USHL

Plymouth, Mich. - For the third year, the United States Hockey League (USHL) and United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) will combine forces to bring hockey fans the BioSteel All-American Game. When the puck drops live on NHL Network at 4 p.m. ET on Monday at USA Hockey Arena, the best 2022 NHL Draft prospects in the USHL will square off in a new format. 

At past events, the NTDP Under-18 roster would compete against the best NHL Draft prospects from the USHL’s other Member Clubs. This season, rosters will be combined as Team Blue and Team White square off in a pivotal scouting event game ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft. Of the 44 players on roster for the game, 28 were recognized by NHL Central Scouting on the services Midseason Rankings released this week. 

Three of the game’s four goalies were recognized on the North American Goaltending rankings with Dylan Silverstein (#3 - NTDP) leading the way, followed by Tyler Muszelik (#5 - NTDP) and Paxton Geisel (#28 - Dubuque Fighting Saints). Silverstein and Geisel will split time for Team Blue while Muszelik shares the net with Chicago Steel goaltender Gibson Homer. 

Ten of the players named to the BioSteel All-American Game were also featured in the Top-32 for North American Skaters, including Team Blue’s Cutter Gauthier (#6 - NTDP), Jimmy Snuggerud (#8 - NTDP), Frank Nazar (#17 - NTDP), Rutger McGroarty (#18 - NTDP), Ryan Chesley (#22 - NTDP) and Sam Rinzel (#26 - Waterloo Black Hawks) as well as Team White’s Logan Cooley (#2 - NTDP), Isaac Howard (#12 - NTDP), Lane Hutson (#31 - NTDP) and Seamus Casey (#32 - NTDP). 

The 2022 event will be a second appearance for six players including Team White’s Cooley, Homer and Connor Kurth (Forward, Dubuque) as well as Team Blue’s McGroarty and Jack Harvey (Forward, Chicago). 

This year’s group of prospects will look to follow in the footsteps of the 53 players from the past two events who have gone on to be selected in the following NHL Draft. Those 53 players include seven First Round selections, including Matthew Beniers (Seattle Kraken, 2021, #2), Jake Sanderson (2020, Ottawa Senators, #5 Overall), Cole Sillinger (2021, Columbus Blue Jackets, #12 Overall), Matt Coronato (2021, Calgary Flames, #13 Overall), Chaz Lucius (2021, Winnipeg Jets, #18 Overall), Mackie Samoskevich (2021, Florida Panthers, #24 Overall) and Brendan Brisson (2020, Vegas Golden Knights, #29 Overall). 

This season, the BioSteel rosters feature a combined 42 NCAA Division I commitments out of the 44 players currently selected to play in the game. Boston College and University of Minnesota lead the way with five commitments each in the game while University of Michigan and University of Notre Dame follow with four each. Denver University, Northeastern University and University of North Dakota each have three commitments in the game while Boston University, Harvard University, University of Minnesota Duluth and University of New Hampshire each also boast a pair of commitments each. 

Four players were added to the rosters after the initial announcement in December including Lukas Gustafsson (Defenseman, Chicago) and Nicholas VanTassell (Forward, Green Bay Gamblers) for Team Blue and Muskegon Lumberjacks forwards Ben Strinden and Phillip Tresca for Team White. These players will serve as replacements for Team Blue’s Kaden Muir (Defenseman, NTDP) and Cruz Lucius (Forward, NTDP) and Team White’s Quinn Finley (Forward, Madison Capitols) and Devin Kaplan (Forward, NTDP). 

Be sure to follow the USHL (@ushl) and USA Hockey (@usahockey) on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest news and roster updates ahead of the 2022 BioSteel All-American Game. 

Tickets for the 2022 BioSteel All-American Game can be purchased online, at USA Hockey Arena or by calling 734-453-6400 ext. 396. 

More information, including the game's coaches and officials, will be announced at a later date. For more information on the BioSteel All-American Game, visit the event's website.