Hermantown, Superior stars joining USA Hockey NTDP – Duluth News Tribune

HERMANTOWN — A pair of Hermantown natives and a star defenseman from Superior are trading in their local colors for the red, white and blue in 2024-25.

Hermantown’s AJ Francisco and Victor Plante, as well as Superior’s Jackson Marthaler, are joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program to play for the U.S. National Under-17 Men’s Team next season.

Based in Plymouth, Michigan, the USA Hockey NTDP is a two-year residency program with the U17 team playing against junior teams in the United States Hockey League and North American Hockey League, as well as games against high schoolers in the Minnesota Elite League. The U17s also take part in a trio of international tournaments.

Francisco and Marthaler have already represented the United States together,

helping Team USA win gold at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games

in January in Gangwon, South Korea. Francisco had three assists in four games and Marthaler had two assists.

Marthaler, 16, is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-shot defenseman who had six goals and an assist in 18 games this year as a sophomore with Superior High School. He also had 11 goals and 12 assists in 37 games with Team Wisconsin’s 15U and 16U AAA teams in 2023-24.

Francisco, 16, is a 5-11, 165-pound right-shot defenseman who also played forward for the Hermantown Hawks as a sophomore. He was fourth on the Hawks in scoring in 2023-24, posting 13 goals and 17 assists en route to a state runner-up finish in Class A this season.

The Hawks fell 3-1 to St. Cloud Cathedral in the state championship

with Francisco scoring Hermantown’s lone goal.

Victor Plante, 16, is the youngest son of Cloquet High School and

University of Minnesota Duluth

great Derek Plante, a Stanley Cup champion with the Dallas Stars who is now an…