EDMONTON, Alberta — It’s a process that started in June for Brainerd native Kade Stengrim.
The young hockey player survived six sets of cuts to make Team USA Under-18 Select roster that played in the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Aug. 5-10 in Edmonton, Canada.
“Once you make it out of your section then there’s the final 54 where you get selected to go to New York for national camp,” Stengrim said. “Then you get selected to Hlinka Gretzky Camp and then you have to make the final roster. I pretty much started in early June and you get thinned out.”
To make the cut to play for Team USA is an accomplishment Stengrim won’t forget.
“I was pumped,” he said. “Just being from where I’m from, not many kids get the opportunity to represent their country at an international stage. I was really excited to talk to my family and tell them.”
Stengrim finished his junior season with the Brainerd Warriors as the points leader with 24 goals and 22 assists. As a sophomore, he registered 18 goals and 18 assists and was third in points for the Warriors.
Essentia Health Sports Center in Brainerd.
He will be playing junior hockey this winter. He was drafted by the Youngstown Phantoms and hopes to make their final roster.
“I’m actually in Youngstown, Ohio, right now at a training camp,” Stengrim said. “Hopefully, I can make the final roster when it is set. So my fingers are crossed and I have a pretty hard week coming up.”
After making the Hlinka Gretzky Cup team, Stengrim and his new teammates went to Top Golf before flying to Calgary and bussing to Edmonton the next morning, where they would play an exhibition game against Slovakia.
“We bussed right over to where the Edmonton Oilers play and kind of thrown right in the fire with a game against Slovakia right off the gate,” Stengrim said. “Playing against all these players who are probably pretty high NHL draft picks this year and all these kids that played major junior hockey in Canada and we had some studs who played some in the USHL last year. So to learn from them and kind of work that into my game and then bring what I do to the team as well.”
In the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, USA went 2-1 in pool play with a 3-1 win over Finland and a 12-3 victory against Germany after opening the tournament with a 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic.
In the semifinals, USA lost 9-1 to Canada and then fell to Sweden in the third-place game 6-3.
Stengrim saw limited ice time, but thought he played his role well.
“I was in a completely different role,” he said. “I’m used to kind of going every other shift at Brainerd, but playing with these dudes my role was pretty limited, but I think when I was out there I did my part. I thought I played pretty well.”
Stengrim said wearing the Red, White and Blue was indescribable.
“I take a lot of pride in putting on a Brainerd jersey and I bleed blue,” he said. “But putting on the colors is second to none. Seeing my favorite number nine on the back of a USA jersey with my last name on it was insane.”