PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Two goaltenders who grew up about 40 miles apart in southwest Minnesota are among 29 participants in the USA Hockey National Goaltending Camp.
The event started Thursday and runs through Sunday at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.
Among the participating netminders are Carsen Musser of Sherburn and Hobie Hedquist of Heron Lake.
Musser played for the U.S. National Under-17 Team this winter. He played in 24 games and had a 7-9-1 record.
His goals against average was 3.64 and his save percentage was .885. Musser had one shutout.
Hedquist spent this past season with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the British Columbia Hockey League.
He was a finalist for the Top Goaltender Award in the league.
Hedquist, a University of North Dakota commit, compiled a record of 28-9 during the regular season in his first campaign in the BCHL.
He was first in the league in minutes played (2470), tied for first in wins (28), second in shutouts (5), sixth in goals against average (2.53) and 10th in save percentage (.909). The five shutouts tied an Alberni Valley franchise record.
In the BCHL Playoffs, he had a 6-4 record, with one of those losses coming in a triple overtime game.
During those games he had a goals against average of 1.98 with one shutout and a .920 save percentage in 635 minutes.
Hedquist is listed as the No. 27 North American goalie prospect in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking prior to the NHL Entry Draft July 7-8 in Montreal.
Only one other boy from Minnesota is participating in the camp, Jack Stark of Chaska and the Chicago Steel of the USHL.
Three girls are in Plymouth, Josie Bothum of Wyoming and Penn State; Makayla Pahl of Rochester and the University of Minnesota; and Alexandra Pellicci of Prior Lake and Harvard.
The camp consists on-ice training, skill development, video analysis and team building activities. Participants are 17-21 years old. It has not been held since 2019.
David Lassonde, USA Hockey’s national goaltending coach, says that the camp is important in the process of identifying potential candidates for national teams.
Lassonde served on the U.S. staff at both the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
Others on the camp staff are Steve Thompson, most recently an assistant coach for the 2022 U.S. Olympic women’s ice hockey Team; Jared Waimon, a member of U.S. staffs at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship; and Alli Altmann, goalie coach for the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team.