Cedar Rapids goalie Connor Dwyer named to Team USA U-17 roster

Connor Dwyer is headed to Chomutov, Czechia, after USA Hockey named the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goalie to the 20-player U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team for the Aug. 15-19 Four Nations Tournament. Team USA will meet Czechia, Slovakia and Switzerland, and Dwyer is one of two goaltenders on the roster.

For Cedar Rapids, the selection is more than a line on a summer roster. The RoughRiders took Dwyer in the 13th round, 186th overall, in the 2026 USHL Phase I Draft on May 4, and the jump from late-round pick to Team USA selection is the kind of development marker that says the organization is doing something right in net. A goalie does not get this assignment by accident; he gets it by showing enough technical steadiness and composure that USA Hockey is willing to put him in a pressure game against the top 16-year-olds in Europe and North America.

The roster was built out of the USA Hockey Boys National 16 Player Development Camp in Amherst, New York, which ran June 25-July 1. The U.S. group includes 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders, and the selection also reflects how deeply the USHL is plugged into the national pipeline. USA Hockey and the USHL noted that 14 players with league ties made the team, with six already holding tender agreements or Standard Player Development Agreements and eight listed as prospects.

Rich Hansen will serve as general manager, Guy Gosselin as head coach and Joe Palmer as goaltending coach. The roster also pulls players from 10 states, another sign that this is a true national cut, not a regional all-star team. For Dwyer, the value of the trip goes beyond the four games in Czechia: it gives him a chance to show USA Hockey where he fits against the best of his age group, and it gives Cedar Rapids a goaltender whose profile is already rising before the USHL season even starts.

The U.S. has won the Under-17 Four/Five Nations title nine times since the event began in 2007 and owns a 57-2-1-12 all-time record. In 2025, at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, Team USA went 3-0-0-1 and finished second after losing the championship game to Czechia. Dwyer now gets his own shot to add to that line, and a strong showing in August would only sharpen his visibility when the RoughRiders turn to next season.