For the second straight year, two players from New England, along with another prospect playing in the region, made the U.S. National Team Development Program's U17 team.
And for the second straight year, one of those players got there via New England prep hockey, while the other two played for Mount St. Charles.
Last season it was Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) of St. Mark's, as well as Carter Amico (Westbrook, Maine) and Conrad Fondrk of Mount St. Charles.
This season it's Casey Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) from St. Sebastian's and Jamie Glance (Stratham, N.H.) and Luke Schairer from Mount St. Charles.
Lots of perks come with playing for the NTDP. Representing the United States on the world stage is a big one. Developing under high-end coaches and against high-end talent is another. It's also a statement on where those players rank among prospects in their birth year from the U.S.
One thing is certain among Mutryn, Glance and Schairer: All three had vastly different paths to Plymouth, Mich. All three have the potential for national prominence.
Jamie Glance
The jump between 14U and 15O hockey is a big one. Every year, some "top players" at the 14U level who look destined for the USNTDP squad look just like everyone else when they hit the 15O division.
"There are kids coming out of youth hockey and it's 'this kid's the best this' or this kid's the best thing'. Sometimes it becomes a level playing field," Mount St. Charles 15O head coach Scott Gainey said.
Glance faced that intersection making the jump from 14U to 150. After scoring 37 goals and 67 points in 47 games, he didn't just want to thrive at the 15O level — he set a goal of making the national team.
"Jamie was always one of the top kids," Mount St. Charles 15O head coach Scott Gainey said. "I think Jamie decided on being a top kid. Mentally, he was committed."
The work towards that goal started off the ice with workouts and smart nutrition habits.
"It's just being mindful of what you put in your body pregame, postgame. He's very diligent on that," Gainey said. "It's definitely paying dividends. He's not putting stuff that's not going to work for his body into his system."
Is that common at the 15O level?
"No," Gainey said. "It's becoming more and more of a common thing. Would I say it's common across the board? No, I wouldn't."
Entering this season, Glance was a known goal-scorer. The former Seacoast Academy Spartan didn't need help when it came to potting scoring chances. Instead, like many 15O players, the focus was on his play away from the puck.
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"Without the puck, he had to become better," Gainey said. "He had to compete in all three zones and not just be an offensive threat."
Glance embraced the advice, playing harder in the defensive zone and even taking on penalty-killing duties. It resulted in him becoming a more complete player.
As for his production, he finished with 54 goals and 112 points in 58 games. The 200-foot add-on didn't hinder his scoring touch in the slightest. Instead, it enhanced it.
Being a dual-threat kind of player is a big reason why he made the national team. It's also why he should have no trouble finding a role in the fall.
"It's going to entirely be in his hands because he has such a high ceiling that he's got to embrace maybe a different role, maybe a different mindset," Gainey said. "But the kid can play the game. I think the thing is what does he want?
"Whatever Jamie wants, he's going to get because he's dedicated to it."
Casey Mutryn
St. Sebastian's entered this past winter with 15 seniors. Five of those players were forwards. The Arrows also had Teddy Mutryn, who was fresh off earning an invite to last March's USNTDP Evaluation Camp, and Ben Merrill, who committed to Harvard and was a top NHL Draft prospect in the region.
Put simply: There weren't many prominent spots for underclassmen. Except for Casey Mutryn.
"I think my concern was not necessarily 'This is what I want him to accomplish', but more along the lines of 'Where does he fit in best?'" St. Sebastian's head coach Sean McCann said.
The highly-touted '08 opened the season centering his brother Teddy and Merrill on the top line. As the season wore on, Mutryn only strengthened his case for the top six, consistently producing. He moved to the right wing at midseason, but McCann slid Mutryn back to the middle between Brown commit Matt Cataldo and Merrill for the home stretch.
No matter who Mutryn played with, he produced, finishing the season with over 40 points. For a sophomore on an Elite 8 team, it was impressive.
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It was a big jump in the lineup from where he was in 2022-23 as a freshman. Mutryn scored six goals and tallied 21 points in the bottom six during Year 1. He had a different kind of confidence going into Year 2.
"The biggest difference I saw in him was the ability to slow the game down," McCann said. "He used a little bit more lateral movement, whether it was on his entrances into the offensive zone and find guys away from him."
Mutryn made how-the-heck-did-he-do-that? plays on a consistent basis this season, using that vision to make scoring chances. Whether it was setting up a play or scoring a goal, Mutryn was one of the most impressive players in prep.
As he makes the transition from prep to the NTDP, rounding out his game in the defensive zone will be a focus.
"It's a fine balance because kids that can bring a high offensive side to their game, you don't want to smother that by saying 'Focus on D, focus on D, focus on D,'" McCann said. "Then the chances they might take or the plays they might create they may do seven out of 10 times. But if you focus on the three times where it doesn't work, then you're stifling that creativity and he's too young to do that.
"He's got the work ethic, he's got the commitment and he's got that fire and intensity to follow through with that. He'll take a lot of pride in being a complete player while continuing to add offensively and even explore what he can do more creatively."
Luke Schairer
Schairer, who hails from Milwaukee, was playing for Carolina Premier Hockey during his 14U season in 2022-23. But the big defenseman wanted to make the move to Mount St. Charles, so his family made that known by sending a video of Schairer playing.
"He looked like a big clydesdale skating up the ice," Gainey said.
The keyword in that: big. Even at 14, Schairer was 6-foot-2 with a strong frame. The right-shot defenseman eventually came for a visit, skating with Mount's then-15O team.
"Oh hang on here," Gainey remembered saying at the time. "We might have something here."
The Mount staff were quick to lock up Schairer for this past season. He thrived, scoring six goals and totaling 41 points in 52 games. He played in all situations, too, proving to be a force in his own zone.
The other keyword when it came to Schairer was just how raw he was.
"You just saw something," Gainey said. "He was super, super raw. And he's still raw. But he doesn't even know how good he can be."
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Along with that rawness is a desire to jump into the offense. One of the key teaching points for him was when to do that and when to stay back, which is something lots of young defensemen go through. His good skating allowed for him to do that.
One of the more interesting areas of Schairer's game is because he's now 6-foot-3 and 174 pounds, most expect the Milwaukee native to pack a punch with physicality. That's not the case.
"I just don't think Luke's a physical hockey player," Gainey said. "But he eliminates plays because of his length. His stick on puck might be one of the best I've ever seen."
When Schairer was at NTDP Evaluation Camp, one college coach texted New England Hockey Journal calling the defenseman "a complete stud." Another dubbed him "for sure on the team." Gainey even projected Schairer to someday be a first- or second-round pick in the NHL Draft.
"I've coached a lot of really, really good defensemen," Gainey said. "He's up at the top of them."
