. He is also an analyst on National Hockey ...

Erik Johnson Erik Robert Johnson (born March 21, 1988) is an American ice hockey defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed the "Condor", Johnson previously played for the St. Louis Blues, who selected him with the ...

Patrick Kane Patrick Timothy Kane II (born November 19, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), right winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the List of ...

Auston Matthews Auston Taylour Matthews (born September 17, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and captain (ice hockey), captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Matthews is widely considere ...

, and

, all of whom were drafted first overall in the NHL Entry Draft. At the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, NTDP alumni Patrick Kane and

James van Riemsdyk James van Riemsdyk ( ; born May 4, 1989), often known by his initials JVR, is an American professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Between 2012 and 2018, he playe ...

were selected 1st and 2nd overall respectively, being the first American-born players selected with the top two picks. A record 17 players were selected directly from the NTDP in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

References

External links

* {{Men's national under-18 ice hockey teams Development Program United States Hockey League teams USNTDP Junior national ice hockey teams USNTDP 1996 establishments in Michigan Ice hockey clubs established in 1996 Defunct North American Hockey League teams Sports in Wayne County, Michigan