USHL players shine in Team USA's Hlinka Gretzky Cup pregame wins

Jake Prunty’s two assists helped Team USA beat Slovakia 4-2 in pre-tournament play in Edmonton, and the USHL imprint was impossible to miss. Ryland Rooney scored once, Joey Cullen scored once and Ethan Sung added an assist, giving the U.S. a cluster of junior-league production before the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup even began.

That output mattered because the roster was not handed out casually. USA Hockey announced a 23-player U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team on July 27 after bringing 36 players to selection camp from July 23-27 at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota. The final group included 13 USHL players, a clear sign that the league remains one of the main routes into Team USA’s top international age-group lineup.

For scouts, Prunty’s line in the Slovakia game was the kind that carries weight beyond a box score. Two assists in a game against an under-18 international opponent point to clean puck movement and the ability to create offense in structured play. Rooney and Cullen finished chances, and Sung’s assist added another layer of secondary production, the sort coaches want when the matchup tightens and the top line cannot do everything.

The tournament itself runs Aug. 3-8 in Edmonton, Alberta, with preliminary-round games at Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena. Team USA opened the event with a 6-4 win over Czechia on Aug. 3, led by a hat trick from Gavin Burcar. That result showed the offense was not dependent on one source, even as the USHL contingent kept feeding the attack in the lead-up.

The U.S. enters the 2026 event with a recent standard to defend after winning the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, its first title at the tournament since 2003. The event, which began in 1991 and has carried several names over the years before becoming the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2018, has long been one of the sharpest barometers for under-18 talent. For USHL players, these games offered a direct audition against elite international competition, and Prunty, Rooney, Cullen and Sung answered with production that should travel back to their clubs when the season opens.