USA Hockey announces new goaltending development program; rosters for upcoming camp
By @MichaelCaples –
USA Hockey has announced a new plan for developing goaltenders.
The press release states:
USA Hockey announced today its restructured approach for goaltending development and education designed to help American goaltenders reach their maximum potential and achieve success on the international stage.
The new approach is four-pronged and includes a combined national junior and women’s national team goaltending camp each May at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan; the Warren Strelow boys goaltending camp for 15-year-old players each summer; and separate sessions specifically for goaltenders at National Select Festivals for boys and girls each summer.
It’s being spearheaded by USA Hockey national goalie coach Thomas Speer, who is located in Plymouth with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.
The new program will begin on Thursday, May 16 at USA Hockey Arena, where top collegiate and postgraduate female goaltenders, as well as the top junior male goaltenders, will come together for four days of specialized training and mentoring to support long-term development.
“We’re excited to roll out this new program, which we feel takes a more streamlined and targeted approach to goaltending development in the offseason. With our main goal of sustaining high performance on the international stage at the forefront, we’ve identified efficiencies and areas for growth in our planning to create new programming that will be more effective for identifying and developing talent, while providing athletes with world-class resources to improve their game.”
The women’s camp, which will feature the likes of Nicole Hensley, Alex Rigsby and Maddie Rooney, will be led by U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Bob Corkum and goaltending coach Steve Thompson.
Speer will lead the men’s camp, joined by Michigan native Phil Osaer, the Red Wings’ Jeff Salajko and others. Invites for the men’s group include:
- Fenton native, NTDP alum and Michigan State goaltender Drew DeRidder
- NTDP Under-17 Team (moving up to 18U next fall) goaltenders Drew Commesso and Noah Grannan)
- NTDP Under-18 Team goaltenders Spencer Knight and Cameron Rowe
- Waterloo Black Hawks goaltender Logan Stein, a Ferris State commit and Oakland Jr. Grizzlies alum