How USA's NTDP Became an NHL Draft Powerhouse

The USA Hockey National Team Development Program has made headlines for every NHL draft in recent years. Here's what makes the program so special.

“They do things so professionally while still being so focused on developing each and every one of us.”

That’s what USA Hockey National Team Development Program top prospect Will Smith told The Hockey News on what makes ‘The Program’ such an attractive and successful destination for the top players growing up in the United States. 

The NTDP has produced several of the NHL’s biggest stars over the last decade, from Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes to Adam Fox and Quinn Hughes (there have been a lot of Hughes').

We have seen development revolutionized for kids in America. It has yielded amazing results for countless players, improving the quality of play and altering the landscape of the hockey world in a number of ways. We’ve seen the benefits at the NHL draft with multiple No. 1 picks – including Jack Hughes leading the record-setting 2019 draft class where the NTDP had 17 players selected.

The NTDP has developed a player selected in the top five every year since Brady Tkachuk went fourth overall in 2018. The last time they didn’t have a player selected in the top 20 was in 2009. ‘The Program’ – as it’s often referred to – is simply changing the game in the United States.

How it’s happening is the question many have had on their mind.

“It’s a special and unique opportunity for both coaches and players to come into a situation where development is truly the biggest factor,” noted this year’s NTDP coach, Dan Muse, who was recently hired as an assistant with the New York Rangers. “It all culminates with the World Under-18s, but the ups and downs of the journey are what make it memorable.”

That is part of what makes the NTDP special. Most of the group stays together with little-to-no turnover for a two-year span as they play their under-17 and under-18 years together, generally with the same coach. They build chemistry and relationships. They build toward success together on a foundation of adversity and development on and off of the ice.

“A lot of teams mention the word ‘family’ when describing how close they are, but it’s different here,” Muse said. “It’s not as easy as just saying it – it’s earned.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of teams at a number of levels, and it’s not the same. These guys are all the same age. They are all going through the same things. Working towards college and finding a pro career in hockey, doing it together earns you the right to call each other family.”

There isn’t another program that operates the way that the NTDP does. They bring kids from all over the country to try out for the team toward the end of their U-16 season. This year, the invitees represented 17 different states, with players from traditional pipelines such as Michigan and Minnesota and growing hotbeds such as California making the team. There’s even a player who hails from Alaska on the roster for next season’s U-17 squad in Landon Hafele.

Everything that’s done during each player and coach's time with the program is done to work towards the Under-18 World Championship in their second year, but countless milestones are accomplished along the way.

The U-17 squad plays in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge as well as multiple Four Nations and Five Nations tournaments, travelling to Canada and all over Europe to play the best of the best in their age group. After the regular season, they compete in the USHL playoffs representing the NTDP.

The U-18 group does not play in the USHL playoffs as they cap their season with the U-18 worlds, where they have routinely performed very well, including a gold medal this year. Throughout the season, they also participate in a number of smaller international events in preparation for the U-18s at the end of the year.

“Anytime you get the chance to play against the best players in the world in your age group, it’s a great opportunity,” said Oliver Moore, a top NHL draft prospect from the squad. “It feels good every time we get to prove ourselves against other nations with the USA across our chest.”

It’s a sense of pride to represent your country in an era of hockey where best-on-best doesn't happen very often anymore. The U-18 and U-20 levels are the last place many players can say they are a member of Team USA.

“Pulling on that Team USA jersey and representing your country every time you step on the ice for two years is unreal,” said Ryan Leonard, a top draft prospect for the 2023 NHL draft. “It’s a feeling that never gets old.”

The pride of representing the USA isn’t limited to the players, either. 

Muse and other coaches throughout the years have described the feeling as an honor. Support staff such as photographers and the communications and broadcast team are able to say they represent their country.

“You obviously have to be a tremendous hockey player to get to the NTDP, but you also have to be a quality person,” said Jon Edwards, the NTDP's manager of communications. “That’s the part that really gets us going behind the scenes, when you can root for players that you have built connections and relationships with.

“Year in and year out, our job doesn’t change all that much. It’s the different groups of kids each year that bring us new stories, new situations and keep our outlook fresh. When all of this comes together, as it did this year at U-18 worlds, we can share in that sense of pride with the team and staff and hope that we played some small role in helping those players get to the next level.”

USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., has ample amenities to help players develop their game, from multiple ice pads for practices to a top-of-the-line weight room to a shooting room that just about every kid heading to Plymouth raves about.

“The shooting pad has been a massive difference-maker for me,” Moore said. “Having it available whenever I want to use it... it’s helped me take my game to the next level this year.”

Added Leonard: “The gym is what I really appreciate. Working out with the guys every day and creating friendly competition that helps us push each other unlike any team I’ve been on.”

The guys who have come through the NTDP, especially over the last decade or so, have made an imprint on the NHL as bold and effective as any organization over the time frame. 

The London Knights of the OHL, the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL, Frolunda in Sweden, St. Petersberg in Russia and Tappara or Karpat in Finland have all been synonymous with being the top pipelines in the world for the NHL. The NTDP has matched or surpassed them all.

“A lot of teams mention the word ‘family’ when describing how close they are, but it’s different here.” - Dan Muse

USA Hockey has found a formula that has accelerated its development path. It’s been such a success that fans in other nations have clamored for their country to copy it. Although there hasn’t been much in the way of Hockey Canada putting any real thought into it, Canadians have questioned whether they should replicate the American process.

“It’s the brotherhood that our team has – we’re together all day, every day,” noted Smith. “We go on the road together, we room together, we basically are brothers. Some people ask how we don’t get sick of each other, but just as any brother, we have little fights and stuff and then makeup, and we are better than ever. It’s a special bond that only happens because we are with the same group for two years.”

The growth of hockey in the United States has long been attributed to the country's stars playing prominent roles in the NHL, such as 60-goal scorer Auston Matthews, three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane, or arguably the greatest American of all-time, Mike Modano. Those players, among others, have certainly helped increase the popularity, but the boom of talent is due to the NTDP and the development of the USHL as a whole.

From the dazzle of Trevor Zegras and the electric game of Jack Hughes to the fearlessness of Matthew Tkachuk and the silky smooth playmaking of Clayton Keller, the generation of NTDP kids has changed the face of the NHL for the better. Some of the NHL’s most exciting, enticing, and marketable talent have all come from the NTDP. It's a testament to not only what they have done on the ice but off of it as well.

This year, we will likely see four or more players from ‘The Program’ drafted in the first round, with the likelihood that multiple will go in the top 10. Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Oliver Moore, and Gabe Perreault are all expected to be high draft choices. Danny Nelson has earned plenty of praise late in the year. Trey Augustine is arguably the top netminder in the class. Aram Minnetian and Brady Cleveland could be really intriguing value picks on the back end in the mid-rounds. Yet again, the NTDP will be a popular destination for teams looking to unearth talent at the annual NHL draft.

The NTDP has become one of the best pipelines to the NHL. Their players move on to the NCAA for a year or more to further their development, taking a marked step up in competition when their time with the NTDP is over before they make the jump to the NHL.

“It starts early in hockey careers, beginning with the grassroots volunteers that begin to shape these players from the youth levels into the people and athletes they are. So many individuals contribute to the success of our players along their journeys, both on and off the ice,” Edwards explained, proud of the system that USA Hockey has developed.

The NTDP is special. Not just for its ability to produce NHLers. It’s special because it gives kids a chance to live out a dream. A chance to pull on the Team USA jersey. A chance to play with the best of the best. A chance to grow as a person off of the ice. A chance to bond with teammates who truly become brothers for a lifetime.

The NTDP is setting the bar for what a junior hockey program should be – and they’ve nearly lapped the field at this point.