All of the 41 American players invited to Minneapolis this week to participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase have hopes of making the final Team USA roster and playing for a gold medal in January 2026.

For nine of them, the goal is to add to their precious metal collection.

They are returnees from the 2025 American team that defeated Finland in overtime in the most recent gold medal game, and while Bob Motzko did not coach that team, he sees them as valuable known commodities whose contributions at the Showcase are not only felt on the rink.

“The big thing with the returning players, the nine of them, is what they’re doing off the ice, probably far more important than on the ice, because we know what they can do,” said Motzko, the Gophers’ coach who has the reins of Team USA for this go-round. “They raise the temperature when they’re around the group. They’ve shown leadership. They’ve shown great character. Their work ethic has been great.”

Motzko was chosen for the job in large part due to his track record at the helm, having led the Americans to a gold medal and a bronze medal in his previous two stints with the job. And, just as he brings invaluable experience to the position, players like Chaska, Minn., native Adam Kleber feel like what they learned and what they felt last winter in Ottawa at the 2025 World Juniors is vital to pass along to the players they hope to have as teammates for the 2026 tournament.

“Just standing on the blue line at the end of the tournament and singing your country’s national anthem,” said Kleber, a defenseman who will be a sophomore at UMD this winter. “You don’t want to be singing any other team’s national anthem, so I think that’s kind of a real motivator. Especially having the tournament in Minnesota and playing for a lot more than just a gold medal.”

Scouts and sons

Ridder Arena has been NHL scout central this week, with representatives from Anaheim to Ottawa and everywhere in between filling their notebooks and iPads with the observations of the top players from the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland.

Detroit Red Wings assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff has been a particularly interested observer, not only looking for future stars to play in Motown, but having a vested interest in one particular Team USA winger.

After a solid first season of college hockey at Michigan, Will Horcoff was selected 24th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, and in addition to vying for a Big Ten title with the Wolverines and a gold medal with Team USA, he’s certainly a candidate to emulate his father, who skated in more than 1,000 NHL games with the Oilers, Stars and Ducks over a 14-season pro career.

“It just shows how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was watching him play,” Will Horcoff said. “It’s kind of crazy that now the roles are reversed and he’s watching me. But he’s been a great guide my whole life and he’s taught me so much about how to be a player and a man.”

While Will wears maize and blue in college, his father skated for in-state rival Michigan State. So father working for the Red Wings and son potentially playing for the rival Penguins is not an overly new dynamic in the Horcoff family.

“He won’t wear anything that says ‘Michigan’ until we win a national championship,” Will said. “So I’ve gotta do that first. A little pressure on me.”

A few sections over from where Horcoff and Michigan head coach Brandon Naurato were talking, former Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Derek Plante – now scouting for the Ottawa Senators – watched intently as Team USA battled penalty troubles, and Team Sweden, on Wednesday afternoon.

His son Max, who will be a sophomore at UMD this college hockey season, has not been on the ice for the Americans due to a nagging injury. But Max played a role for Team USA’s gold medal and is widely expected to make the final 2026 roster for the Americans. The elder Plante, who was a star for the Bulldogs and a member of the 1999 Stanley Cup champions in Dallas, said getting paid to watch hockey when your child is in the mix is a special thing.

“It gets me in the rink, anyway,” Derek said, with a smile. “I don’t have a lot of decision-making power for him but it’s fun to watch all these games. I got to watch Max grow up and also I’ve seen a lot of these kids grow up. I get to know a little bit more about them as a scout.”

On Team USA, Plante and Horcoff play alongside college rivals from Minnesota, Michigan State, North Dakota and other powerhouses. But with many of them having played together for Team USA at different times, there is a different kind of rivalry that plays out.

“I think it’s still just as competitive. It’s like playing against your brother every day,” Derek Plante said. “The guy you hate most to lose to is the guy that’s going to tease you every day. I think they get just as competitive.”

What could have been for Gophers fans

The last time Cole Eiserman played at 3M Arena at Mariucci, as a member of USA Hockey’s National U-18 team a few seasons ago, he heard a smattering of boos from Gophers fans. If things had gone differently, he could have been a fan favorite in Minnesota.

Eiserman was a member of Team USA’s gold medal effort last season, and is coming off a monster freshman season at Boston University. Although he hails from Massachusetts, he played prep hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, and comes from a family with ties to the Twin Cities. So it was a pleasant surprise for Gophers fans in September 2022 when – coming off scoring 56 goals in 53 games for Shattuck, Eiserman announced his commitment to play college hockey at Minnesota.

Roughly 54 weeks later, with a parent battling an illness and Cole wanting to be closer to home, he changed course and announced he would play college hockey for the Terriers instead. He was picked by the New York Islanders in the opening round of the 2024 NHL Draft, and last season captured a Beanpot title and that WJC gold medal while helping BU reach the NCAA title game.

While dealing with a nagging minor injury, Wednesday’s loss to Sweden at Ridder was the first real game Eiserman had played since the Terriers’ loss to Western Michigan in the Frozen Four finale more than three months ago. Interviewed by reporters on the floor of what would have been his home rink if he had stayed with his original college choice, Eiserman had nothing but praise for the Gophers.

“Great institution here. Really good school, and hockey, everything’s been top notch throughout everything,” Eiserman said. “Obviously a little weird being back here, but they’re great people that I still talk to, and it’s good to be here, see the M, see Mariucci and a lot of memories here.”

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