Muskegon alum Carter Amico shines at USA Hockey showcase scrimmage

Carter Amico’s showing at USA Hockey’s World Junior Summer Showcase scrimmage fit the profile of a player ready for a bigger stage. The Muskegon Lumberjacks alum drew notice for his poise and maturity against elite peers at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, where the showcase ran July 25-Aug. 2 as part of the process to choose the roster for the IIHF World Junior Championship.

Amico’s rise carried USHL fingerprints. Colten St. Clair, a USHL coach, praised the way Amico managed the game after his time in the league, a sign that Muskegon’s recent run mattered as much as the individual audition. The Lumberjacks’ first-ever Clark Cup title in 2025 gave that development extra weight, with Amico leaving a championship environment and arriving at an event built to sort out who can handle pressure, pace and decision-making against the best junior players in North America and Europe.

That standard showed up immediately in the games around him. USA Hockey opened the showcase on July 27 with USA White beating Finland 5-2 and Sweden edging USA Blue 4-3. Finland then beat USA Blue 3-2 and USA White fell 4-3 on July 28, before Sweden knocked off the U.S. 6-3 and Finland topped Canada on July 30. Sweden then beat Canada 8-4 and Finland beat the U.S. 6-3 on Aug. 1, and Canada closed with a 6-2 win over the U.S. while Finland beat Sweden 3-1 on Aug. 2.

The numbers around the event underscored how central the USHL remains to USA Hockey’s evaluation process. The league said on July 9 that USA Hockey had invited 39 USHL players to the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase, a deep pool that keeps Junior A hockey tied directly to national-team consideration. Amico’s performance belonged in that current: not just another camp rep, but evidence that a player can leave Muskegon more composed, more responsible with the puck and more prepared for the speed of international competition.