BUILDING
by Bob Reinert
CHAMPIONS
OR EVIDENCE OF USA HOCKEY'S PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
EFFORTS PAYING OFF, look no further than the gold medals
won this year by the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey and Paralympic Sled
Hockey Teams.
The work that went into winning those three gold medals started
decades ago for the men and women within those programs. The
work for future success has continued this
summer at the 2026 USA Hockey Player
Development Camps.
The best teenage players in the country
descended upon Amherst, New York, and
Oxford, Ohio, this summer for on- and off-ice
work that will likely help them advance in their
hockey careers. Boys and girls came from
across the country to prove themselves
against their peers and display their tal-
ents for evaluators from the junior, college
and professional ranks. There were also
multiple sled hockey development camps
this summer in the U.S.
USA Hockey 's development camps date
back to the summer of 1977 in Squaw Valley,
California. Back then, 35 players participated in
the inaugural camp.
Between the current boys and girls camps,
there are now closer to 1,000 players and hun-
dreds of coaches and staff members who partic-
26
// SUMMER 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM
Close To 1,000 Players Participated
In Camps This Summer
