Team USA wins gold at the 2026 U17 Four Nations

The United States captured gold at the 2026 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament on Wednesday, defeating host Czechia 5-4 in a shootout in Chomutov, CZE. 

The tournament, held from August 15-19, featured Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States, with the U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team comprised of players selected from the USA Hockey Boys National 16 Player Development Camp.

Team USA finished the tournament undefeated with a 1-3-0-0 record (W-OTW-OTL-L), flipping the script from a year ago. After falling to Czechia in the 2025 championship game, the Americans returned the favour this time around, defeating the host nation in a shootout to capture gold.

Brantford Bulldogs forward Aiden Kelly played the hero in the championship game, scoring the deciding goal in the shootout to lift the United States to a 5-4 victory.

Kelly, selected 20th overall by Brantford in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection, finished the tournament with three goals in four games. He was one of two signed OHL players on the U.S. roster alongside Niagara IceDogs prospect Max Lappan, who was selected ninth overall in the 2026 OHL Priority Selection and appeared in all four games of the tournament.

Seven additional OHL-drafted prospects represented the United States at the tournament, including Rylan Aufderheide (Sudbury), Dylan Delgado (Peterborough), Austin Hall (Owen Sound), Chase Pastor (Sarnia), Christopher Pinko (London), Jack Riehl (Owen Sound) and Benjamin Slavick (Ottawa).