Six Minnesota boys hockey players make U.S. under-17 team for Five Nations Tournament

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.

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.

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