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Tony Ferarri at The Hockey News released an article about the US NTDP. Full article can be found here, with an excerpt below. https://thehockeynews.com/news/how-usas-ntdp-became-an-nhl-draft-powerhouse
“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.