The USA National Team Development Program
(NTDP) was created in 1996 for the most noblest of purposes: To train American
born hockey players to compete at the highest levels of the game. The program
boasts some impressive players as alumni: Patrick Kane, Jack Eichl, Phil
Kessel, and Dylan Larkin all skated for the program. Three #1 overall NHL draft
picks played for this team. 19 NTDP players went to compete in the Olympics. In
fact, it was announced just the day before this game that four more NTDP alumni
will go to this year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. There are two teams, an
Under 17 squad and Under 18 squad, and virtually all of the players for both
teams are committed to playing for high-end Division I NCAA teams. Overall, 61
players from this program were on opening night NHL rosters.
It is, as The Hockey News put it, “A hockey
factory”, an advanced prep school for players with tremendous upside to their
budding hockey careers. And it’s here, right in the Detroit area’s backyard. This
rink, originally built in 1996 by Detroit tycoon (and hockey nut) Peter
Karmanos to house his Ontario Hockey League Plymouth Whalers, was sold to USA Hockey
in 2015 and the NTDP teams moved from Ann Arbor to Plymouth. There is an NHL
sized rink in a 4000-seat arena as well as a smaller spectator capacity Olympic
sized sheet. It’s modern and very clean. In fact, I’ve never seen such a clean
rink. There are professional displays about USA Hockey’s great moments players,
and builders. Female players and teams are featured prominently. I’m not
someone who wears patriotism on my sleeve, but I was moved and impressed. I
thought of the time I was in Lake Placid, New York on a motorcycle trip and I
just had to visit the fabled Herb Brooks Arena, site of perhaps the most famous
hockey game ever played, The Miracle On Ice. A bunch of American college kids
defeated a de facto professional level Soviet Union national team. There was nothing
going on when I was in the historic arena, but just to be there, where this
game was played, with the voice of Al Michaels screaming into his microphone
“Do you believe in miracles? YES!” in my head was a transcendental experience.
There would be no miracle on ice for either
team in this game. Team USA’s opponent tonight is Ferris State, a refugee from
the CCHA (disbanded in 2013) now playing in the WCHA. Hockey is the school’s
only Division I sport. For the Bulldogs, this is an exhibition game. For Team
USA, this game is a chance to see how they match up against the next level of
competition, i.e. college kids playing a bunch of high schoolers. For me, it
was finally a chance to see this rink. I had been meaning to come here for,
well, 20+ years, but I never made it. My mistake. For a mere $10, I got a seat
behind the Team USA net. First row, on the glass. I was seeing pretty much what
the goalie saw and the glass shook as the players went after the puck on the
boards. It was like being in the game. As a former goalie, it was a treat for
me. It also meant I got a good look at Drew DeRidder, the Team USA goalie who
has committed to the Michigan State hockey program, my favorite college hockey
team. DeRidder doesn’t disappoint, ashe made several strong saves enroute to a
5-1 Team USA victory. He displayed good positioning, and his glove hand was
quick. He had excellent lateral movement, and was playing his angles with confidence.
He even had a little quirk of doing a short hop on his skates after a face off
in the opposite end of the rink. I think MSU will be in good hands in the
coming seasons, at least in goal. Ferris State, perhaps because it was an
exhibition game, didn’t compete as well as the younger Team USA did, and lost
the game as a result. Only a goal with about three minutes left in the game prevented
DeRidder from getting a shutout, and the sizeable Ferris State contingent in
the crowd finally had something to cheer about, but too little too late. 
This game was a great
experience. The place was oozing positivity and was upbeat with the promise of
the future for both the individual players and the program itself. It was an
uplifting experience, and made me excited about the state of hockey in my
country. And it’s here, right in our
backyard. The most advanced prep program for hockey in this country. Go see a
game at Team USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth. You’ll be happy you did.
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