USA Hockey announced today its 23-player roster for the 2023 U.S. Under-18 Men's Select Team which will compete at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Breclav, Czechia, and Trencín, Slovakia, July 31 - August 5.

The roster features 12 players who saw action in the United States Hockey League during the course of the 2022-23 season.  Named to the team are goaltender Caleb Heil (Sioux Falls), defensemen Alex Bales (Tri-City), William Felecio (Madison), Owen Keefe (Muskegon), Adam Kleber (Lincoln) and Tory Pitner (Youngstown, along with forwards Eero Butella (Waterloo), Trevor Connelly (Tri-City), Colin Frank (Dubuque), Aidan Park (Green Bay), Mac Swanson (Fargo) and Will Zellers (Green Bay).

Additionally, the team will be led by former Sioux City Musketeer head coach Luke Strand. Strand, currently the head coach at Minnesota State, played with the North Iowa Huskies from 1991-93 before becoming an assistant coach with Green Bay from 2003-05. He served two stints as Head Coach/GM in Sioux City (2009-11 and 2017-21).  Joining Strand on the U18 Men's Select Team staff are former Sioux City general manager Troy Ward (he also was Head Coach and GM in Dubuque from 1993-95), Karl Goehring (played for Fargo-Moorhead 1996-97), Jimmy Mullin (played for Fargo 2010-11), Nick Oliver (played for Fargo 2008-11, Assistant Coach with Sioux Falls 2015-18, Head Coach for Fargo 2022-23), Marc Boxer (played for Des Moines 1989-91) and Tony Gasparini (played for Rochester and Omaha 19992-94, assistant coach and head coach of Sioux Falls 1999-2003, current Sioux Falls GM).

The U.S. will compete alongside Czechia, Germany, and Sweden in Group A at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Canada, Finland, Slovakia, and Switzerland will compete in Group B.

Team USA has finished in the top three of the Hlinka tournament 13 times since the tournament began in 1991. The U.S. won the tournament in 2003, has finished second on nine occasions (1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2016) and third three times (1991, 1995, 2014).
 

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