Team USA off to hot start with pair of victories

by T.R. Holler

Team USA defeated Czechia 6-4 in the opener of the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton on August. 3. The team’s youngest player and the first underager to make a Hlinka/Gretzky Cup roster, Joey Cullen, scored the team’s first goal.

Team USA won again yesterday, 4-1 over Finland, with Cullen once again lighting the lamp. Becker Wenkus also added an empty-net goal as the Minnesota contingent of nine players on the roster continues to play well.

The squad is inclusive of 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders, was selected following the Team USA Selection Camp at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, MN, the practice home of the Minnesota Wild, where yours truly caught the slate of weekend scrimmages, albeit mostly to escape the brutal heat wave.

Players from an ever-expanding 10 states are represented on this year’s roster, but none prouder than the NINE from Minnesota which is triple the amount of California’s three players. Yeah, that’s right – Calfornia provides the second most rostered players! Team representation breaks down as follows; Minnesota (9), California (3), Michigan (2), New York (2), Pennsylvania (2), Connecticut (1), Illinois (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (1) and North Dakota (1). Noticeably absent is Massachusetts.

The 2026 U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team looks to defend last year’s championship where Team USA finished the ‘25 tournament with a 3-1 record, defeating Sweden, 5-3, to capture its first title hardware since 2003 with only a scant three Minnesotans rostered. Again, this 2026 squad has three times as many ‘Sotans so we will see if we can make the country proud up in Edmonton, Alberta. No pressure or anything, boys – but gotta defend that title and represent!

Twelve Minnesotans comprised a full 1/3 of the full tryout camp roster of 36 players with the final 2026 Hlinka/Gretzky nine rostered Minnesotans as follows; F – Gunnar Conboy (Lakeville North/Green Bay Gamblers), F – Brooks DeMars(Hugo/Penticton), F – Nash Roed (WBL/NTDP), F – Ryland Rooney (Gentry Acad/Sx Falls), D – Rylan Hanson (Elk River), D – Beck Thoreson (Moorhead/NTDP), D – Becker Wenkus (Edina/Des Moines),       G – Brandon Wright(Mahtomedi/Dubuque), and last, but most definitely not least is             F – Joey Cullen (Moorhead/NTDP). One ancillary benefit is defenseman Becker Wenkus and forward Ryland Rooney can act as tour guides for the club as they are veterans of the Edmonton Mall being former Brick Invitational participants in their youth.

Joey Cullen was intentionally mentioned last in the above list of ‘Sotans for a unique reason. Yes, it’s a team game, and in hockey, that fact always comes before individual stats/awards, etc., however, ‘JC’, fresh off his freshman state title run with Moorhead is a 2010-born, a full year younger than the majority of his teammates and competition. ‘JC’ is the very first underager to make a TEAM USA roster for the Hlinka/Gretzky Cup tournament. JC was a seamless fit and competed with deft attacks – processing the action at warp speed during the TRIA weekend scrimmages registering a handful of assists off sublime setups. One can literally see the game slow down for JC as he patiently surveys and makes soft, yet high-velocity passes that lead his linemates in stride. All a year ahead of schedule. Folks, JC is an impressive talent and growing like a weed. One day soon, JC will be worth the price of any admission.

Overall, the pace and speed of the TRIA weekend action was quick, the intra-squad competition steady. Each of the three scrimmages saw the pace increase into the critical third periods especially with extra puck battle efforts. Alas, the physical contact was kept at a minimum, especially regarding open ice transitions for obvious mitigating reasons. The last of the scrimmages held Sunday, July 27, during the blast furnace outside found the TRIA rink at a brisk 52-55° – which this soul found refreshing, but the players might have stiffened up a bit, playing it rather safe. The defensive efforts were outstanding especially from the Ents division of this teams’ trees of defensemen, Beck Thoreson at 6’4” and Trevor (Not) Shorter, who stands 6’7” even without his OOFOS®.

Perhaps the offensive standouts came down to centermen, Gunnar Conboy and Ty Bergeron who consistently guided zone entries, facilitated play and set up camp for net-front chances grinding away in all three games. Both displayed keen awareness, quick decision-making, and smart gap control in defensive transitions. As much as the dynamic 2^nd line for Team White looked crisp with F’s – Nash Roed, Joey Cullen, and Ryland Rooney, the success of Team USA at Hlinka will come down to the emerging goalie starter (yet to be named) but also, the 200 ft. play of Conboy and Bergeron, to say the least.

One surprise, for this scout anyway, was the fact that D – Whitaker Rewertz (Hibbing/Penticton) did not make the final ’26 USA Hlinka roster. All due respect to the defenders that made the final squad, but Rewertz had a solid camp, was committed to a 200ft. game, deployed an active stick, steered attackers to the walls, and activated into the O-zone for targeted attacks. Alas, he gave his best and perhaps they desired a bit more size on the blue line. Regardless, Rewertz is as solid a competitor as you will find and is a joy to watch skate.

So, the new crop of Minnesota faces are here, embarking on the international stage, these are the local stars in the MSHSL, the junior leagues of the WHL and USHL, and a few NTDP’ers. These Minnesota boys of ours are heading to the ’26 Hlinka/Gretzky Cup in Edmonton where we can remind Canada of the current USA dominance born out of both the men’s and women’s ’26 Olympic teams and set the tone for the World Juniors in late December.

You can follow the team at teamusa.usahockey.com/hlinka, hlinkagretzkycup.ca and here’s to hoping the NHL Network picks up TV tourney coverage from TSN/RDS out of Canada, eh? I mean what else is going on in early August? Go change the AC filter, pour some Summer Shandy in those chilled mugs and watch the boys get ‘er done!

T.R. Holler is a regional scout.