Six Minnesotans, including four who skated regular shifts for their local high schools as sophomores last season, were selected to join the U.S. under-17 team that will compete Aug. 14-18 at the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia.
Six Minnesota boys hockey players make U.S. under-17 team for Five Nations Tournament
Cole Bumgarner of Rogers, Nathaniel Pederson of Shakopee, Casey Vandertop of Edina, Nathaniel Celski of White Bear Lake, Luke Puchner of New Germany and Xavier Wendt of Plymouth made the team.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 17, 2024 at 12:04AM
Forwards Cole Bumgarner (Rogers), Nathaniel Pederson (Shakopee) and Casey Vandertop (Edina) plus defenseman Nathaniel Celski (White Bear Lake) were chosen from skaters attending the recent USA Hockey Boys National 16 Player Development Camp in Amherst, N.Y.
Team members were drawn from a different player pool than those selected to USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program’s under-17 team and will only compete at the Five Nations Tournament.
Other Minnesotans selected were forward Luke Puchner of New Germany and Shattuck-St. Mary’s and goaltender Xavier Wendt of Plymouth and Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
The roster also includes three players from out of state who played for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a boarding school in Faribault that places an emphasis on hockey. They are forward Noah Davidson of Irvine, Calif., defensemen Levi Harper of Tampa, Fla., and Odin Vauhkonen of Costa Mesa, Calif.
2024 U.S. Under-17 Select Team roster
The roster for the team that will represent the United States in the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament Aug. 14-18 in Piestany, Slovakia, with name, position, hometown and most recent program:
William Bent, forward, Dover, Mass., Mount St. Charles
Nicholas Bogas, defenseman, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., Oakland Jr. Grizzlies
Cole Bumgarner, forward, Albertville, Rogers High School
Nathaniel Celski, defenseman, D Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake High School
Noah Davidson, forward, Irvine, Calif., Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Ryder Fetterolf, goaltender, Sewickley, Pa., Gilmour Academy
Brody Gillespie, forward, Vancouver, Wash., RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna
Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll, forward, Oswego, Ill., Chicago Mission
Levi Harper, defenseman, Tampa, Fla., Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Caden Harvey, forward, Beaver, Pa., Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
Jack Hextall, forward, Rolling Meadows, Ill., Chicago Mission
Kade Meyer, defenseman, Woodruff, Wis., Lakeland Union High School
Nathaniel Pederson, forward, Shakopee, Shakopee High School
Ryan Poirier, defenseman, Salem, N.H., Kent School
Luke Puchner, forward, New Germany, Minn., Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Joseph Salandra, forward, Pleasantville, N.Y., Mid Fairfield
Casey Vandertop, forward, Edina, Edina High School
Kalder Varga, forward, Geneva, Ill., Chicago Mission
Odin Vauhkonen, defenseman, Costa Mesa, Calif., Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Xavier Wendt, goaltender, Plymouth, Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
