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NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team Weekly

September 11, 2007 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


U.S. National Under-18 Team Opens 2007-08 Campaign on Home Ice Team USA Hosts USHL's Chicago Steel

THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-18 Team hosts the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League on Saturday (Sept. 15) at 3 p.m. EDT at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES: John Hynes is in his fourth season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record with the NTDP of 127-86-8-7 (W-L-T-OTL). Hynes will serve as head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2007 - Jan. 5, 2008, in Liberec and Pardubice, Czech Republic.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES ON THE WEEK AHEAD: "Our guys have been waiting all summer to get back on the ice together as a team. The game against the Steel will provide a good measuring stick to see how we have progressed over the summer, as well as an opportunity to gauge our strengths and weaknesses going into the season."

U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-18 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team is comprised of 22 players who competed last season on the U.S. National Under-17 Team within the National Team Development Program, in addition to defenseman David Warsofsky (North Marshfield, Mass.) and netminder Joe Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.). Warsofsky spent the 2006-07 season at Cushing Academy (Mass.), while Cannata played at Boston College High School in Dorchester, Mass. ... U.S. forward Grant Scott (Sewickly, Pa.) will be out of the line-up on Saturday due to injury ... Assistant Coach Tim Taylor will be behind the bench for his first game with the U.S. National Under-18 Team on Saturday. Taylor served as the head coach of the 1994 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team. Taylor's coaching resume also includes a historic 28-year run (1976-83/1984-93/1994-2006) as the head coach of Yale University's men's ice hockey team. He coached more games than anyone else in the history of the ECAC Hockey League and led the Bulldogs to six Ivy League titles and 19 ECACHL playoff appearances. He earned the ECAC Coach of the Year Award on three occasions (1987, 1992, 1998) ... This will be the only USHL opponent for the U.S. National Under-18 Team this season ... Team USA played only one game against USHL competition in the 2006-07 campaign, a 2-1 victory over the Indiana Ice (Sept. 23).

TIDBITS: Steel forward Ryan Schnell played two seasons (2005-07) at the NTDP prior to joining Chicago this season. Schnell recorded 25 points (12-13) in 117 career games at the NTDP ... Saturday's match-up is the first game of the 2007-08 season for the Steel ... Chicago assistant coach Jon Waibel played for the NTDP from 1998-2000 and recorded 83 points (44-39) in 143 career games ... The 2007-08 campaign is the 11th on ice for the National Team Development Program.

UP NEXT: The U.S. National Under-18 Team will travel to the North American Hockey League Showcase in Blaine, Minn., where it will compete in four games in four days (Sept. 19-22). Team USA will face the Texas Tornado (Sept. 19), Fairbanks Ice Dogs (Sept. 20), Topeka RoadRunners (Sept. 21) and the Southern Minnesota Express (Sept. 22) during the Showcase.

ABOUT THE NTDP: Founded in 1996, USA Hockey's National Team Development Program was created to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice. Located in Ann Arbor, Mich., the 46 players in the program are split into two squads - the U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams. In the nine years NTDP players have been eligible for the draft, 141 players have been selected, including the number one overall selection in 2000 (Rick DiPietro), 2006 (Erik Johnson) and 2007 (Patrick Kane).

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North American Hockey League Stories from September 11, 2007


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