U.S. NTDP U18: September Rankings

Neutral Zone has released its first player rankings of the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U18 roster following the team’s opening six games. It has been a challenging start to the season, with the group posting a 1–5 record against a USHL schedule. Still, early trends are emerging and several players have had a good start to the 2025/26 season.

Up front, the offensive charge is led by Victor Plante (3G, 3A, 6P) and Sammy Nelson (2G, 4A, 6P), while Logan Stuart (1G, 4A, 5P) has been a steady contributor as well. On the back end, defenseman A.J. Francisco has paced the group with five assists.

The team’s most reliable defensive zone presence so far has been Jackson Marthaler, whose +3 rating leads the roster, while Sam Wathier sits at the other end of the spectrum with a -4. Overall, 11 players currently carry a negative plus/minus, while 10 remain even or above. Casey Mutryn sits atop the team leaderboard in penalty minutes with 10.

These rankings are intended to highlight individual performances in the early stretch of the season, providing a baseline of evaluation as the U18 NTDP continues through its schedule.

Rank	Name	Position	Team	Draft Grade
1	Victor Plante	LW	NTDP U18	C
2	Sammy Nelson	C	NTDP U18	A (2027)
3	Logan Stuart	C	NTDP U18	C
4	Jackson Marthaler	D	NTDP U18	C
5	AJ Francisco	D	NTDP U18	NR
6	Nick Bogas	D	NTDP U18	C+
7	Brady Knowling	G	NTDP U18	C
8	Lucas Zajic	RW	NTDP U18	B
9	Luke Schairer	D	NTDP U18	B+
10	Jamie Glance	RW	NTDP U18	C+ (2027)
11	Dayne Beuker	C	NTDP U18	C+
12	Casey Mutryn	RW	NTDP U18	A-
13	Brody George	C	NTDP U18	NR
14	Luke Carrithers	G	NTDP U18	NR
15	Aurelio Garcia	C	NTDP U18	C
16	Mikey Berchild	C	NTDP U18	A-
17	Parker Trottier	LW	NTDP U18	C+
18	Dain Gordon	RW	NTDP U18	NR
19	Tyler Martyniuk	D	NTDP U18	NR
20	Abe Barnett	D	NTDP U18	C
21	Sam Wathier	D	NTDP U18	C+
Inc.	Wyatt Cullen	LW	NTDP U18	C+
Inc.	Wyatt Jones	LW	NTDP U18	C+ (2027)

Wyatt Cullen (0 games) and Wyatt Jones (2 games) have been out.

Photo credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images