The United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) represents the United States in the IIHF World U18 Championship. Additionally the team plays domestically against opponents in the United States Hockey League (under-17 and under-18 teams), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (under-18 team), and other international tournaments. The program was started in 1996 by USA Hockey as a way to identify elite ice hockey players under the age of 18, and centralize their training. There are two teams in the program: under-17 and under-18. Both teams are based in Plymouth, Michigan.
History The stated goal of the NTDP is "to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on the 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". While enrolled in the NTDP, players stay with billet families.
From its founding until 2014–15, the program was based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, playing games at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. However, following that season, the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL relocated, freeing up the what was then known as the Compuware Arena. USA Hockey purchased the facility from Peter Karmanos, renamed it the USA Hockey Arena and moved the NTDP to Plymouth.
The under-17 and under-18 teams play games domestically against opponents in the United States Hockey League (under-17 and under-18 teams) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (under-18 team), as well as three international tournaments for each team plus occasional friendlies. The NTDP teams previously competed in the North American Hockey League until 2009.
The NTDP became part of the annual CHL/USA Prospects Challenge in 2024, a two-game series versus the Canadian Hockey League to showcase the talents of top prospects for the upcoming entry draft of the National Hockey League.
Competitive record IIHF U18 World Championship
The United States has won 11 gold medals in IIHF World U18 Championship.
Year Result Rank 1999 First round 7th place 7 4 0 0 3 38 17 8 2000 Preliminary round 8th place 5 2 0 0 3 22 14 4 2001 Quarterfinals 6th place 6 3 0 1 2 28 14 6 2002 Champions 8 7 0 0 1 46 10 14 2003 Semi finals 4th place 6One game for Drawn 3 0 0 2 12 9 7 2004 Runner-up 6 5 0 0 1 27 10 10 2005 Champions 6 6 0 0 0 28 8 12 2006 Champions 6 5 1 0 0 37 7 11 2007 Runner-up 7 3 1 1 2 38 20 12 2008 Third place 7 5 0 0 2 31 19 15 2009 Champions 7 6 0 0 1 42 12 18 2010 Champions 7 6 0 0 1 33 7 18 2011 Champions 6 4 2 0 0 30 15 16 2012 Champions 6 6 0 0 0 27 4 18 2013 Runner-up 7 3 1 0 3 25 16 11 2014 Champions 7 6 0 0 1 31 12 18 2015 Champions 7 5 1 0 1 46 13 17 2016 Third place 7 6 0 0 1 50 11 18 2017 Champions 7 6 1 0 0 34 14 20 2018 Runner-up 7 4 0 0 3 32 19 12 2019 Third place 7 6 0 1 0 44 15 19 2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Quarterfinals 5th place 5 1 2 1 1 20 20 8 2022 Runner-up 6 5 0 0 1 47 17 15 2023 Champions 7 6 1 0 0 51 10 20 2024 Runner-up 7 6 0 0 1 48 15 18 2025 Third place 7 5 1 0 1 38 18 17 2026 Quarterfinals 5th place 5 3 0 1 1 26 11 10Total 11 Titles 27/28 176 127 11 5 32 931 357 372
Hlinka Gretzky Cup Team USA most recently won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2025, its second championship.
Year Result Rank 1991 Third place 1992 Semifinals 4th place 3 0 0 0 3 6 18 0 1993 Runner-up 1994 Runner-up 1995 Third place 1996 Runner-up 1997 Did not participate 1998 1999 Runner-up 2000 Runner-up 2001 Did not participate / 2002 Preliminary round 5th place / 2003 Champions 5 4 1 0 0 20 10 9 / 2004 Semifinals 4th place 5 2 0 0 3 7 15 6 / 2005 Preliminary round 5th place 3 1 0 0 1 11 11 4 / 2006 Runner-up 4 2 1 0 1 11 11 8 / 2007 Preliminary round 5th place 4 2 0 0 2 17 18 6 / 2008 Preliminary round 7th place 4 1 0 0 3 14 21 3 / 2009 Semifinals 4th place 4 2 0 0 2 15 21 6 / 2010 Runner-up 5 2 1 1 1 18 15 9 / 2011 Preliminary round 5th place 4 1 2 0 1 16 16 7 / 2012 Preliminary round 7th place 4 1 0 1 2 14 18 4 / 2013 Runner-up 5 3 0 1 1 16 14 10 / 2014 Third place 5 2 1 0 2 28 27 8 / 2015 Preliminary round 5th place 4 2 0 0 2 14 16 6 / 2016 Runner-up 5 2 2 0 1 19 15 10 / 2017 Preliminary round 5th place 4 1 1 0 2 10 17 5 2018 Semifinals 4th place 5 2 0 1 2 24 21 7 / 2019 Preliminary round 6th place 4 0 1 2 1 13 18 4 2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. / 2021 Preliminary round 5th place 4 2 0 0 2 21 14 6 2022 Preliminary round 5th place 4 2 0 0 2 14 10 6 / 2023 Third place 5 3 0 0 2 23 18 9 2024 Semifinals 4th place 5 2 0 0 3 20 17 6 / 2025 Champions 5 3 1 0 1 25 15 11Total 2 Titles 31/35 colspan=8
Notable alumni Since 1999, and through the 2025 NHL draft, 432 NTDP alumni have been drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL) including 103 first round picks. This includes Rick DiPietro, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, and Jack Hughes, all of whom were drafted first overall in the NHL entry draft. At the 2007 NHL entry draft, NTDP alumni Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk were selected first and second overall respectively, the first American-born players selected with the top two picks. Seventeen players were selected from the NTDP in the 2019 NHL entry draft.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, 17 of the 25 players on the United States men's roster were NTDP alumni. The team defeated Canada 2–1 in overtime to win the program's first Olympic gold medal since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team, with the game winning overtime goal from NTDP alumnus Jack Hughes.
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