The United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) had eight players drafted in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft and a total of 17 players throughout the seven rounds. The team was filled with some amazingly talented prospects like Cole Caufield, Matt Boldy, Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras and first overall pick Jack Hughes.

It was arguably the best team that the USNTDP has ever iced in their existence, but as is the case in any elite junior program, there is set to be plenty of turnover in the lineup. The USNTDP has been on an upward trend over the past decade and wants to continue to be the premier source for American draft prospects.

The 2020 draft has been talked up many scouts about being one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. The first round is jam-packed with talented scorers, 2-way centres and puck-moving defenders. The 2019-20 USNTDP has players that fit those definitions and though it may not be as strong as the previous year, it will be another crop of talented Americans trying to make a case to be a first round pick.

The turnover at the USNTDP is a yearly tradition and each year a handful of talented prospect begin the season on a lot of pre-season mock drafts. I decided to reach out to the managing editor of Eliteprospects and former CA editor J.D. Burke. I asked these two how many players they thought could go in the first round from the USNTDP.

“I’d say somewhere between three and five could end up there. Ty Smilanic, Jake Sanderson and Thomas Bordeleaux are the safest three” said J.D. He also said not to sleep on defenceman Brock Faber, who I am a big fan of as well and it’s not just because we share the same last name.

I also reached out to the draft guru Cam Robinson from DobberProspects, who differed in his opinion. “There might not be any firsts in that group. Ty Smilanic probably has the best chance”.  When I told him Burke had 3-5 going in the first round, Cam replied, “I mean, that’s possible. But I’d be surprised. It’s still so early”. He also went on to say that in his rankings 25-50 isn’t far apart from each other in early November.

All in all there are plenty of top end prospects on this years team, whether they are first round prospects or not will be decided closer to the draft once we see these players compete at some major tournaments and finish up their seasons. For now the USNTDP is in it’s annual rebuild. The team was blessed with talent in 2018-19 and this years team may lack the top end talent but a few players to keep an eye out for are Ty Smilanic, Luke Tuch, Brock Faber, Thomas Bordeleau and Brett Berard.

The United Stats have been pumping out talent and speaking with their play by play voice Pete Krupsky last season he talked about watching the 2018-19 when they were 17 and knowing that it was going to be a special season. The feeling may be different for this year’s squad but it is likely we will see some very talented players come from the USNTDP for years to come.