Rallying from a 3-1 deficit to top Canada 4-3 in January in Helsinki, Finland, Team USA not only gave the country its first-ever World Junior Championship gold medal, it also confirmed that USA Hockey has now set up a successful program to produce great hockey players.  

That victory in Finland was just the pinnacle of many other remarkable performances lately by young USA national teams.

Junior teams shine

The U.S. Under-18 team captured the IIHF World Championship gold medal in April 2002 in Slovakia. Last year, Team USA finished fourth at the same event in Yaroslav, Russia. More recently, in November 2003, Team USA got the second place at the U-18 Four Nations Tournament in Hutwill, Switzerland.

The U.S. U-17 National squad also had a lot of success. It won the Four Nations Tournament in November 2003 in Magnitodorsk, Russia. A year earlier, the U.S. U-17 also won the 2002 World Hockey Challenge in Manitoba and later claimed the gold at the Four Nations Cup in Ann Arbor in December 2002.

The 2004 gold medal was only the fourth-ever medal earned by Team USA over its 28 appearances at the WJC. Before winning gold in 2002, the U.S. U18 team only managed to rank 7^th, 8^th and 6^th from 1999 to 2001.  

Players emerge

At the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, a record of eight Americans were selected in the first round: Ryan Suter (7^th , Nashville Predators), Hugh Jessiman (12^th , New York Rangers), Dustin Brown (13^th , Los Angeles Kings), Zach Parise (17^th, New Jersey Devils), Mark Stuart (21^st, Boston Bruins), Ryan Kesler (23^rd, Vancouver Canucks), Bryan Boyle ( 26^th, Los Angeles Kings) and Patrick Eaves (29^th, Ottawa Senators).

A total of 16 Americans were selected during the first two rounds in June 2003, compared to 12 in 2002, eight in 2001 and nine in 2000. There won’t be as many U.S. players selected in the 2004 NHL first round Entry Draft according to projections, but still some will leave their mark.

The best goalie of the 2004 WJC, Al Montoya, was the Central Scouting Bureau Mid-Term Rankings’ top rated goaltender in North America. Center Robbie Schremp, of the OHL London Knights, is also a highly touted prospect for 2004. The International Services Scouting ranks him third overall, just behind the Russians Ovechkin and Malkin. Right winger and former Shattuck-St.Mary’s prep school Drew Stafford was ranked ninth in NA by the CSB mid-term rankings and 10^th overall by ISS. Finally, A.J. Thelen, another former product of the now famous prep school from Faribault, Mi., currently with Michigan State, could also leave in the first round next June as he was ranked 16^th in NA by the CSB.   

The National Team Development Program

There may be several factors explaining the success of U.S. teams on international scene and the emergence of more U.S. talented players, but it seems that the NTDP launched in 1996 by USA Hockey should deserve some praise for those successes. Since the NTDP was put in place, providing an on and off-ice training environment for the premier ice hockey players under 18 years of age in the U.S., the results are significant.

About half of the players who won gold in Finland last January come have passed through the program. Four of the eight players selected in the 2003 first round of NHL Draft Entry came from the NTDP. Many that will be selected by NHL teams next June will have come from it as well.

Team USA Under-20 coach Mike Eaves recognized that NTDP as a huge reason why U.S. junior teams had success on international scene after his team beat the Canadians in Helsinki.

The potential is there

According to a 2002 IIHF survey, there are 360,507 registered juvenile hockey players in U.S. and 2,500 indoor rinks. These numbers are close to the Canadian ones and they are about ten times higher than the best ones from European countries. For example, Russia has only 35,943 juvenile players and 101 indoor rinks.

Should the U.S. be serious about developing the better hockey players of the world, they have all the tools to succeed.

Given this foundation, we can expect that the recent trend for the national U.S. teams to win international titles on ice will carry on. We can also expect that superstars like Chelios, Housley, Lafontaine, Leetch, Modano and Richter, will have good company in the future among Americans who succeed in the NHL.