Nick Fohr Named Head Coach of 2026 U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Nick Fohr (Grand Forks, N.D.), in his fourth season as a head coach at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, will lead the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship, it was announced today by USA Hockey.
Fohr will be joined by assistant coaches Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.), Ryan Hayes (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Dan Darrow (Livonia, Mich.), along with goaltending coach David Lassonde (Durham, N.H.).
ABOUT THE IIHF UNDER-18 MEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2026 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship is a 10-team event that will be staged in Trencin and Bratislava, Slovakia. Team USA is in Group B with Czechia, Denmark, Germany and Sweden in Bratislava and will play each of those teams in the preliminary round, beginning April 22 against Czechia. Group A, which will conduct its preliminary round games in Trencin, includes host Slovakia, along with Canada, Finland, Latvia and Norway. Both cities will host quarterfinal games with the semifinals and medal games set to take place in Trencin.
All Team USA games will be broadcast live on NHL Network. The U.S. has won 11 gold medals in IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship history, the most of any country, and has medaled in 20 of the last 21 tournaments.
ABOUT FOHR
Fohr is the head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team for the second time after serving in the same role for the 2024 team that finished with silver in Espoo/Vantaa, Finland.
Fohr is in his 15th season on the NTDP staff and fourth as head coach, having also spent five seasons as an associate coach and six as an assistant coach for the NTDP.
While at the NTDP, the Grand Forks, N.D., native has helped guide the U.S. to championships at five Four Nations tournaments (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2022), seven Five Nations tournaments (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2026), a Vierumaki Cup (2024) and the 2012 Vlad Dzurilla Under-18 Tournament. In addition, Fohr helped guide the U.S. National Under-17 Team to championships at two World Under-17 Hockey Challenges (2013, 2022) and a runner-up finish at the 2012 event.
Additionally, he was on staff with the U.S. Under-18 Select Team five times (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021) and in that same position at three CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Games (2012, 2014, 2016). He was also on staff for the U.S. National Junior Team that captured the bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Fohr began his coaching career as a student assistant at the University of Nebraska-Omaha for the 2002-03 campaign, spent one season with Miami University (2003-04) and returned to UNO as director of hockey operations (2004-07) and assistant coach (2007-11) before coming to USA Hockey.
Fohr played four seasons (1998-2002) at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and two seasons with the Lincoln Stars (1996-98), where he earned a spot on the USHL All-Star Team in 1997-98.
ABOUT PORTER
Porter is making his IIHF coaching debut at the 2026 Under-18 Men’s World Championship where he’ll serve as assistant coach.
The Northville, Mich., native most recently served as the head coach for the 2025 U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team which won the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Porter helped lead the U.S. to its first championship at the event since 2003.
Porter is in his second season as an assistant coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. This season, he helped lead the U.S. National Under-18 Team to a championship finish at the 2026 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament, and helped the 2024-25 U.S. National Under-17 Team to a title finish at the 2024 Under-17 Vierumaki Cup.
Prior to the NTDP, Porter spent the previous four seasons with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as an assistant, helping the team to a pair of Calder Cup playoff appearances.
As a player, Porter played 12 professional seasons with four NHL and five AHL teams, winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. He also played four seasons with the University of Michigan, winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as a senior in 2007-08.
Porter played from 2002-04 at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. He competed in two IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championships, helping the U.S. to a silver-medal finish in 2004, and played in two IIHF World Junior Championships, serving as captain of the 2006 U.S. squad.
ABOUT HAYES
Hayes will serve as assistant coach for the 2026 U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team after he made his IIHF coaching debut with the 2025 team.
Hayes, who was on the bronze medal-winning team at the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Frisco, Texas, served in the same role for the 2025 U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team.
Hayes is in his third season in 2025-26 as an assistant coach with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. This season, he guided the U.S. National Under-18 Team to the championship of the 2026 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament. He also helped lead the U.S. National Under-17 Team to the 2024 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament championship in addition to a second-place finish at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
Hayes joined USA Hockey after spending 13 years playing professionally, including five seasons (2010-15) in the ECHL and eight campaigns (2015-23) in Europe, mostly in Switzerland’s top league, before finishing his career in Austria.
The Syracuse, N.Y., native competed in two IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championships, helping Team USA to gold (2006) and silver (2007) medals.
ABOUT DARROW
This marks Darrow’s second time serving as an assistant coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team after serving in the same role for the gold medal-winning 2023 squad.
The Livonia, Mich., native is in his first season as an assistant coach for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks men’s ice hockey team. Prior to his time with the River Hawks, Darrow served as a video coach for the Boston Bruins (2023-25), where he played a pivotal role in preparing players through film analysis, skill development, practice plans and game prep.
Darrow served as a volunteer assistant coach at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program with the Under-18 Team in 2022-23 and helped the team to a 43-13-0 record.
Before joining the NTDP staff, he spent seven seasons as video coach for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, where he had a particular focus on incorporating analytics.
Prior to his time in the NHL, Darrow served as the first ever director of hockey operations at UMass-Lowell from 2011-2015. While with the River Hawks, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the hockey program and assisted the coaching staff with film breakdown. During his tenure, the team took home two Hockey East playoff championships, one HEA regular-season championship and participated in the 2013 Frozen Four.
Darrow came to UMass-Lowell after four years as a student assistant with the Michigan State University men’s ice hockey program. He earned his master’s of business administration from UMass-Lowell in 2017 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Michigan State in 2011.
ABOUT LASSONDE
Lassonde is serving as goaltending coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team for the sixth time in 2026. He has also held the same role for the U.S. National Junior Team seven times.
The Durham, N.H., native most recently served as an assistant coach for the 2026 U.S. National Junior Team and has helped coach the team to three gold-medal finishes (2013, 2024, 2025). Lassonde has coached three additional U.S. National Junior Teams, including the 2019 team that finished with a silver medal.
Lassonde has served as assistant coach at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship five additional times, including with the 2023 gold-medal winning team, the 2024 and 2022 squads who claimed silver medals and the 2025 team that brought home bronze.
He was also on staff for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China, the 2015 championship-winning U.S. Under-17 Select Team and the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that finished second at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
Lassonde, who has more than 35 years of coaching experience, was named USA Hockey’s national goaltending coach prior to the start of the 2020-21 season and is now in his sixth season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.
Lassonde also worked with Team USA at the World Deaf Ice Hockey Championships, winning a gold medal in 2017, has served as a mentor at USA Hockey Player Development Camps since 1990 and has worked as an instructor for USA Hockey’s Warren Strelow National Goalie Program since 2007.
Lassonde boasts a 32-year NCAA Division I men’s hockey coaching career that includes stops at Dartmouth College, University of Denver, University of New Hampshire, Miami University and University of Wisconsin. Lassonde’s resume includes 20 trips to the NCAA Tournament with five appearances in the Frozen Four, three conference tournament titles and six regular-season championships. Lassonde played collegiately for two seasons (1981-83) as a goaltender for Providence College.
ADDITIONAL TEAM USA STAFF
USA Hockey has also announced additional staff in support of the 2026 U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team including general manager Rod Braceful (Detroit, Mich.); equipment manager Brock Bradley (West Stockholm, N.Y.); athletic trainer Dennis MacDonald (Detroit, Mich.); team physician Dr. Mark Riederer (Philadelphia, Pa.); director of sports science Joe Meloni (Falmouth, Mass.); physical therapist Dr. Sean Condra (Livonia, Mich.); hockey operations manager Emilie Pelletier (Boston, Mass.); communications manager Michael Reedy (West Dundee, Ill.) and digital content manager Charles Crowell V (Greensboro, N.C.).
NOTES: To follow Team USA throughout the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, visit TeamUSA.USAHockey.com… The official IIHF tournament website can be found here… Follow @USAHockey on X for the latest information and updates throughout the tournament.
