More than a dozen of the hopefuls for the American entry in the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship will feel right at home as they participate in Team USA’s formal tryout camp in late July.

On Wednesday, USA Hockey announced the 42 players invited to skate in the World Junior Summer Showcase, which begins July 25 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Minnesotans dominate the roster, with 14 from the State of Hockey set to participate. California and Illinois are next on the list with five players each.

The Showcase will include 11 scrimmages involving teams from the USA, Canada, Finland and Sweden. The Showcase will help the participating nations work to set their rosters for the 2026 tournament, which will be played at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis starting in late December.

The Minnesotans invited are goaltenders Kam Hendrickson (Chanhassen) and Caleb Heil (Victoria); defensemen Logan Hensler (Woodbury), Adam Kleber (Chaska), Sam Laurila (Moorhead), Jacob Rombach (Blaine), Will Skahan (Woodbury) and John Whipple (Minnetonka); and forwards Jacob Kvasnicka (Wayzata), Brendan McMorrow (Lakeville), Max Plante (Hermantown), Cullen Potter (Minneapolis), Will Zellers (Maple Grove) and Brodie Ziemer (Hutchinson).

Kvasnicka, Rombach, Whipple and Ziemer are all either current or future Gophers. In addition, incoming Gophers forward L.J. Mooney, who is from the Pittsburgh suburbs, will skate for Team USA at the Showcase.

Gophers head coach Bob Motzko will coach the Americans in their efforts to win a third consecutive gold medal. Nine of the players who will participate in the Showcase — Hensler, Kleber, Plante, Ziemer, Cole Hutson (North Barrington, Ill.), Trevor Connelly (Tustin, Calif.), Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.), James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y.), Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) — skated for the gold medal-winning 2025 American team.

Tickets for the Showcase are on sale via the Gophers ticket office.

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