Ivan Hlinka Tournament: USA Roster Projection

With the 2015 NHL Draft now in the rearview mirror, some of the top American prospects for the 2016 NHL Draft have been on display for scouts and college recruiters at the Northtown Center in Amherst, NY the past week.

USA Hockey will reveal its roster for the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament following the All-Star Game and conclusion of the Select 17 Player Development Camp.

As a note, players on the US National Team Development Program (USNTDP) U-18 Roster for the 2015-16 season are not eligible to participate at the camp. USA Hockey chooses to select its roster for the Hlinka Tournament solely from the pool of prospects at the Select 17 Camp, excluding USNTDP player.

Here's the roster that this observer would bring to the Czech Republic August 10-15. The crop of '98 goaltenders isn't very deep or talented, but choosing just seven defensemen was very difficult. Some good blue liners will be kept home. Up front, I tried to keep a balance of big power forwards, smaller skilled guys and a few guys who could take face offs and kill penalties.

Forwards

Chris Berger (Brown)

Eric Esposito (New Hampshire)

Timmy Gettinger

Patrick Harper (Boston University)

Jack Kopacka

Ben Lown (Miami)

Hugh McGing (Western Michigan)

Casey Mittlestadt (Minnesota)

Drake Rymsha

Sam Sternschein (Cornell)

Riley Tufte (Minnesota-Duluth)

Garrett Wait (Minnesota)

Kailer Yamamoto

Defensemen

Cam Dineen

Mitch Eliot (Michigan State)

Ty Farmer (Michigan State)

Adam Karashik (UConn)

Matt Kiersted (North Dakota)

Alec Mahalak (Miami)

Luke McInnis (Boston College)

Goaltenders

Dayton Rasmussen (Denver)

Stephen Dhillon

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Jeff Cox covers college, junior, high school and prep hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on Twitter @JeffCoxSports.