Twenty WHLers gunning for spots on USA Hockey’s 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup squad
Amherst, N.Y.- Twenty Western Hockey League players have made their case to crack USA Hockey’s 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster.
More than 200 players representing 12 regions of the United States have taken part in the annual Boys National 17 Festival from July 1-13 at the Northtown Center at Amherst.
The tournament features on-and-off ice training while giving USA Hockey brass the chance to evaluate and select players for the 2025 U.S. Under-18 Select Team for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Six skaters competed in the WHL in 2024-25, including Medicine Hat Tigers forward and Ed Chynoweth Cup winner Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, who picked up three goals and two assists in six games for the Rocky Mountain District at the festival, while another 14 players have signed WHL Scholarship and Development Agreements with their respective clubs.
Gordon-Carroll buried six goals and 19 assists for 25 points and a +24 ranking in 55 games in his rookie campaign, in addition to another five points (2G-3A) in the postseason.
The Tabbies originally selected the Salt Lake City, Utah product with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
Vancouver, Wash.’s Brody Gillespie clashed with Gordon-Carroll’s Tigers in the 2025 WHL Championship Series, though the Spokane Chiefs would bow out in six games.
Gillespie, the first-overall pick in the 2023 U.S. Priority Draft, bagged eight goals (including two game-winners) and three assists for 11 points in 59 games with Spokane and another four points (1G-3A) in a long postseason run.
A 6-foot-1, 179-pound centreman, Gillespie scored twice and added a pair of assists for four points in six games for the Southeastern District at the USA Hockey tournament.
His Southeastern teammate, Kalder Varga, tied for the tournament lead in scoring with six goals and one assist for seven points in six outings.
Varga, from Geneva, Ill., led all Kelowna Rockets rookies in scoring in 2024-25 with 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 58 contests.
He was chosen with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 U.S. Priority Draft and looks to take another step forward in 2025-26 with Kelowna slated to host the 2026 Memorial Cup.
Gordon-Carroll, Gillespie and Varga also captured gold for Team USA at the 2024 Five Nations Tournament, where Gordon-Carroll served as team captain.
Notably, Noah Davidson (Irvine, Calif.) scored twice, including the game-winner in the gold-medal game.
Davidson has committed to Boston College for 2027-28 and is expected to join Medicine Hat for the upcoming season.
Other participants include intimidating 6-foot-2, 229-pound Edmonton Oil Kings blueliner Noa Ta’amu, who netted three points (1G-2A) for the Pacific District.
Ta’amu hails from San Diego, Calif., and suited up for 43 games in Oil Country in 2024-25, snagging six points (1G-5A) in addition to five playoff appearances.
Englewood, Col. centreman Luke Wilfley also potted a goal and three assists for the Rocky Mountain District.
He made his WHL debut in December of 2024 with the Portland Winterhawks and picked up two helpers in his first six WHL games.
Defenceman Benett Kelly, from Cochrane, Alta., also represented the Rocky Mountain District.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound rearguard made three appearances for the Prince Albert in 2024-25. His father, Steve, is a former NHLer who also played for the Raiders from 1992-96.
The Hlinka Gretzky Cup runs from August 11-16, 2025, in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia.
WHL players participating in the 2025 USA Hockey Boys National 17 Festival
| Last Name | First Name | WHL Club | District Team | Hometown | Height | Weight | Position |
| Dillard | Cameron | Everett | New England | Arlington, Texas | 6’3 | 192 | D |
| Egan | Jimmy | Brandon | Northern Plains | Mahtomedi, Minn. | 6’2 | 185 | F |
| Jundt | Keaton | Calgary | Northern Plains | West Fargo, N.D. | 5’11 | 170 | F |
| Rudolph | Hunter | Everett | Northern Plains | West Fargo, N.D. | 5’10 | 160 | F |
| Burick | Sean | Penticton | Pacific | San Clemente, Calif. | 6’7 | 196 | D |
| Clark | Gavin | Saskatoon | Pacific | Newport Beach, Calif. | 6’2 | 185 | F |
| Davidson | Noah | Medicine Hat | Pacific | Irvine, Calif. | 6’2 | 198 | F |
| Gustafson | Jake | Portland | Pacific | San Jose, Calif. | 6’3 | 180 | F |
| Shadrick | Owen | Red Deer | Pacific | Valencia, Calif. | 6’2 | 165 | F |
| Ta’amu | Noa | Edmonton | Pacific | San Diego, Calif. | 6’2 | 229 | D |
| Torre | Zane | Red Deer | Pacific | Ladera Ranch, Calif. | 6’0 | 185 | F |
| Vauhkonen | Odin | Victoria | Pacific | Newport Beach, Calif. | 6’1 | 190 | D |
| Amrhein | Landon | Calgary | Rocky Mountain | Celina, Texas | 6’4 | 185 | F |
| Gordon-Carroll | Shaeffer | Medicine Hat | Rocky Mountain | Salt Lake City, Utah | 6’0 | 181 | F |
| Kelly | Benett | Prince Albert | Rocky Mountain | Cochrane, Alta. | 6’1 | 179 | D |
| McLaughlin | Will | Portland | Rocky Mountain | Canmore, Alta. | 6’2 | 170 | D |
| Silaban | Mathias | Wenatchee | Rocky Mountain | Arvada, Col. | 6’2 | 170 | F |
| Wilfley | Luke | Portland | Rocky Mountain | Englewood, Col. | 6’0 | 172 | F |
| Gillespie | Brody | Spokane | Southeastern | Vancouver, Wash. | 6’1 | 179 | F |
| Varga | Kalder | Kelowna | Southeastern | Geneva, Ill. | 5’11 | 170 | F |
Loading ...