2024 Youth Olympics: Evaluating the 08s on Team USA
With the 2024 Youth Olympics in Gangwon right around the corner, Team USA’s roster is looking to make its mark with its highly talented roster of 08s. After a devastating loss with the 04 group back in 2020 to Russia in the gold medal game, USA will look to rebound this time. The unique thing about the Youth Olympics is that for the players selected, it is the first and only time they’ll get an opportunity like it is.
For this year’s squad, the mix of high octane forwards, skilled puck-moving & transitional defensemen, and good mix of goaltending, it should be a really fun team to watch. The roster will be attached below:
08s who definitely could’ve made this team as well:
- Lucas Zajic, C, Shattuck St. Mary’s U15
- Jack Hextall, C, Chicago Mission U15
- Nathan Hauad, C, Windy City Storm U15
- Camden Nimmer, F, Little Caesars U15
- Ethan Garden, F, Little Caesars U15
- Dominic Pajkic, LD, Shattuck U16
- Odin Vauhkonen, LD, Shattuck U15
- Blake Zielinski, RW, North Jersey Avalanche U15
- Casey Mutryn, F, St. Sebastian’s Prep
- Victor Plante, LW, Chicago Mission U15
Defensively, there’s always going to be misses at this tournament because there’s only a select few that can be picked for the left and right sides. Offensively, there’s more abundance and versatility there, which could’ve played more of a factor for some of the players picked.
Starting with the forward group, there’s a lot of high octane starpower, starting with JP Hurlbert out of the Dallas Stars Elite AAA program. Funding from the Dallas Stars and continued recruitment of higher level players and coaches has turned Dallas’ AAA program into a factory.
JP is unique, because he isn’t the fastest as a linear skater, nor is his lower body torque ridiculously fast by any means. Where the power in his game comes from his proactive brain. He is a very high level thinker, with quick processing speed to anticipate the oncoming play. He doesn’t take much time to decide whether he wants to pass or shoot inside offensive zone sequences, and understands his routes at a high level to find the inside lane. Added power skating mechanics over time will make him more elusive inside contact, and will allow him to blossom even further. He is already a superstar, and can only go up from here. Look for his name when NTDP Evaluation Camp rosters come out in early March.
He is extremely entertaining to watch every time he is on the ice. He always gets multiple touches because the puck always finds him from his teammates, and he always is in the right spots to retrieve pucks constantly. Players are allowed to play up in Dallas, allowing JP to play up right now with the U16 squad. As this is being posted, Hurlbert has 34 goals, 26 assists, for 60 points in only 40 games.
There’s a good widespread of players from different states, as there are a handful from Minnesota. We’ll start with Mikey Berchild out of the elite Shattuck St. Mary’s program, as he is one of my personal favorites to watch based on pure skill. Speaking of Shattuck, I was very surprised that another Shattuck star forward, Lucas Zajic, was left off this roster due to his high level abilities.
Berchild is highly elusive, nimble on his feet, a dual-threat scorer as an elite playmaker and goal-scorer, and he can play center naturally. He’s scored at every level, but Berchild has a unique skillset at his size and frame, combined with the fact that he is playing with the U18 Prep team right now. Last year he dominated playing bantam major at the U14 level, and has continued to dominate against players 2–3 years older than him.
Cole Bumgarner is another player from Minnesota on this team like Berchild, who is another premier center, with bigger size and better use of his body to get positioning on pucks, but still highly skilled as well. The unique thing about Bumgarner is his 6'1", 185 lb frame, where he already has great length, and can still add some mass to his frame over time as well. His stops and starts for elusive purposes with the puck are elite, has pinpoint accuracy on his shot, is elite at finding passing seams with decisiveness, and uses both his forehand and backhand effectively.
As a puck carrier, Bumgarner does an excellent job finding the inside lane and looking to get off the dot lane consistently, and his instincts always seem to put himself in great soft ice spots on entries and inside offensive zone sequences.
The last Minnesota forward is Parker Trottier from Shattuck’s U16 program, and he can score. He scored 45 goals in 59 games playing with the bantam major U14 squad last season. He isn’t scoring a ton with the U16 squad right now, as he’s had a bit more of an adjustment period. However, I’d imagine that if he has a big tournament, he could pop off the 2nd half of his year with Shattuck, especially during nationals in the future as well.
There’s no doubt Trottier has elite scoring instincts, as his ability to release with pinpoint accuracy, find space, and manipulate pressure allows him to add a deceptive touch to his game. He can score from in tight using his nifty hands, but also has the ability to create space on his shots by changing angles, using various style releases, and looking to deke out defenders as well.
There’s a unique pairing of Chicago Mission forwards, Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and Aurelio Garcia, who add some nuance to the styles of play here. Both of these guys I’ve been scouting since they were playing bantam minor U13 hockey and until now with the Mission 15s.
With Shaeffer, he’s got size, speed, tenacity, and a nuanced power forward game. He is also a late 08 born in November, meaning that he brings added developmental flexibility based on chronological age. He plays with power, but blends the skill of a smaller forward in his game really well. A lot of modern day power forwards are doing this, where they have a high octane offensive game, but play an old school style as well. It’s a perfect blend. Gordon-Carroll also brings an excellent nose for the net, excellent use of body control and positioning for control with the puck under pressure, and he handles the boards with the puck inside the offensive zone very effectively.
Gordon-Carroll’s release is quick and hardcore for a player his size at this age. He has natural power and strength in his legs, allowing him to release pucks on net with more efficiency and purpose than other players. Another interesting thing is with him, there are multiple routes that he is considering. If he were to go to the USHL, I’d have to believe he would be a tender based on the rarity in his style of play, but the NTDP and WHL are two other options as well. He was drafted 9th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft earlier this year by Medicine Hat.
Garcia is another viable scoring option for this team as well, as he can be completely reliant as a player playing on the team’s top-line, or on the third line as well. His versatility in his game allows him to be effective as a scoring threat who can check higher in the lineup, but also a checking forward that can score deeper in the lineup. Play him anywhere, and he’ll deliver.
From his U13–current U15 season, I’ve noticed a lot of development in the depth of Garcia’s skating. His stride extension is longer, more powerful, with better use of his shin angle and hip angles to maintain a low center of gravity, and he gets to loose pucks with purpose using his stride. His edgework is more powerful as well, using stops/starts, linear footwork, and general crossovers to use acceleration speed past defenders.
Garcia’s roundedness in his game has continued to improve as well, evolving into more of a creative playmaker with time. Using possession sequences and his brain to his advantage, both to draw defenders to him and leverage spatial scenarios in 1v1 situations, the dynamic of his attacking game inside the offensive zone is nuanced. His one-timer on his shots has improved, his pull and drag release, and his wrist shot based on accuracy and form. There’s a lot to like with Garcia.
Next up are a pair of forwards from California, Logan Stuart out of the Little Caesars U15 program, and Zane Torre from Shattuck St. Mary’s U16 AAA. I was surprised at first to see a name from Little Caesars not named Ethan Garden, since Garden is one of the fastest, most skilled players in his age group. However, Stuart deserved to be on this roster by far, as he brings a similar style game to Garden.
Stuart is very nimble on his feet, but brings the ability to play at intense pace when he has the puck. He can get moving behind the puck with speed on his routes, which helps him be a dynamic straight-line and diagonal attacker inside the neutral zone. He can slow play down or speed it up depending on his routes and what he is trying to do with the puck, but he has the ability to manipulate the pace of a game. He brings energy and talent in all facets of his game, similar to what Gavin Brindley (CBJ) brought to the 04 USA group at the Youth Olympics back in 2020. There’s a lot of versatility in Stuart’s defensive play that should make him relied upon there as well.
Zane Torre is a similar scoring threat to Parker Trottier, mentioned above, off Shattuck’s U16 team. Torre tore it up with Shattuck’s bantam major U14 squad last year, and is in the midst of another over a point-per-game season as we speak. His scoring instincts are elite, but what makes him unique are his instincts off the rush, ability to manipulate the middle of the ice, use soft spots of ice, and create favorable attack situations for himself and teammates as well.
Last from the forward group is Spencer Thornborough out of the Boston Jr. Eagles AAA program. He’s already had a bit of experience playing in the prep league out in Massachusetts, which has given him a feel in some sense for junior hockey already. Prep hockey is similar to the intensity, battle level, and age range compared to juniors (Though slightly different in skill), but it’s a great starting point for any player to get further ahead in their career. Especially as a 2008 born player with the way he is producing, the development trajectory and reps are way better than any player playing midget U15 at that time. As of right now in 6 games, Thornborough has 8 assists for points.
His playmaking touch allows him to control pucks in tight quarters in 1v1 scenarios, make creative touches to draw defenders out of position, and use his creativity to manipulate pressure inside the house offensively. He’s skilled attacking through the dot lanes and the inside lane in neutral ice, which is harder to do at this age. Sometimes, players who use straight-line routes through the dot lane in neutral ice can end up losing the puck easier, but not Thornborough. He does an excellent job using versatility in his neutral zone play, allowing him to attack entries and off the wall with efficiency.
Defensively, there’s a lot of unique options, as many of these defensemen on this team have the ability to play a hybrid style offensive and defensive game. Jackson Marthaler from Team Wisconsin U15/U16 AAA is one intriguing option as a top-4 defensive candidate for this USA squad. Players are also allowed to play up in Wisconsin, allowing Marthaler to play with the U16 team currently. He can log heavy minutes, but also plays very maturely using his 6'0, 165 lb frame. He plays steady in transition, not afraid to lug pucks up ice by himself with poise and confidence. Offensively, his lateral work and shot should be something to look for for Team USA. He has viable tools as a scorer, with a heavy shot, ability to funnel pucks downhill, and attack the inside with the puck decisively. It should be very intriguing to see what Marthaler can do as a two-way defender.
My personal favorite defender on this team is Logan Lutner out of Maple Grove High in Minnesota, as he started the season playing with the Minnesota Blades U15 team. The adaptation period from bantam to U15 hockey was imminent for Lutner, as some defenders at this age struggle to make that transition happen, but there wasn’t any issue for him there.
Lutner is an uber offensive-minded defenseman, who plays a modern day transitional game in neutral ice, and a modern defensive game based on angles and gap closure. He is very light on his feet, brings great lateral explosiveness, understands how to find space along the line offensively, and utilizes his quick hand speed to open up lanes offensively as well. He brings a manipulative and deceptive touch to his puck skills to open up shot lanes, and open soft ice with the puck with poise.
Defensively, his ability to surf, maintain focus through using his stick (Not flailing it around all the time), and ability to use his body positioning on pucks can stifle 50/50 plays effectively. He defends rushes against very effectively, and can quickly turn defense into offensive situations moving up ice. Lutner should be an NTDP lock for sure in a few months time.
Abe Barnett (Brother of NTDP defenseman Asher Barnett) from the Chicago Mission U15 AAA program and Tyler Martyniuk from HoneyBaked U15 are two left shot defensemen that play a somewhat similar game. There’s more finite amount of details in Barnett’s game that make him standout, but both are very subtle defenders that understand the details of a two-way defenseman very effectively. These will be guys that can play up and down any pairing on this defensive core, and they’ll figure out a way to thrive.
Barnett plays a sound offensive game, making timely pinches to keep plays alive, pinching down low around the boards, and has continued to evolve with his lateral offensive involvement and putting more pucks on net. Barnett is a natural power play quarterback, as he tends to man the Mission’s first power play unit a majority of the time. Barnett plays a very detail oriented game on line rush against and transitional rushes against. It’s the combination of his stick detail, orientation of his body, angles to cut ice in half, and utilization of a stingy game to frustrate opponents 1v1. Martyniuk is similar, his offensive game has continued to blossom in his first year of midget hockey at the U15 level, and his defensive game and penalty killing play will definitely be relied upon further.
Also something interesting to think about here is Martyniuk’s chronological age, as he was born on December 31st, 2008. He is a day away from being an 09, giving him developmental leverage for the team that selects him in the junior draft process since he is another late birthday on this team. He is the youngest player on the team as he just turned 15.
AJ Francisco is a player that I’m very curious to see how he will play at this tournament. He’s very mobile, very fluid, brings good mass in his sizeable frame, and he’s been playing really well with Hermantown’s high school team out in Minnesota. Hermantown likes to play a dynamic style offensive game, usually getting offensive firepower yearly with their ability to recruit and maintain. Their Ds are always engaged on the rush, and coaches allow them to push pace when they decide, collaborating really nicely with their dynamic, offensively-oriented forward group. Francisco brings that style, and is a heads up style defender with the ability to make plays in motion. Defensively, he’s not afraid to aggressively pursue pucks, play with a bit of an edge, and look to battle 1v1 with purpose as well.
Luke Schairer is the last intriguing right shot defenseman on this blue line, standing at a rangy 6'3, 174 lb from Mount St. Charles U15 AAA program. His trajectory is interesting as he played bantam in a non traditional market with Carolina Premier Hockey’s U13/14 teams the past few years. He is tall, rangy, and effective using his size and reach to control ice, and is aggressive using his stick to shutdown plays defensively. He’s more of a shutdown style player, with more offensive development, coordination, and proactive play with his brain necessary in the future. He is very effective using his size to box out defenders, and keep defenders outside the dots on line rush against.
In goal, there’s two very intriguing players in net with Gavin Weeks out of the Bishop Kearney Selects U15 team, and Xavier Wendt from Shattuck St. Mary’s U15 team. Both will be able to challenge each other very effectively for the starter role, as both goalies are elite goalies. I’d imagine Weeks would have the edge right now, but nonetheless, it should be very intriguing to see how the goalie situation plays out early on as well.
Overall, it should be a very competitive group that should advance later on into the medal rounds with the depth at every position, as the 08 class is very premier in general. There’s a lot of star power and versatile scoring options up front, combined with the offensively involved defensemen, making this an exciting team for offensive sequences and power play looks as well.
Schedule:
