Beckett Hendrickson follows father Darby's path, commits to Gophers men's hockey team

The Gophers men's hockey team received its second verbal commitment of the week on Friday when Beckett Hendrickson announced on Twitter that he'll join coach Bob Motzko's program.

Hendrickson, a 6-1, 168-pound left winger, follows the path of his father, Darby, who played two years for the Gophers in the early 1990s before going on to a 10-year NHL career, including four seasons with the Wild.

Beckett, 17, spent the 2021-22 season with the U.S. National Team Development program in Plymouth, Mich. He had 12 goals and eight assists in 52 games for the Under-17 U.S. National Team and seven goals and four assists in 25 games with the program's junior team.

Hendrickson played for Minnetonka in the 2020-21 high school season, finishing with four goals and 11 assists in 20 games as a sophomore. He joins defenseman John Whipple of Morristown, N.J., in committing to the Gophers this week.

Defenseman Brock Faber, who'll be a Gophers junior in the 2022-23 season, was named captain of the U.S. Junior National Team that will play in the World Junior Championship next week in Edmonton, Alberta, USA Hockey announced. Former Michigan center Thomas Bordeleau and Notre Dame forward Landon Slaggert were named alternate captains.

Faber helped Team USA win the gold medal in the 2021 World Juniors and played for the U.S. in the Beijing Olympics. The Maple Grove native was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and helped the Gophers advance to the NCAA Frozen Four. The Wild acquired Faber's rights this summer in the Kevin Fiala trade with the Los Angeles Kings.

Team USA opens play in the World Juniors against Germany at 9 p.m. Tuesday (NHL Network).