On Saturday, the USA announced the 23-man roster that it will take to the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which runs this year from Aug. 11 to 16 in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia.

While the Americans often dominate the annual IIHF U-18 World Championship in the spring, they have only won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup once – back in 2003 – and haven’t reached the final since 2016. They have, however, reached the semifinals each of the past two years.

The USA does not bring its National Development Team to the annual summer event, instead choosing other players.

Clark Donatelli, who coached the US team at the summer U-18 tournament back in 2016, explained at the time: “In the National Development Team, they pick guys to commit for two years and a lot can change in those two years. Some guys grow and develop at different rates and you see guys that might get overlooked one year and the next year they’re real good players. If they were to pick that national team now they’d probably take some of the guys from this team.”

This year’s US team does not include anybody projected to be a first-round pick in next year’s NHL Entry Draft, but it includes four players from the Western Hockey League, one from the Ontario Hockey League.

Before the start of the tournament on Monday, the USA plays an exhibition game against co-host Czechia on Saturday in Brno.

Click here for the complete tournament schedule.

Venues, Schedule For 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup The Czech Ice Hockey Association and Hockey Slovakia jointly announced this week the <a href="https://hlinkagretzkycup.cz/eng/zapasy.asp">schedule for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup</a> – an annual summer tournament for players entering their final U18 season.

Goaltenders: Aidan Hese, Sioux Falls Power; Brady Knowling, U.S. National Under-17 Team (USHL); Kaenan Smith, Sioux Falls Power.

Defensemen: Nathan Bienstock, NJ Rockets; Nick Bogas, Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL); Levi Harper, Shattuck-St. Mary’s; Will McLaughlin, Drumheller Dragons (AJHL); Kade Meyer, Little Caesars; Zaide Penner, Northstar Christian; Alofa Tunoa Ta’amu, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL).

Forwards: Noah Davidson, Shattuck-St. Mary’s; Nolan Duskocy, BK Selects; Brody Gillespie, Spokane Chiefs (WHL); Shaeffer, Gordon-Carroll, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL); Caden Harvey, Penguins Elite; Jack Hextall, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL); Nikita Klepov, Sioux City Musketeers (USHL); Luke Puchner, Shattuck-St. Mary’s; Brooks Rogowski, Oshawa Generals (OHL); Joseph Salandra, Brunswick School; Kalder Varga, Kelowna Rockets (WHL); Jaxon Williams, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes; Blake Zielinski, Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL).

Head Coach: Kevin Porter. Associate Coach: Ben Syer. Assistant Coaches: Cody Chupp, Joe Howe. General Manager: Rod Braceful.

Photo © Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images.

Other team rosters announced so far:

Canada’s 25-Man Roster For 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup The perennial powerhouse of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Canada will once again bring a formidable roster to the 2025 edition of the annual U-18 summer tournament, which runs Aug. 11 to 16 in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia.

Czechs Reveal 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Roster The Czech Ice Hockey Association announced on Monday its roster for this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which runs Aug. 9 to 14 in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia. The Czechs have lost in the final to Canada in each of the past two years.

Finland’s Roster For 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Finland’s roster for this summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup does not feature any returnees from last year’s team but two defensemen played at the IIHF U-18 World Championships: Juho Piiparinen and Samu Alalauri. As well, Max Laatikainen played some games with the U-18 national team last season.

Sweden Announces Solid Hlinka Gretzky Cup Roster Following a four-day training camp, Sweden announced its roster for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Friday.

Switzerland Announces 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Roster Switzerland announced its roster for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Tuesday.