The two age groups that will be battling for the final roster spot for the U18 national teams were in camp in January, U17 this week and U18 last week.
The two mini camps were almost carbon copies of each other as the two minicamps contained 4 on ice session, 2 and 2 on each day. In between the two practices Glen Williamson and his staff would hold a meeting for the teams.
The U18 roster was made up of 4 goalie 15 defencemen and 21 forwards coming from seven Hungarian clubs, with the U17 squad had 4 goalies, 11 defensemen, 17 forwards with two skaters being able to play both positions.
Goalie coach Csaba Máthé gave us some insight onto what was happening during the U17 mini camp. “We can see that we have started to wear them down and we have been watching to see how much they can be worn down and also we have seen a number of players improve since the last time they were in camp. We have been working on the power play and the penalty kills these two days along with having meetings as well.” Máthé also talked about the goalie situation at the age group. “We try to see as many goalies in action as we can, the goalies we have here were not able to play in in the tournament in December because they were on the younger side. It is important to mention that there are about 10 goalies who are from the 1999 age group who in the long run could play for the national teams. It is great to see that not only are there a number of skaters but also we have a large number of goalies. Right now we are looking to find the two best goalies for the U18 world championships but also the best lineup we could have not necessarily the best players.”
The U17 and U18 rosters can be found here and here.