Three incoming University of Minnesota Duluth freshman men's hockey players have been invited to the USA Hockey World Junior Summer Showcase that will take place from July 26-Aug. 3 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

Defenseman Adam Kleber, forward Max Plante and forward Jayson Shaugabay were three of 46 players invited to the week-long evaluation camp that will include nine international games between four competing nations. Canada, Finland and Sweden will all take part in the showcase, which will serve as an evaluation for athletes looking to make their respective national teams ahead of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships, which will be held from Dec. 26-Jan. 5, 2025 in Ottawa Ontario.

Kleber, who hails from Chaska, Minn. skated for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL the past two seasons. A projected NHL draft pick later this month, Kleber finished second among USHL defensemen with 125 shots in 2023-24 and led all Stars defensemen with 26 points (5g, 21a). Kleber was honored as one of the top American draft prospects with an invite to the Chipotle All-American Game in Plymouth, Mich. back in January.

A product of Hermantown, Minn., Plante most recently skated for the U.S. in the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship last month in FInland, helping his side to a silver medal. Plante appeared in seven games, scoring two goals and adding nine assists for 11 points for a 1.57 ppg average in the tournament. Like Kleber, Plante – who played the last two seasons in the NTDP – was honored as one of the top American draft prospects with an invite to the Chipotle All-American Game in Plymouth, Mich. back in January.

Warroad, Minn. native Shaugabay, a fourth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023 (115th overall), played 62 games for the Green Bay Gamblers this past season in the USHL, and scored 15 goals and 40 assists for a total of 55 points. Shaugabay, a 2023 graduate of Warroad High School, won the 2023 Minnesota Mr. Hockey award, which is given out annually to the top senior hockey player in the state. Shaugabay posted 96 points as a senior and had over 300 throughout his four years at Warroad.

All three players will join the Bulldogs this fall for the 2024-25 season. UMD opens up against Bemidji State University on Oct. 5 at AMSOIL Arena.