Six players with Minnesota ties are among the 23 players named Wednesday to the U.S. National Under-17 team for the 2020-21 season. Those 23 players were selected to join the USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich.
The six with Minnesota ties are:
* Defenseman Ryan Chesley of Mahtomedi and Shattuck-St. Mary's.
* Forward Maddox Fleming of Rochester and Shattuck-St. Mary's.
* Forward Isaac Howard of Hudson, Wis., and Shattuck-St. Mary's, who has committed to Minnesota Duluth.
* Forward Cruz Lucius of Grant and the Gentry Galaxy U16 team, who has committed to the Gophers.
* Forward James Snuggerud of Chaska.
* Forward Charlie Stramel of Rosemount.
The U.S. Under-17 team, coached by Cottage Grove native Seth Appert, competes in the USHL, along with select games against NAHL teams, in the Minnesota Elite League and in three international tournaments.
"While we weren't able to hold our typical evaluation camp because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's just one component of our overall process,'' said Kevin Reiter, director of player personnel for the national development team program. "We're fortunate to have a terrific network of scouts, along with our own staff, in place to help in selecting the team. In the end, it's never easy to get to the final roster as there are so many talented players in our country.''
