COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NCAA Men's Frozen Four will once again feature an abundantly American presence, including 82 of the 104 players on the rosters of Boston College, Union College, the University of Minnesota and the University of North Dakota with developmental roots in the United States.

The NCAA Men's Frozen Four begins Thursday (April 10) at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, with Boston College taking on Union and Minnesota facing North Dakota.

Among the Frozen Four participants, 12 are alumni of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. Fifteen players have skated for a U.S. National Team -- including the U.S. National Junior Team and the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team -- and have combined to win 15 medals in International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships.

Fifty-seven American players spent time in the United States Hockey League, USA Hockey's only Tier I junior league, which includes the two teams from USA Hockey's NTDP. There are five players with connections to the Tier II North American Hockey League. Eight players have a background in the Eastern Junior Hockey League and one has played in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League.

A total of 18 states and the District of Columbia will be represented by players in the Frozen Four, including, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

Thirty-one American players competing in the Frozen Four have been drafted by National Hockey League teams.

Notes: Taylor Cammarata (Minnesota) received USA Hockey's Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year award in 2013 ... Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) and Jeff Taylor (Union) helped Dubuque win the 2011 USHL Clark Cup Playoff Championship. Jordan Schmaltz (North Dakota) helped Green Bay win the 2012 Clark Cup Playoff Championship ... Don Lucia, head coach at Minnesota, has served in a variety of coaching roles for USA Hockey, including head coach of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team and the 1996 U.S. Select-16 Team. He also worked as an assistant coach on the 1995 U.S. Men's Select Team ... Grant Potulny, assistant coach at Minnesota, worked in that same role for the gold medal-winning 2013 U.S. National Junior Team ... Greg Brown, associate head coach at Boston College, was an assistant coach with the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team and skated for the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Teams ...Mike Ayers, assistant coach at Boston College, was a coach at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program from 2011-13. Ayers was honored as the USA Hockey College Player of the Year in 2003 ... Marty McInnis, assistant coach at Boston College, skated for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team ... Dave Hakstol, head coach of North Dakota, served as head coach of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers from 1996-2000.