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Goaltenders Shine at the 2025 Chipotle All-American Game

By Sean Shapiro, 01/17/25, 3:00PM EST

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Kam Hendrickson and Bjorn Bronas lifted Team Blue to a 3-2 victory

PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Big saves typically don’t define the Chipotle All-American Game. 

The showcase event for top draft-eligible prospects playing in the USHL and with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program is typically defined by an onslaught of goals. Since the event debuted in 2012, there had never been a game with less than seven combined goals. 

But on Thursday night, the goaltenders took centerstage as Team Blue won 3-2 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

Kam Hendrickson had the highlight of the game, stretching out his left pad to make a crucial save late in the third period to preserve the victory. 

Ryker Lee was named the MVP of the game, scoring the game-winning goal in the third period, but the combined effort of Hendrickson and Bjorn Bronas is what really made sure Team Blue took home the victory.

Bronas, who plays for the Sioux City Musketeers, got the start and stopped all nine shots he faced — including a sprawling blocker save in the first period that was one of the highlights of the night — before giving way to Hendrickson, who battled the rest of the way. 

Hendrickson allowed back-to-back goals in the second period 53 seconds apart before posting a perfect third period, finishing with 21 saves on 23 shots. 

“It was just bang, bang, two quick ones, but I've just got to keep the mindset of doing my job and having fun and not getting down on myself,” Hendrickson said. “I just had fun and stayed loose.” 

He settled down during the second intermission and really got into a third-period groove, Hendrickson said.

“You sort of cancel everything out and the puck just starts to look like a beach ball,” he said. “That’s how it felt that whole third period.”

It was an important performance for Hendrickson, who didn’t get drafted in 2024, but is now emerging on NHL radars as a 19-year-old. He started the season with the Omaha Lancers, and despite a 3-6-2 record, posted a .918 save percentage in 12 games. 

The Lancers traded him to the Waterloo Black Hawks in December. In his second start for his new team, he returned to Omaha with a 2-1 shootout victory, stopping 22 shots in the win. In that game, Hendrickson outdueled his former goalie partner Mikhail Yegorov, a second-round NHL draft pick who just joined Boston University for the second half of the NCAA season. 

“He was telling me he was going to BU and I was like, ‘Well this is your final send-off game against your old goalie partner,’” Hendrickson said. “He said he wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Hendrickson said sharing a crease with Yegorov really pushed him during his time in Omaha. He had to battle in the crease every day and embraced the competition, and he’s already built a similar bond with his new goalie partner in Waterloo, Calvin Vachon. 

Hendrickson said he isn’t too focused on the NHL draft, but he’s aware of what this season and showcase games like this could mean for potential professional opportunity. In the short-term, he’s focused on helping Waterloo — which is in the heat of a tight Western Conference race — and building his USHL career into an eventual strong NCAA showing at the University of Connecticut.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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