DEVELOPING GOALIE — Former Fairmont Area goalkeeper Carsen Musser, shown defending the cage for the Victory Honda 15U AAA hockey team last winter in Plymouth, Michigan, will play for the U17 United States National Team Development Program in the upcoming hockey season. (Photo courtesy of Carsen Musser)

FAIRMONT — Two years ago, Carsen Musser nearly led the Minnesota high school boys hockey ranks in saves. Now the goaltender is getting ready to play his first season representing the United States.

“I’m going to be playing for the U17 United States National Team Development Program,” Musser said. “They are probably the top program for my age group, not only in the United States, but I would say in the world, too.”

After helping lead the Fairmont Area Cardinals to five wins, and their lone sectional playoff win in the past decade as a freshman in 2019, Musser went on to play in Plymouth, Michigan, in 2020.

Musser said his freshman season with Fairmont Area helped him develop in multiple ways.

“I think with all the shots that I faced during the games and throughout the season, it helped with me seeing the puck better and getting used to quicker shots,” Musser said. “Also being a freshman and playing at that level helped me adapt to a higher speed of the game quicker than I would have playing at the age level I should’ve played at.”

In his only season with the Cardinals, Musser made 877 saves, sitting only three behind the high school state leader.

After his season in Fairmont, Musser made the 10 1/2-hour trip east to Plymouth, where he played for a AAA team named Victory Honda. AAA hockey teams play across the county against other high level youth teams. Musser played for Victory Honda’s 15U team.

“Usually we’d play in Michigan with a bunch of other AAA teams, but due to COVID it was mostly out of state,” Musser said of his 2020 season. “We traveled a bunch for most of our games.”

Musser will stay in the same area for home games this season, with the USA development team playing its home matchups at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.

Carsen’s father, Bart Musser, said the scouting process for higher-level teams has been happening for a couple of years. Carsen was drafted by the Portland Winterhawks in the 11th round of the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft, which Bart said led to multiple new opportunities.

“They play in the Western Hockey League, which is a major junior league in the western U.S.,” Bart Musser said. “Shortly after that, we got contacted by a few of these other guys. I think the scouting process really started after that. And that was a big moment for the realization that Carsen could even make a team like this, especially being from down in the Fairmont area, you usually don’t hear that kind of stuff down here.”

Carsen said he was invited to a week-long tryout camp with many of the best youth hockey players across the United States. He said as he moved through the week, he had a feeling he would make the team.

Carsen said 43 of the best players, including six of the best goalies, from across the country were invited to a camp consisting of games, positional practices and workouts.

“It consisted of four or five games and a couple of practices and most of the practices were just goalie practices for us six,” Carsen said. “There were also workouts that we had to do and just team activity stuff to see who would fit in for this team. That week was a fun week with those guys. It was a tough, really hard one as they put us through the tests.

“After the first day at that trial camp, I kind of had a feeling that I would make the team. It seemed like I was fitting in with everyone.

“Then as the week went on, I grew more confident in myself that I’d make the team and the last day rolled around and I got called in by the (NTDP Director of player) personnel and he told me I’d made the team.”

Carsen said he is most looking forward to growing as a player and person among the other U.S. players, and growing into a family with them. He said the exposure and the competition are aspects he is looking forward to as well.

He said there will be international tournaments where he and the U.S. development team will match up with other hockey-loving countries such as Canada, Sweden and Russia.

Bart Musser said a long line of hockey coaches have helped Carsen grow into a high-level player and person.

“The process has been long,” Bart said. “The growth and the process that he’s been through, I think he’s had an exceptional amount of coaches come into his life who have helped on his way.”

For Carsen, this is another step in a long hockey journey that started when he was 3 years old. He said his love of the ice and a lifetime looking up to college players helped push him toward his goals.

“I always used to watch Minnesota Gopher hockey games,” Carsen said. “Just watching them play at the level they do, … it just made me want to keep pushing myself to play. To try to become one of them.”