Last week, USA Hockey announced the player invitations for the 2025 Girls Player Development Camps—and this year brings significant changes to the selection process and the number of players invited to each camp.
Last year, I wrote about how players often move between camps from one year to the next. In 2025, that path—especially for those going directly to the U18 Camp—has been simplified. Kristen Sagaert breaks down many of these updates in Episode 108 of the Champs App Podcast.
Here are some key differences compared to 2024:
- 15s players (2010 birth year) now have a chance to be selected for the U18 Camp after completing 15s Camp.
- Only 15 players—all from the 2025 U18 World Championship roster—were selected to go directly to U18 Camp (compared to over 60 in previous years).
- The 16/17s Camp (2008 & 2009) has expanded from 8 to 10 teams, increasing capacity from 150 to 174 players.
As a result, 2008 and 2009 players who went directly to U18s last year must now earn their spot through the 16/17s Camp. With the addition of an All-Star game, top players will have a stronger opportunity to prove they belong at the U18 level.
While the 16/17s Camp grew by 16 players, the combined total of 2008 and 2009 players across the 16/17s and U18 camps has dropped by about 10. This is likely due to last year’s U18 participants now filling 16/17s spots.
Meanwhile, 15s Camp still needs to add 44 players from the Minnesota selection camp which till take place around June 17th. Also, there seems to be more district and multi-district camps for players who don’t make national camps.
Overall, this restructuring is a positive step. It creates broader access to earn a spot at the U18 Camp. The continued challenge remains the evaluation process—where leveraging analytics can play a key role in ensuring fairness and consistency in player assessments.