Dozens of future college hockey players participated in international tournaments recently, with an all-star squad of USHL players capturing the World Junior A Challenge and the U.S. Under-17 Team winning the Four Nations Tournament in Slovakia.

The U.S. Under-18 Team was also in action, finishing second in the Four Nations Cup in Finland.

World Junior A Challenge

The U.S. Junior Select Team beat Russia, 4-1, in the finals of the 2013 World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It marked the second straight WJAC title for the U.S. and the fifth in six years.

The team, made up of USHL players age 19 or younger, was comprised entirely of future Division I talent. North Dakota commit Nick Schmaltz (Verona, Wis./Green Bay Gamblers) - whose brother Jordan is a sophomore at UND - was named the tournament MVP after posting a record 12 points in four games. Notre Dame commit Connor Hurley (Eagan, Minn./Muskegon Lumberjacks/BUF draft), a linemate of Schmaltz, and Minnesota Duluth commit Neal Pionk (Hermantown, Minn./Sioux City Musketeers) joined Schmaltz on the all-tournament team.

Former Denver assistant and current Green Bay Gamblers head coach Derek Lalonde was the head coach for the U.S. in the event, leading the team to a 4-0-0 record and a 23-10 scoring advantage.

A number of Division I recruits competed for the two Canadian entries in the tournament, Canada East and Canada West. Canada West fell to Russia in the semifinals, while Canada East lost to Switzerland in the quarterfinals. A list of recruits on those rosters is available here.

Under-17 Four Nations Tournament

The U.S. Under-17 Team also beat Russia to claim the championship in its event, the Four Nations Tournament in Prievidza, Slovakia. The team - comprised of players from the Under-17 Team at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., featured 16 players committed to Division I schools on its 22-man roster.

Boston College commit Colin White (Hanover, Mass./U.S. NTDP) led the tournament with seven points, while fellow future Eagle Noah Hanafin (Norwood, Mass./U.S. NTDP) led the event with five assists. Those two were joined on the team by another BC commit, Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass./U.S. NTDP). Harvard, Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin also had multiple recruits on the roster.

It marked the fifth straight year that the U.S. Under-17 Team won the Four Nations Tournament.

Under-18 Four Nations Cup

Twenty of 22 players on the U.S. Under-18 Team at the Four Nations Cup in Finland came from the U.S. National Team Development Program, with 20 of the 22 committed to Division I schools.

That group won two of three games in Finland, with a 3-2 loss to Sweden in the opener costing the U.S. first place. Team USA beat Finland and Switzerland in the round-robin event.

Future Boston University star Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./U.S. NTDP) led the tournament with seven points, one more than Notre Dame commit Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y./U.S. NTDP).

Thirteen schools had at least one recruit on the roster, led by Notre Dame (four), BU, Minnesota and Wisconsin (two each).