Team USA announced its 23-member hockey roster for the Under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament, which will be played Aug. 5-10 in Alberta.
Minnesota high school hockey influence is heavy in Team USA’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup plans
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 31, 2024 at 1:37PM
It’s heavy on Minnesotans, on the roster and the coaching staff.
Among the six Minnesotans on the roster are three players suiting up for their local high school programs, forwards Mason Moe (Eden Prairie) and Kade Stengrim (Brainerd) and goalie Carter Casey (Grand Rapids). Also on the roster are Blaine defenseman Jacob Rombach, Shakopee forward Cooper Simpson and Chaska forward Sam Spehar, all of whom played for various junior league teams.
The coaching staff boasts several Minnesota ties as well. Head coach Garrett Raboin played at St. Cloud State and coaches at Augustana, and Ben Gordon, one of his assistant coaches for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, played for International Falls and the Gophers and is an assistant coach for the Gophers.
Team USA’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup games will be televised live on NHL Network. The U.S. opens play in the tournament at 4:30 Central on Monday against Czechia. The United States finished second last year.
We hit the highest points, from Isaiah Wright and his 39 rushing TDs for Nine-Player’s Fertile-Beltrami to Dylan Hudgens and his tackling challenge in Minnetonka’s Class 6A rematch with Maple Grove.
