Six days on the ice and five games later, the boys from Minnesota have all safely returned home from the 2015 National Camp in New York. In addition to lots of hockey, the boys took in several great speakers and made some great friendships with other coaches and players.

On the ice, Blake McLaughlin finished with the fifth most points of the 200+ skaters. A continuing trend for the forward from Grand Rapids - wherever he plays he piles up the points. Soon to be ninth graders Ben Brinkman and Trevor Janicke left New York with a lot of props. Brinkman was the second leading Defenseman in scoring with 5 points in five games. The 2014 Wiz Wyatt Winner impressed scouts with his skating and ability to make plays. Janicke amassed 6 points in five games and caught the eye of every top Division I program this past week. His speed and consistency were eye catching all week.

Other Minnesotans who had nice performances were Brendan McFadden from Sibley...he impressed scoring three goals and controlled play with his size and speed. Keegan Karki from Sartell finished second in Save Percentage (.921) and fourth in Goals Allowed (2.40).

For many of the players this will be their last time ever skating at a USA Camp, the turnover each year, especially for Minnesota players is high. For some this was the next step toward a spot on the US National Development Team in the Fall of 2016. It is likely that roughly 100 of this week's campers have been identified for an invite to next Spring's tryout in Ann Arbor, with 50 eventually getting the call. 

Each of the last three years, Minnesota has had the most players invited - we expect that trend to continue next March with 7-10 boys from the State of Hockey on the list. 

As of today, we see the following seven as locks for an invite to the Spring Tryout. Blake McLaughlin should be invited, if not for any other reason than his creative play and ability to score points. Devlin McCabe is a likely choice, the SPA star has all the tools to skate for Team USA. Jaxon Nelson and K'Andre Miller are both cinches to be in Ann Arbor next March. Their ceiling is so high physically, there is no way these two will be left at home.

The young guns, Ben Brinkman and Trevor Janicke let their scoring and talent do the talking this week. They will be in Ann Arbor in March. Keegan Karki likely made an impression this week. He was both physically and statistically the best goalie in the camp. His size is very appealing and his ability is almost as strong.

Others who deserve a look are Jack Perbix...the kid has great skill and has a very bright future. Gavin Hain did not produce on the score sheet, but scouts tell us he didn't make many friends in the corners. Don't be surprised if Todd Scott from Albertville ends up on the USNDTP radar, too.

Another player that will get a serious look who wasn't in camp was Dawson Klein from Lakeville South...he has returned to the ice this Summer after a Spring injury. Klein has great skill for a Defenseman. 

That is 11 players who are likely on the radar of Ryan Hardy and the US National selection committee. Likely there are five to 10 more that they like and five to 10 more that are skilled enough to catch their eye over the next 7 months.

It seems every year, players from Minnesota are missed by the Minnesota Hockey selection process. Having so many great players it is understandable how this happens. Last year, Edina's Clayton Phillips was not selected to New York. Since then, he went on to skate Varsity for Edina as a ninth grader, get drafted in the first round in the USHL, and be selected to the Team USA Five Nations team in July. Each year there are 2-3 of these success stories from Minnesota players...who will be this year's Clayton Phillips? 

Stay tuned.