Six players from Minnesota have been selected for the U.S. Under-17 team that will compete in the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia, Aug. 14-18. Four of the players skated regularly as sophomores at local high schools last season.
Forwards Cole Bumgarner (Rogers), Nathaniel Pederson (Shakopee) and Casey Vandertop (Edina) and defenseman Nathaniel Chersky (White Bear Lake) were selected from among skaters who participated in USA Hockey's recent Men's National 16-Man Development Camp in Amherst, New York.
Team members will be drawn from a separate pool from players selected for USA Hockey's Under-17 teams in the National Team Development Program and will compete only in the Five Nations Tournament.
Other Minnesotans on the list include New Germany and Shattuck St. Mary's forward Luke Puchner and Plymouth and Shattuck St. Mary's goalkeeper Xavier Wendt.
The team also includes three players from out of state who played at Shattuck St. Mary's, a hockey-focused boarding school in Faribault: forward Noah Davidson from Irvine, Calif.; defenseman Levi Harper from Tampa; and Odin Vaukonnen from Costa Mesa, Calif.
2024 U.S. Under-17 Team Roster
The roster of the team (name, position, hometown, most recent program) that will represent the United States in the Five Nations 17-and-under tournament in Piestany, Slovakia, Aug. 14-18:
William Bent, forward, Dover, Massachusetts, Mount St. Charles.
Nicholas Bogus, defenseman, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Oakland Jr. Grizzlies
Cole Bumgarner, forward, Albertville, Rogers High School
Nathaniel Celsky, Defenseman, D, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake High School
Noah Davidson, forward, Shattuck St. Mary's, Irvine, Calif.
Ryder Fetterloff, goalkeeper, Gilmore Academy, Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Schaefer Gordon Carroll, Forward, Oswego, Ill., Chicago Mission
Levi Harper, defenseman, Tampa, Shattuck St. Mary's
Kayden Harvey, forward, Beavers, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
Jack Hextall, Forward, Rolling Meadows, Ill., Chicago Mission
Cade Meyer, defenseman, Lakeland Union High School, Woodruff, Wisconsin
Nathaniel Pederson, forward, Shakopee, Shakopee High School
Ryan Poirier, defenseman, Kent School, Salem, New Hampshire
Luke Puchner, forward, New Germany, Minnesota, Shattuck St. Mary's
Joseph Salandra, Forward, Pleasantville, New York, Mid-Fairfield
Casey Vandertop, forward, Edina, Edina High School
Calder Varga, Forward, Geneva, Illinois, Chicago Mission
Odin Vaukonnen, defenseman, Costa Mesa, Calif., Shattuck St. Mary's
Xavier Wendt, goalkeeper, Plymouth, Shattuck St. Mary's
