NTDP adds Prunty, Mineman and Roed to U18 roster for 2026-27

USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program added defensemen Charlie Mineman and Jake Prunty, plus forward Nash Roed, to its Under-18 Team for 2026-27, giving USHL followers another clear case of league production turning into national-team opportunity. Prunty is the headliner: a Clark Cup winner with Sioux Falls, a UMass Amherst commit and a player with real 2027 first-round buzz.

The NTDP said the trio will first dress for the 2026-27 U.S. National Under-18 Team on Sept. 11 against the Muskegon Lumberjacks in a USHL preseason game at Trinity Health Arena. One day later, the group is scheduled to skate in the program’s annual Play with Purpose Charity Hockey Game at USA Hockey Arena, the first public checkpoint for a roster built to chase medals and draft stock at the same time.

Rod Braceful, the NTDP’s director of player personnel, welcomed the players and their families and said the group embodies the program’s standard. He said the NTDP is “honored” to welcome them and added that they reflect the program’s commitment to excellence. That matters for a league like the USHL, where every major NTDP call-up doubles as a recruiting pitch: produce here, and the path to Plymouth opens.

Prunty’s case is the loudest example. In 2025-26, he played 44 games for Sioux Falls and put up 37 points, with four goals and 33 assists, then finished at plus-5. His 33 assists led all USHL rookie skaters, and his 0.84 points per game ranked best among rookie defensemen. He also earned a place on the 2025-26 USHL All-Rookie First Team, and Sioux Falls had not had a first-team rookie selection since the 2020-21 season.

That kind of rookie season is exactly why Prunty’s name has started to circulate as a potential 2027 first-rounder. He did not just score from the blue line; he drove offense, translated quickly in a title race, and did it while helping the Stampede win the 2025-26 Clark Cup. For a defenseman from Ilava, Slovakia, who has already played at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship, the NTDP is the next place to turn a strong USHL résumé into a louder national profile.

Mineman and Roed add to the U18 class, but Prunty is the one USHL people will track closest. His move is the latest reminder that the league is not just a stopover. For top prospects, it is becoming the route that gets noticed.