from Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News,

Ann Arbor — The boys are back in town, having returned a few days earlier from Russia and the Czech Republic, where they played on two United States teams in international tournaments.

And now they are back after school, at Pioneer High.

About 40 of the best 16- to 18-year-old hockey players in the country bound through the doors at the United States National Team Development Program, operated by the organizing body for the sport, USA Hockey, at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor.

They worked hard throughout their young lives to be accepted in the program.

As more and more Americans have reached the highest echelons of the NHL, the program, for 18 years, has been training some of America's best hockey players about a mile from Michigan Stadium.

In the world of hockey, this is a special place.

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