
David Ma (Yonkers, N.Y.) has honed his skills with the Shattuck-St. Mary’s 16-U team. (Matt Addington/Shattuck-St. Mary’s)
The 2019 USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp at Northtown Center in Amherst, N.Y., showcased many of the top 2002-born defensemen in the United States, sans those on the NTDP.
From the camp, seven defensemen were chosen to represent USA Hockey on the 2019 U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team that will compete at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Slovakia and Czech Republic from Aug. 5-10.
The crop of blueliners in this age group isn’t as deep as the forwards. There wasn’t a whole lot to be excited about in terms of 2020 NHL draft prospects, nor were there many uncommitted defensemen who piqued the interest of college coaches in attendance.