Cam York found himself in an ideal situation for a young hockey player.

The young defenseman from Anaheim Hills grew up playing for two accomplished coaches, ones who have the gift of teaching the game at age- and ability-specific levels and the background of lengthy hockey careers. 

York, a 2001 birth year, credits the strong foundation of instruction he received playing for Jr. Ducks coaches Craig Johnson and Scott Niedermayer from Mites through first-year Bantams as one of the reasons he was selected to the prestigious U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) for the 2017-18 season. 

“Both of them were huge for my development,” York said.

The NTDP picks what it deems to be the top 23 players from a given birth year for its two-year program. It will afford York the opportunity to compete in several international competitions for Team USA and play a schedule against Junior A and college teams, all while going through a comprehensive training program.

York becomes the first longtime Jr. Ducks player to make the NTDP. A handful of others, including fellow 2001s Ryan Johnson and Nicholas Kent, as well as 2000 Slava Demin, have been invited to the NTDP’s evaluation camp over the past two years.

“He’s a player you’re very happy for because he’s such a good kid and he comes from such a great family,” said Johnson, who is the Jr. Ducks’ director of coaches. “He’s got everything to his game. He can play offense, he defends well and he shoots the puck real hard.”

York’s well-rounded game has played been on display during the past two seasons at Shattuck St. Mary’s prep school in Minnesota. After 69 points (18 goals) in 60 games as a freshman on Shattuck’s Bantam team, he played for its high school team as a sophomore and generated 48 points in 54 games despite being one of the youngest players on the squad.

York said working with Niedermayer, a Hall of Fame defenseman and captain of the Anaheim Ducks’ 2007 Stanley Cup champions, and Johnson, a 14-year pro (nine in the NHL), day after day growing up is one reason he improved so much.

“Scott would give you tips every day that were just eye openers,” York said. “I’m sure they weren’t a big deal to him, but they really helped me.

“I worked with Craig on stickhandling and shooting for years, and that helped those areas of my game. Both stressed keeping the game fun.”

York also committed to perennial college hockey power Boston College this past season after weighing a handful of Division I offers. 

“Not only is the campus really nice, but Jerry York and his staff are top notch,” Cam York said. “It felt like the right place for me.”

But first things first, York will spend the next two seasons in Plymouth, Mich., at the NTDP honing his game further. He got a taste of what he’s in store for at the evaluation camp in March.

“The pace was crazy high,” York said. “The biggest adjustment was the pace of the game.

“Everyone there is pretty good friends so it’s not like stepping into a situation full of new faces. And the fact that Ryan (Johnson) and Nick (Kent) and I played on the same team and have gone up through the ranks together helped a lot, too.”

Rather than dwell on the NTDP selection and the opportunity to play at Boston College, York is taking a pragmatic approach to what he concedes has been a “pretty crazy year.”

“I’m focused on what’s going on right now, not the things coming up,” he said. “I’m focusing on what’s in front of me every day.”

- Chris Bayee