The WHL's newest team will be represented next month when 42 players head to Minnesota and vie for spots on Team USA's world junior hockey roster.
Penticton Vees forward Jacob Kvasnicka and listed skater Trevor Connelly have been invited to USA Hockey's summer showcase, set for Minneapolis from July 25 to Aug. 2.
The event 鈥� also to include Canada, Sweden, and Finland 鈥� will serve as an evaluation for players looking to crack their respective home country's roster ahead of the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship.
Team USA is the tournament's two-time defending champions, winning the gold medal in 2024 and 2025.
Kvasnicka, 17, signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Vees this past spring after his rights were acquired from Wenatchee.
The Minnesota-born winger joins the Vees after spending two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich.
Connelly, however, has not yet inked a deal with Penticton. Although his WHL playing rights belong to the Vees, the 19-year-old is currently pegged as a member of the Henderson Silver Knights, the Vegas Golden Knights' American Hockey League affiliate.
A first-round pick of the Vegas in 2024, the Tustin, Calif., native had his junior hockey rights acquired through the WHL expansion draft by Penticton in May.
Connelly won gold with Team USA in Ottawa at the world juniors in 2025, posting four points in seven games.
In a statement on July 9, the Vees congratulated both Kvasnicka and Connelly on being invited to the event.
