Photo by Eric Young, CHL
The first CHL USA Prospect Challenge is now over, and if you just look at the stats, you might think it wasn’t worth it.
The CHL won both games in London and Oshawa by a combined score of 9-3 over the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. The shots were even more lopsided, and in Oshawa, the game would have been much worse than the 3-2 if NTDP Goalkeeper Harrison Boettiger did not make a Herculean effort while his team was outshot 38-12.
So was it worth it? Definitely.
On paper, this year’s competitions heavily favored the CHL, which had 15 A-rated skaters on Central Scouting’s list for the 2025 NHL draft, compared to two in the NTDP.
The American boys were also missing some of their best draft-eligible players, who had birthdays in late 2006 and were already in college, such as James Hagens, Logan Hensler and Shane Vansaghi. That being said, it was a great opportunity to see the NTDP kids play against the most elite competition in their age group.
For me, forwards like Jack Murtagh and William Belle were the NTDP’s best skaters in Oshawa, giving everything they had against potential top-five players like Porter Martone, Michael Misa and Matthew Schaefer. And for the NTDP, this was just another test for their kids as ‘The Program’ tries to prepare them for college, the pros, and hopefully the NHL one day.
“We purposely put our players in really challenging environments to develop experience and growth,” NTDP coach Greg Moore said. “We play against college teams with players who are 22, 23 and sometimes 25 years old. This builds character and resilience, and in these two games, they never gave up or gave up.”
Related: NHL Draft: Three stars from Game 1 of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge
After being defeated 6-1 in Londonthe NTDP refocused on Oshawa. While the CHL dominated offensive zone timing, the American team blocked a ton of shots, got sticks in the lanes, and fought hard in front of their MVP goalie, Boettiger.
“It was exactly what you would expect,” Moore said. “There’s a lot of talent there, some really good players. They were very competitive and there was a lot of pride on both sides. It got very heated and I thought both teams held their own.”
In fact, there were plenty of extracurricular activities as the game progressed, including a couple of 5v5 scrums that were the closest thing to a fight when the NTDP kids were wearing their usual full cages/bubbles on their helmets.
“It was a little strange game, with them in cages and us with visors,” said Caleb Desnoyers, the CHL’s player of the game in Oshawa. “But at the end of the day, we managed to be pretty tough on them and more physical.”
And despite being on the losing side, the NTDP kids had a lot of fun and certainly didn’t mind the hard stuff.
“It’s a big rivalry game and everyone is super competitive,” center Cole McKinney said. “In those moments, everyone wants an advantage and is excited. It’s a really fun environment to play in.”
Related: NHL Draft: Three stars from Game 2 of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge
The event also earned top marks from CHL coach Kris Mallette.
“To be honest, I would love for it to be a five-game series,” he said. “Something early, then maybe something later in the season, like a rivalry series.”
The CHL and NTDP have at least two more such events planned in the coming years, and perhaps Mallette will get his wish for expansion. He had already coached many of his CHL stars in the summer’s Hlinka-Gretzky tournament, and depending on the results of the CHL playoffs, some of these kids could be teammates again at the U-18 Men’s World Cup. in Dallas. That’s where most of the NTDP kids will be, as that tournament is the culmination of their two years with ‘The Program.’ Playing against the top draft eligibles in the CHL can only help them in their goal of winning gold as Team USA at the end of the year.
“We don’t like losing, we don’t accept it or accept it, but they know the challenges we put before them,” Moore said. “This experience will prepare us, especially for April and the U18 world, they will be able to remember this challenge and how they overcame some obstacles and had to find their game. All these experiences will help us in the end.”
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