TPH alums set to represent Team USA at World Juniors
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The 2021 IIHF World Junior is set to kick off December 25 in Edmonton, Alberta, and representing Team USA will be three Total Package Hockey (TPH) alumni. Goaltender Logan Stein, defenseman Hunter Skinner and forward Arthur Kaliyev will wear the red, white and blue at World Juniors.
Logan Stein
Logan Stein – Source: Twitter @loganstein29
Stein, a native of Suwanee, Georgia, spent three seasons with the Nashville Jr Predators program before moving to Michigan and playing for the Oakland Jr Grizzlies. He went on to play in the USHL for the Waterloo Black Hawks and is awaiting to begin his freshman year at Ferris State. He’s the first player from Ferris State to make the World Juniors roster.
“It’s an honor representing your country,” said Stein. “It’s the biggest honor in hockey, and I’m proud to represent Ferris State as well.”
Stein credits much of his success in being able to reach the next level to TPH.
“TPH did a great job in Atlanta, Nashville and Huntsville,” said Stein. “They really helped my development playing on those teams. They did a great job developing me, and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. Then I moved up to Detroit and played up there. Then I made a jump to the USHL. TPH deserves all the credit for that. The development I received from them when I was young made me who I am, and I can’t thank them enough.”
As hockey continues to grow in previously non-tradition areas, it’s wonderful to see players from the south receiving recognition and going on to play at high levels.
“I’m huge on hockey in the south,” said Stein. “Anytime you can promote it, it’s always a great cause. I hope this opens eyes for many other kids from my area in that they can make it to where I am.”
Stein joins Spencer Knight and Dustin Wolf as the guardians of the crease for this year’s tournament.
Hunter Skinner
In round four of the 2019 NHL Draft, defenseman Hunter Skinner was selected 112th overall by the New York Rangers. His junior career consists of playing for Little Caesars, Belle Tire and Honeybaked before going on to play in the USHL for the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Lincoln Stars. Most recently, he made the big jump to the Ontario Hockey League and joined the London Knights where he posted 32 points in 62 games in 2019-20. Now, he’ll join Team USA and step into the spotlight of the hockey world.
“It was a big jump and I’m super honored to be a part of this team,” said Skinner on being selected to Team USA. “There’s a lot of talent and a lot of skill here.”
While training to get to this point in his career, Skinner credits TPH with their immense amount of off-ice training, specifically utilizing video work.
“They work on skillset stuff and watching video so much,” said Skinner. “It helped me make the adjustment from 15 years old to 16 and playing in the USHL with a lot of video. They helped me get to where I am today. They have more video than anyone will. They have every video and clip of whatever you want. It’s a great resource to be able to use.”
Arthur Kaliyev
This year will be Arthur Kaliyev’s second time joining Team USA for the IIHF World Junior Championship. Kaliyev was selected 33rd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Prior to joining the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, where he most recently put up 98 points in 57 games in 2019-20, Kaliyev played for Little Caesars and Compuware where he also trained with TPH. This will be his second time donning the Team USA jersey, but he’s represented them on multiple occasions, including the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2018-19.
“It’s always an honor to wear the USA jersey at every event I’ve been to,” said Kaliyev. “It’s always really exciting and a big honor to play for them.”
Kaliyev has obviously had a very successful junior career and is preparing himself for the next step very soon. For him, training with TPH with he was with Compuware was pivotal to his development.
“TPH helped me big time when I was playing at Compuware,” said Kaliyev. “To do those morning skates every weekday helped me prepare for my games in minor hockey before going to the OHL in doing a lot of skills and video. You just see the things you could fix and get better at and make sure the next game you do things the right way.”
TPH wishes Logan, Hunter, Arthur and the rest of Team USA the best as they represent their country at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. View the Team USA schedule here. All games will be broadcast exclusively on the NHL Network.
To learn more about training at TPH click here.