To say Judd Caulfield was in good company with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program is putting it mildly.
Caulfield, the Penguins’ fifth-round pick and a University of North Dakota recruit, was one of 17 NTDP players selected in the 2019 NHL draft, with eight teammates selected in the first round, including first overall pick Jack Hughes.
The #NTDP had 8️⃣ first round picks and 17 total players selected at this weekend's #NHLDraft! 🇺🇸
— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) June 25, 2019
"I think @usahockey's in really good hands with all the star players that are in the league already and (there's) a lot more coming." -@jackhughes43. pic.twitter.com/4sQoApVHv0
That’s good for a program and NHL record, according to USA Hockey, since a single team had never had more than four players taken in the first round. Seven of the first 15 selections were American, which is a first, per USA hockey.
“It was definitely pretty special to be a part of the U.S. team,” said Caulfield, a power forward, on Day 2 of the Penguins’ prospect development camp. “There’s a lot of great talents there and it was fun to become great friends with them over the years. … You just cherish every moment, I guess. You can’t really take anything for granted.”
NTDP, based in Plymouth, Mich., is a full-time development program for players under 18.
The significance of the team’s strong showing in the draft isn’t lost on Caulfield, who recorded 26 goals, 48 assists and 74 points the past two seasons.
“It’s great to see that American hockey is kind of taking off,” Caulfield said. “There’s a lot of powerhouses in international hockey, so it’s really great to see that and take pride in that, being an American.”
The team’s meaning also isn’t lost on Penguins GM Jim Rutherford.
Rutherford credits NTDP, as well as the league expanding further south in the 1990s, with helping the sport grow in America, a driving factor for hockey players who could potentially have gravitated toward other, more entrenched sports instead. That could include big, powerful athletes such as Caulfield (6 feet 4, 205 pounds).
According to USA Hockey, American youth hockey participation has been steadily inching up the past few years, going from 350,885 in 2010-2011 to 382,514 in 2017-18.
“That program is a terrific program,” Rutherford said. “They’ve done a wonderful job with it. Hockey continues to grow in the United States. I don’t think it’s to anybody’s surprise that it’s growing [considering] the way the National Hockey League is growing with the footprint that the league has put in place. And going way back, when I started in management in the Ontario Hockey League years ago [in the 1980s], we used to talk about the American players.
“One of the things we said was at that time, the best athletes that were American were picking football, basketball and baseball. They weren’t really thinking about hockey. And we had to grow the sport so those athletes would start to look at hockey — and that’s what happened.”
While it’s difficult to stand out at a prospect camp, Caulfield, who also had a successful high school career, helping Grand Forks Central to a state title in 2017, comes in ready to build off his experiences and develop his skills further.
“It’s really special, just throwing on the Penguins crest for the first time, it’s something I’ll remember for a lifetime,” Caulfield said. “It’s awesome.”
Sarah K. Spencer: sspencer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @sarah_k_spence.
First Published: June 27, 2019, 7:10 p.m.
