A few months ago, it was announced that Grand Rapids’ Carter Casey would participate in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup camp, and just days ago, he was named to the final roster.

Casey showcased some Grand Rapids pride getting there.

“Rapids is a tradition of excellence in Grand Rapids so it’s really cool,” said Casey. “I think I was just coming out of mites going into squirts when we won the state tournament and that was super inspirational to a lot of the guys guys my age, so I think this is a really cool opportunity to represent the community and try to inspire some of the younger kids back home and keep the tradition of excellence going.”

The United States plays their first game Saturday against Slovakia as a pre-tournament game, and then begins preliminary play on Monday against Czechia.