With Independence Day upon us and all the apple pie eating going on this is something for you to read. New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero (St. Paul, Minnesota) has very close ties to Team USA Hockey and the National Development Program. Another important figure in the Devils organization is Tommy Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald (Billerica, Massachusetts) has a lot of close ties to USA Hockey and NCAA D1 hockey specifically. Coach John Hynes (Warwick, Rhode Island) used to coach as an assistant coach in the 2004 IIHF USA team, Team USA assistant coach in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.