The USA Hockey National Summer Festival is underway with Team USA's senior national, collegiate series, and U-18 national team candidates present.
The camp, held in Lake Placid from August 7 to August 12 before the U-18 and Collegiate teams play a series against Team Canada, has several notable omissions from last season's camp roster, and USA's World Championship roster.
Amanda Kessel, who recently accepted a new role as special assistant to president of hockey operations and general manager with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins was one name not present on the camp roster. Last season Kessel managed to only get into five of the 20 games played by the PWHPA, but she did score nine points in seven games helping USA win gold at the World Championships. Kessel's absence could be due to obligations from her new role, or mark an ever more likely exit from playing for Kessel.
Other members of USA's gold medal winning roster not at the camp include Lee Stecklein and Hannah Bilka. Stecklein and Bilka were both key contributors for Team USA and should factor into future rosters despite their absence from the camp.
A pair of former members of USA's national team Kali Flanagan and Hannah Brandt were also excluded from the invites. It's the first time in nearly a decade the pair have not been invited to USA selection camps. Brandt finished 19th in PWHPA scoring last season, outscoring all but five professional members of Team USA, while Flanagan played for the PHF's Boston Pride, being named the league's Best Defender. Flanagan is widely considered one of the best defenders on the planet, but USA has chosen to utilize more NCAA players on their blueline in recent competitions.
Similarly a pair of PHF veterans, Liz Schepers and Natalie Snodgrass who were both on USA's national team radar last season were not invited to camp. Both players represented Team USA during the 2022-2023 Rivalry Series against Canada.
The other member of last year's camp not returning this year is Wisconsin Badgers grad Natalie Buchbinder.
While the camp features several new faces, questions have been raised by some players in attendance over how players are being selected. Since Matt Kelly left USA Hockey in 2018, the program has been without a full time scout. Rosters at the women's National Festival have been divided into four teams, with the White and Red rosters featuring professional players, those with national team experience, and immediate prospects, while the Blue and Gold teams are exclusively NCAA rosters.