USA Hockey's National Team Development Program has been around so long that we are now seeing second-generation talents coming through. Wyatt Cullen, a 2026 NHL draft prospect, was preceded by his uncle, Joe, who played for ‘The Program’ in 1998-99. And right behind Cullen, we have Carter Meyer, whose dad, former NHLer Freddy Meyer, joined the NTDP in 1997, one year after its creation.

The NTDP has grown leaps and bounds since those early days, when the hothouse team took a lot of lumps from opponents and really had to sell players on joining. But with time, the NTDP became the premier development spot for American kids, racking up gold medals at the U-18 worlds and minting top-end draft picks such as Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and Jack Hughes.

Naturally, Meyer hears about those pioneer days from his dad – skating uphill both ways to go to school in a blizzard and whatnot.

“He always goes back to where he had to go for tournaments and mentions how good we have it nowadays,” Carter said. “He tells me to take it all in because it goes quickly. Be appreciative and be happy wherever you are, and soak it all in with your teammates.”

So far, Meyer has done just that. Though he was technically part of the NTDP’s U-17 team this season, he played one-third of his campaign up with the U-18s and made the vaunted Team USA world under-18 squad.

“It’s a lot faster-paced in practice and in playing against college teams,” he said. “But we’ve been around the older guys since Day 1 here, so they’ve been very welcoming. It just helped seeing them practising and in the gym, so it definitely made it easier.”

Had Meyer played the entire year with the U-17s, he almost certainly would have led them in scoring. As it was, he finished tied for second, three points behind leader Brayden Willis, despite playing 10 fewer games. And Meyer’s potential was obvious from the start.

“The initial thoughts on his game were how smart he was with and without the puck, his defensive instincts, his puck skills and his vision on the ice,” said NTDP U-17 coach Greg Moore. “He was really hard to knock off the puck. One of his best attributes is his puck possession and ability to extend plays under pressure. And he has a good balance of knowing when to pass and when to shoot, which highlights his hockey IQ.”

Players getting called up from the U-17s to the U-18s happens every season at the NTDP. Sometimes, it’s just for a couple of games, and sometimes, it’s longer. Injuries can be a factor, but it’s also a reward for a player who is excelling and could be a help at the U-18 worlds.

“He was a really big player for us in all situations: penalty kill, power play, 5-on-5, holding off a lead 5-on-6 or trying to score 6-on-5, and he was a really big faceoff guy for us,” Moore said. “He grew his role as the year went on, and it was well-earned.”

Though Meyer is already a projected top-10 pick in next year’s draft, the next step for him, according to Moore, will be to learn game management and play within a team system in all three zones without losing his own identity.

The fact that Meyer has another year with the NTDP gives him time to do that, which will help him prepare for the NCAA, where he is committed to Boston University.

“Both of my parents went there, and my brother committed there before me, so it was kind of an obvious decision for me,” he said. “But it’s also the coaching staff and how they develop guys. You see everyone who has been through there, so it’s hard not to want to go there and continue the legacy.”

Meyer has already had sneak peeks at BU’s program, as his buddy and NTDP teammate Sam Pandolfo is the son of Terriers coach Jay Pandolfo. The young pair got to see how hard the Terriers pushed each other at practice, and Meyer also got to watch a great role model in Macklin Celebrini, who won the Hobey Baker Award while playing for BU.

“I was around when he was there, and that was so fun to watch,” he said. “As a center and 200-foot player, it’s hard not to want to model your game after him.”

In the meantime, Meyer will continue to grow his game with The Program, where stars like him are minted.

“He’s pretty focused and has a good relationship with his teammates,” Moore said. “He’s really competitive, and he loves the game. You either like it, love it or live it, and he definitely lives it.”

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This feature appeared in The Hockey News' Draft Preview issue featuring Gavin McKenna on the cover.

Not only does it feature scouting reports on the NHL draft's top 100 prospects, but it also goes further into the stories of some of the top players available, such as McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, Carson Carels, JP Hurlbert and the Ruck twins.

There are also team-by-team reports that cover immediate and long-term needs, cap situation, players in the system, shrewd picks from the past and not so shrewd picks. It's worth a read during and after the draft.