Mason

NTDP promotional quotes to attract billet families:

"Families receive a monthly stipend and complimentary season tickets to NTDP home games." x

"Each year dozens of exceptional families open their homes to the finest American amateur hockey players in the nation. These selfless families provide a vital service to the success of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program." x

"If you want your son to play at the highest level, billet a USA Hockey player." x

"[Give] them that home away from home, that family away from family, that they so desperately need when when moving away at this young age." x

Quotes from NTDP billet parents:

“I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t want some stranger to take my kid for two years." x

“You treat them like part of the family, but you don’t." x

"They are forced to mature much quicker because they have to make a lot of decisions with little to no counsel and then work with the consequences.” x

“If there’s a problem, the [biological] parents take care of it.” x

“With your own kids you’d interfere, on homework. With players, that’s not my job. It’s the team’s job to make sure their homework’s done. Unless there’s a problem in the house, if everything’s going well you just let them be.” x

“They have a lot to lose, and so they are very committed to doing well." x

“You try to time the pre-game meal, ask them what time they want it at. Just make sure they get what they need. They’re not big on breakfasts during the week, but you try to give them good lunches.” x

“We don’t talk a whole lot about ‘How was practice,’ or ‘What did you work on?’ They need a place to just get away from that.” x

"You don’t interfere. You got to learn how to be a good billet, you just let them do their thing and not interfere with anything they do." x

Quotes from the NTDP Housing FAQ, for general knowledge: x

"What happens when the host family plans to be away at a time when the players are in town? As the players are never allowed to stay at their host home overnight by themselves, the housing committee will work with the other host families to make an appropriate overnight plan when needed. This plan will be reviewed and approved by parents, billets, and coaches." "Can a player go away for the weekend with their host family? If a team has the weekend off and the parents and coaches approve of the player leaving town with the host family, the player is certainly able to enjoy a weekend away with their host family." "What meals must the host family provide for their player? Each athlete needs to have a healthy breakfast, sack lunch for the day and dinner upon returning home in the evening. Providing healthy snacks is also important for the player to maintain their desired caloric intake as designated by the team nutritionist." "Do the host families have to wash their players workout clothes/uniform? No, all athletic gear worn for training and games is washed by the NTDP equipment staff." "Are the players expected to do chores at the house? It is appropriate to expect your player to keep his living space tidy, take care of dishes, warm up meals and help with basic chores around the home as their schedule provides." "Are the hosts expected to provide transportation for their player to school, arena or for games? The host family is not expected to drive the player. When needed, the student-athletes will carpool with one another based on who does and does not have a car. Players that do not drive are expected to contribute gas money to those that drive them on a regular basis. The NTDP provides all transportation to and from away hockey games."

(Example of players carpooling: Cam York and Trevor Zegras x)

"Do the host families receive financial support? Yes, the host families receive a monthly check from USA Hockey to help provide for each player. In addition, we ask that the player’s family also contribute with grocery cards or supplies or a level of financial assistance." "Are there rules that the players follow? The NTDP provides each player, parent and host family with a rules and regulation guide that clearly outlines expectations for the young men related to behavior, curfew, academic achievement, etc. As we complete our 25th year as an organization, we feel confident that we have covered all the major areas in the guide thus leaving no grey area for creative interpretation."

Legal guardianship

"Coming to the NTDP also meant leaving home, leaving family and friends behind while also attending a new high school. Every player needed their parents to sign a power of attorney letter transferring limited guardianship over to their sons' billet parents. In order for the NTDP to provide an official local address so their players could attend school in Ann Arbor, they needed to be compliant with Michigan state law. That's why billet parents had to be granted limited guardianship. Monaghan said the NTDP still follows that process to this day." x

Players “have local legal guardians achieved through a Power of Attorney letter pursuant to MCL700.5103.” x

"There were parents who signed guardianship of their sons over to people they had never met." x

Speaking of school…

Attending school (in-person)

“Prior to moving to USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth on April 1, 2015, the NTDP was based in Ann Arbor for 19 seasons, with players attending either Pioneer High School or Huron High School. After April 1, 2015, NTDP members attend one of three high schools: Plymouth, Northville or Novi." x

Examples from the Ann Arbor era:

Pioneer High School: Ryan Whitney x, Alex Tuch x, Charlie McAvoy x, Tage Thompson x, Auston Matthews x

Huron High School: John Wroblewski x

Examples from the 2019 draft class (school districts go by location, so any billet brothers - like Trevor & Pat x or Jack & Turcs - would naturally go to the same school):

Plymouth High School: Trevor Zegras/Patrick Moynihan, Cam York, and Alex Turcotte (photo). Spencer Knight per interview x. Jack Hughes has mentioned PCEP (Plymouth Canton Educational Park) x and Plymouth ("for us guys that go to Plymouth") x.

Northville High School: Matt Boldy x, Cole Caufield x

Novi High School: Judd Caulfield & Alex Vlasic x

Daily schedule

Jack Hughes: "We're up at 6 in the morning every day. We have school starting at 7:10, for us guys that go to Plymouth. Northville, around 7:30. We leave school probably around 12. Then we leave the rink around 5:30/6. We have lifts, we skate for two hours, and then we have study hall on top of that." x

Jack Hughes: "It's not a job, but we're up at 6 a.m., going to school until 11, working out, and then skating." x

One article states: x "A typical schedule for a player in the NTDP on a nongame day could look like this:

7:30-11:45 a.m.: Attend public school at Plymouth High, Northville High or Novi High

11:50 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Individual player meeting with coach

12:15-12:40 p.m.: Lunch at USA Hockey Arena

12:45-12:55 p.m.: Team meetings

1 p.m.: Team lift (weight room)

2-4 p.m.: Practice

4:15-5 p.m.: Mandatory study hall with education director

5-6 p.m.: NHL scouting meetings/interviews"

Coach Granato: "Our kids get up at 6:30 in the morning, or 6:45. They got to be at school at 7:30 and they finish school about 1:35. They get to the rink about 2:00. We're typically on the ice by about 2:30, maybe 2:45, and then they're at the rink til about 6:00." x

Coach Appert: "The players are in school from 7 to noon. They show up at the rink, depending on the school, 12:15 to 12:30. We're gonna have a meeting at 12:50 - that meeting might be team, that might be for defenseman, we might be showing video on ourselves, we might be showing NHL video. Then a lot of times the goalies are gonna go immediately on the ice and get goalie work in with our goaltending coach for 15 minutes. The other players are going to go in the weight room and get their warm-up in, off ice warm-up. 1:30 to 3:30 we're gonna practice, and then after practice we're gonna probably lift for an hour and a half. And then any meetings: personal meetings, line meetings, one-on-one meetings, video, things of that nature would be done. They go to school, they're at the rink from 12:15 til 5 or 6." x

"By the time he makes his way back to the Hughes home in Canton, Jack has been on the run for a full 12 hours." x

(I guess now we know what a 'mid-evening' return in the NTDP Billet FAQ x means...)

You can see a clip of their study hall room in this vid x (feat. Matt Boldy, Alex Turcotte, Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras, and the voice of John Beecher)

Online school (now)

“Michigan International Prep School has partnered with USA Hockey’s NTDP since 2020-2021 school year, providing the educational component for their student-athletes training at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.” x

In this 2024-2025 season video, NTDP broadcaster Pete Krupsky says, “We have an online school here, the Michigan International Prep School, and we’ve had them around three or four years.” x

NTDP’s Education Page: "Members of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program attend high school online through the Michigan International Prep School." x

Daily schedule

From the NTDP Academic Services Director: "It enables us to have academics here [at USA Hockey Arena] in the morning as opposed to going out into the schools. Because it's an asynchronous educational platform, they're allowed to do their academic work any place, any time. So we take care of business first thing in the morning*, and then they're on their way the rest of the day with training and practice. So the players get here 7:30, 8:00, they spend a few hours** in the classroom.” x

In a player video, NTDP broadcaster Pete Krupsky says to a player, “For people to know, you’re up here at 7:30, 8 in the morning, go right to the classroom most of the time, right?” x

*well, not always true:

From Will Smith’s coach, Dan Muse: "Sometimes they can come to school and then practice. Other times they go on ice and then school, so it changes from day to day." x

**well, not really true either:

Rutger McGroarty: “We start school at 8 am, finish around 9:30. Then we have a meeting, warm-up, and then we usually have a two-hour practice. And then we have a workout that could vary from 30 minutes to two hours.” x

Frank Nazar: “Usually I wake up around 7:15, eat some breakfast. Head over to the rink and we have school at 8, from 8 to 9:30 we do school. And then we're on the ice for about an hour and a half, around 11 to 12:30." x

Day in the Life with Sammy Nelson: He arrives at 7:30am. He says, “I normally get here a little bit before school, go in the shooting room, shoot pucks, then head up to school. I'll have school for an hour, then head down to warm up.” 9:45am is warm-up at the gym for their skate. 10:30am is on-ice skills training. 11:00am is team practice. x

When do they leave? It's murky:

Day in the Life with Sammy Nelson: "Just got done with practice. We're about to go in the lounge, eat as a team, hang out on our phones and stuff, and then go in the gym for a workout.” The video shows 12:45pm for lunch. At 1:30pm they start working out. After the workout, he says, “We just finished up. It's about 2:30. Got to head home, get a nap in, finish up some homework, and get ready for tomorrow.” x

Will Smith: “The workouts and all that, it just…you’re at the rink for 8 hours a day.” x

In this video, NTDP broadcaster Pete Krupsky asks the player, “When you go home at night, whenever it is, 4:30, 5:00, you’re usually pretty tired, right?” x

NTDP Academic Services Director: "They come home at night and they're completely exhausted.” x

The current NTDP Billet FAQ states players come home ‘mid-evening’ (linked above)

Other quotes:

Will Smith: [about attending Boston College] “I mean, coming from the U.S. Team, we were in online school, so getting to go back in the classroom was kind of fun for us. We did school at the rink.” x

Will Smith on Spittin' Chiclets: “I mean, coming from the Program, so it’s obviously online now. So it's completely different from when Whit was there, when you guys were at school. We do school at the rink. So now going to class, it was a little bit different.” x

Ryan Whitney, NTDP alum: "Now they're doing school online. It was a great feeling to be able to go to school out there [at Pioneer High School], you still get that six hours at school, you're meeting girls from Ann Arbor. Now these kids - talk about an eye-opening, tough start. You go out there, you're no longer around any other students, or normal kids. You're just with your teammates, you're just in the gym, you're on the ice."

Cleaning House

Two curious things happened after the media buzz surrounding the NTDP in 2019. One, the switch to online school allowed them more scheduling freedom and less oversight from adults/peers outside of hockey. Two, the NTDP also quietly cleaned house.

(Typically, when a long-time employee departs, there is some kind of shout-out. For example, after 26 seasons with the NTDP, athletic trainer Jason Hodges got a tribute article on their website, Instagram shoutouts from former players such as Auston Matthews and Trevor Zegras, a Twitter acknowledgement, etc.)

But let's look at our first sudden and quiet departure.

Darryl Nelson (first season: 2000-2001, last season: 2018-2019 with Jack Hughes class)

"Darryl Nelson has been the strength and conditioning coach with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program located in Ann Arbor, Michigan since the 2000-01 season." x

"Coach Don Granato...began the run by giving strength and conditioning coach Darryl Nelson a calendar with the first two months left blank, telling him to fill it out for strength development." x

During my general deep dive, Nelson came across my radar as a staff member with some questionable quotes (ymmv), including:

"If someone asked me what's really good cross-training for ice hockey: tennis. Really small areas, lots of change of direction. rotational power, really intermittent, and you know what else, a lot of really cute girls play tennis." x

(pulling up an NTDP training clip) "This is a pretty old video. An oldie but goody." x

(showing another NTDP training clip) "I didn't have saved in my computer anymore so I had to pull them off my YouTube page." x

He's the trainer who described boys at this age as "pretty ripe" x

Also the guy who described the body fat testing and follow-ups as "the numbers don't lie" x

During his time with the Program:

He had a weapons charge in Michigan in 2005...and then continued to work for the NTDP for the next fourteen years. (I found this one while digging through Michigan court records)

He worked closely with and was friends with Kirk Culik: "Two of the guys that make the adaptations of our USA Hockey National Team Development Program athletes nothing short of amazing are front, Darryl Nelson (strength and conditioning coach) and back, Kirk Culik (combat / mental toughness).  Most of the folks who drop off their young males athletes bring us boys and are given back men after two years!" x [Side note: what the hell kind of job title is Combat / Mental Toughness....]

When did he leave?

Buried in an article about the Jack Hughes cohort: "The weight training for NTDP players takes place at ... state-of-the-art workout facility at USA Hockey Arena. Strength and conditioning coach Darryl Nelson used it as his classroom for 19 seasons before retiring at the end of this season." x

Retiring? Wow, he must have been old -- oh wait, he was "retiring" at 43 years old.

Well, not to worry. Let's find a nice tribute article about his long career at the NTDP...

Or lacking that, maybe a Twitter or Instagram shoutout...

.......

.......

We do have a singular press release to the USHL: 'Darryl Nelson, who for the last 19 seasons has served as the strength and conditioning coach for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, is stepping aside at the end of the season. "It's been an absolute pleasure to work with the players and staff at the NTDP, but I feel like the time is right for me to turn the page as we finish the season," said Nelson.' x

After nearly 20 seasons working with the prestigious USA Hockey development program, no doubt Darryl would have no problem finding another job within the hockey world, right? Well, that's the weird thing. It appears that he has strictly no contact with anything hockey-related.

His personal accounts do not follow (and are not followed by) any hockey teams, news accounts, or past or present players -- not the big accounts like, say, the main NHL account, and not any of the USA Hockey players that he worked with. Pretty strange for someone immersed in that world for two decades of tenure.

So what does he post? Well, endless shirtless videos of himself working out in his underwear (all-cotton, as he warns of microplastics leaking into your skin from synthetic fabric) in his converted garage with his painted all-black rock climbing wall, endless re-posts of influencers ranting about lazy people/fat people/body fat, and one notable story where he says he 'cooks for boys'. Most of his posts have only 1 like, which is actually just himself, but from his other gym account.

Take that as you will. Now let's circle back, who was his friend and colleague?

Kirk Culik (first season: 1997-1998, last season: 2018-2019 with Jack Hughes class)

(He's the "break down the individuality" guy x)

"Kirk Culik, an original member of the National Team Development Program...the team’s off-ice conditioning coach. Culik is responsible for team and culture building, mentoring players, and developing a variety of off-ice workout routines." x

'When they want to take it up a notch, the NTDP brass organizes a “Kirk session."' x

"...after the Kirk [Culik workout] sessions, you come together to support each other." x

'“At first, they are just afraid of me,” Culik said.' x

Sounds like a major role in developing youth. How did he get hired?

“I walked in here 18 years ago and Greg Cronin, an assistant coach with the NTDP back then, had a poster up with a boxing ring, but it was the wrong size, it was too small,” Culik said. “He asked me if I was a boxing coach. I said yes I am, and after that we really hit it off. I’ve been here ever since.” x

Side note: the NTDP gym still has a boxing ring to this day x because of Greg Cronin's street fighting classes: x

Among the skills they learned in the first year at the NTDP was boxing. While today's game has become more about skill, fighting played a major role in the sport back when the NTDP began. Cronin said the NTDP's schedule saw them play Ontario Hockey League (OHL) teams, which meant they'd be facing older competition with more size and strength who were also looking to fight if necessary. "Our first meeting was at the end of August and there were 60-something kids in the room," Cronin said. "I asked, 'How many of you guys have been in a street fight before?' Two guys put their hands up and I was like, 'Uh oh.'"

Anyway, surely Kirk had some other qualifications to justify his major role in setting the culture and influencing young players:

"Culik has had a wide-range of other careers including boxing, blacksmith, thoroughbred horse trainer, bull rider, forensic psychiatrist and corrections officer." x

"Culik is a cross-training coach who is also a retired prison guard and Gold Glove boxing coach." x

...close enough, I guess.

When did Kirk Culik leave?

Buried in an article about Alex Turcotte: 'Conditioning coach and team mentor Kirk Culik, who just retired after two decades working alongside USA Hockey on everything from kickboxing training to meditation and visualization skills, pegs Turcotte as a kid who “just bought in” to all of his teachings.' x

So, Culik left the NTDP the same time as Darryl Nelson. His age makes slightly more sense for retirement (63 years old), but as a founding member who worked at the NTDP for 20+ years, let's check out his tributes:

Tribute articles: ....

Shout-out posts on Twitter or Instagram: ...

Shout-outs from former players: ...

...which could mean nothing. Later, Kirk Culik was charged with open murder of a 16-year-old boy, though ultimately acquitted.

"Somerset Township police were dispatched to Mill Street near U.S. 12 in Hillsdale County on a report of an altercation and a shooting. When police arrived, they found Flint laying in a ditch with a gunshot wound to his neck. He later died. The person who shot the gun is 66-year-old Kirk Culik, who was arrested on murder charges. He’s claiming self-defense. His attorney Dean Greenblatt says it’s a convoluted case with a difference of opinion and memory on who initiated the violence." x

Obviously, Darryl Nelson and Kirk Culik did not have the cleanest of slates. What really happened with them and the NTDP? Why did the NTDP get rid of them ('retiring' them at the same exact time of the Jack Hughes media buzz, one of them at age 43 and seemingly on a handshake agreement to never interact with hockey again) so quietly? Did the extra eyes hovering around Plymouth shed a little too much light on something they were doing or had done?

Why was there no retirement article for Darryl on their own USA Hockey website, but instead a press release to the USHL, as if they had to prove to certain stakeholders that they were getting rid of him? Who was putting the pressure on? Was something reported to the USHL, who then put an ultimatum on the NTDP?

Honestly, we might never know. After all, Scott Monaghan ("an original member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program....and has oversight of all aspects of both the NTDP and USA Hockey Arena" x) ("an original member of the NTDP and now its senior director of operations" x) who has been in charge of the whole operation since the program's inception x, has seen a lot happen in his time overseeing the Program, which we'll get into later.

Budget

The NTDP started with an operating budget of $2.5 million for its first season (1997-1998). x In 2015, the annual budget for the NTDP was over $3.2 million. x In 2018-2019 (the Jack Hughes draft year), the cost to run was over $4 million for the season. x

NTDP does not charge any player fees (unless you leave the program early, in which case it's a $50,000 early exit fee). x

Where is the money coming from?

Some of it comes from the NHL (in 2023-2024 season, the NHL granted over $8 million to USA Hockey overall x).

"The NHL provides a grant to USA Hockey each year to help fund the NTDP and other initiatives..." x

From their financial statement: "The NHL support is based on past performance and specific objectives. A significant portion of their funding is intended to provide budget relief for existing costs associated with the national team development process." x

You can peruse USA Hockey’s financial statements at https://www.usahockey.com/financials to find NTDP tidbits as you wish, such as:

Some photos of the USA Hockey Arena facilities:

"​Renovation and addition of the existing Compuware ice rink facility for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program including two team locker rooms, visitor locker room, player’s lounge, video room, street clothes changing, expansive weight training and turf dry-floor and synthetic ice training as well as a suite of offices and two classrooms." x

"USA Hockey purchased the 170,000 square foot Compuware Arena to create a new home for the organization’s national development program in Southeast Michigan. Additions include a two-story, 18,000 square foot facility providing new team study areas, conference rooms, staff offices and a 7,000 square foot weight training room. The two locker rooms were refinished into a radius configuration, orienting the locker faces toward the USA Hockey logo positioned in the center of the room." x

You can obviously catch more peeks of the facility on the social media pages of USNTDP, GVN Performance, past and present players, etc.

On the topic of budget, NTDP also gets money from corporate sponsorships. Although Chipotle is a corporate partner with USA Hockey x and NHL x, it's actually not specifically an NTDP advertising partner. But you know who is?

Well, that's right, the NTDP receives money from the United States military!

I’ve once again reached the link limit, so yet to be covered: budget (continued), NTDP origins and controversies, noted crimes and coverups, and anything else I might be missing.