Three New England natives were named to the 2019 U.S. Under-18 Men's Select Team that will represent USA Hockey at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Alex Gagne, Mackie Samoskevich and Jack Williams were named to the roster following their impressive performances at the 2019 USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp that took place the...
Three New England natives were named to the 2019 U.S. Under-18 Men's Select Team that will represent USA Hockey at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Alex Gagne, Mackie Samoskevich and Jack Williams were named to the roster following their impressive performances at the 2019 USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp that took place the past week at the Northtown Center in Amherst, N.Y.
Players born in 2002 are eligible to compete in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the first major international scouting event ahead of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Gagne, a University of New Hampshire commit, is expected to play the upcoming season for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL. The Bedford, N.H., native is a rangy, 6-foot-3, left-shot defenseman. Gagne was somewhat of an unknown prospect prior to standing out in the ECEL All-Star Game. The New Hampshire Avalanche product further solidified his stock with an impressive showing at the New England District Festival, which earned him the invite to the Select 17 Festival in Amherst, N.Y.
Samoskevich is a speedy, skilled forward from Newtown, Conn. In 51 games for Shattuck St. Mary’s Prep this past winter, he potted 36 goals and added 38 assists. The Michigan commit had two assists in two USHL games with the Chicago Steel.
Williams, hailing from Biddeford, Maine, is a heavy winger who can score. The Northeastern commit had 29 goals and 28 assists in 38 games with Selects Academy 16U. He was called up for nine games with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, tallying three goals and three assists.
Two forwards, Harvard commit Alex Gaffney (West Orange, N.J.) and Boston University commit Artem Shlaine (Boca Raton, Fla.), also made the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team roster.
Click here for the complete U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team roster. There were a few surprising omissions from my pre-camp prediction of what the roster might look like.
Pat Ferschweiler will be the team’s head coach, while current Binghamton Devils head coach and former Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy (Andover, Mass.) will be one of the assistants.
The U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team will compete in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia, from August 5-11.
