Moore hopes to compose gold-medal performance for U.S. at Under-18 World Championship

The United States players certainly will feel some pressure as the host country at the 2025 IIHF Under-18 World Championship.

In managing that stress, perhaps it will help to have someone who played the piano at Carnegie Hall -- as a 9-year-old.

Well, Will Moore did that.

He may love hockey most, but he loved the piano first.

"That came before hockey. That was the first thing, and it's still around [for me]," said Moore, who is second in scoring for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) in 55 games, and is No. 29 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2025 NHL Draft.

"I started when I was 2. ... Basically, I completed every milestone there is, except for at the college level. My biggest skill is being able to read music, right off the top. There's very advanced stuff I can't do, but if someone asked me to play such and such, I'd just find the sheet music. It's fun."

He'll look to have more fun with the U.S. at the World U-18s, which will be held April 23-May 3 in Frisco and Allen, Texas.

It's common to ask NTDP prospects to name their favorite NHL players, with program alums Auston Matthews and Patrick Kane frequent replies. Moore is the rare player who is as enthusiastic to answer a question about his favorite composers.

The forward, who is committed to play at Boston College next season, said he'd even consider majoring in music if his hockey schedule permitted the countless hours of piano rehearsal required.

"I like Beethoven," Moore said. "I play a lot of Chopin too. I played [Beethoven's] Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major for a while. My billets have a piano, so I can sit down whenever and relieve stress, play the music."

For the U.S., harmonizing will be of paramount importance leading up to the tournament opener against Czechia on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN). While NTDP players are expected to comprise a majority of roster spots, USA Hockey has brought in several players from the 2007 birth year who didn't spend the full 2024-25 season with the program, which is based in Plymouth, Michigan.

Forwards Teddy Mutryn (Chicago) and Ben Kevan (Des Moines) played in the United States Hockey League, and defenseman Blake Fiddler, who grew up in the Dallas area, reported to U.S. selection camp after his Edmonton Oil Kings were eliminated from the Western Hockey League playoffs.

In a pre-tournament loss to Norway, Moore played right wing on a line with center Cullen Potter and left wing William Horcoff. Potter had 22 points (13 goals, nine assists) in 37 games at Arizona State this season; Horcoff began 2024-25 with eight points (four goals, four assists) in 19 games with the NTDP U-18 team, then left to play at Michigan during the second semester and had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 18 NCAA games.

Potter is No. 22 in Central Scouting's final rankings, and Horcoff is No. 24.

"We have a lot of speed as a group, and they're both so dynamic offensively," Moore said.

Moore improved his offensive production this season after he had 43 points (23 goals, 20 assists) in 50 games with the NTDP Under-17 team last season, but his most notable growth wasn't always obvious on the score sheet. He's proudest of adding strength through working with NTDP director of sports science Brian Galivan, while also developing his 200-foot game.

"That's part of a group effort, where we're holding each other accountable," Moore said.

Moore's development in Plymouth has affirmed his decision to accept USA Hockey's invitation to join the program. He was born and raised in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, Ontario, but is eligible to represent the U.S. because his father, Patrick, is American.

Will's mother, Vanusa, is from Sao Paulo, Brazil; she and Patrick met while both were working in Brazil. Will grew up a fan of the Brazil national soccer team and superstars Neymar and Vinicius Junior.

Moore never had lived in the U.S. until he moved to Michigan to join the NTDP.

"It was really a no-brainer to me when the option opened up," Moore said. "The way I can develop my body while still being able to play games and play with top players in the U.S. … The coaching staff, all the development plans, the gym staff, it was all perfect for me, honestly."

In youth hockey, Moore formed a dynamic trio with current Ontario Hockey League stars Michael Misa (Saginaw) and Malcolm Spence (Erie) while playing for the Mississauga Senators. Misa is the No. 2 North American skater in Central Scouting's final rankings, and Spence is No. 17.

Moore, Misa, and Spence often competed in the Greater Toronto Hockey League against Porter Martone and Michael Hage of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens; Martone is No. 6 in Central Scouting's final rankings and Hage, now at Michigan, was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round (No. 21) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

"There was always a Senators vs. [Jr. Canadiens] rivalry between us, but as individuals, watching them grow from where we were at 10, 11, 12 years old, to where we are now, is truly something special," Moore said. "We still train together during the summer almost every day. Everybody's made big strides in their process. It's really been incredible to see how far we've come."

Moore recalled Misa, who helped Saginaw win the Memorial Cup last season, bringing the trophy to one of their training sessions during the summer. As OHL competitors, Spence and Martone (Brampton) kept their distance.

With Moore bound for college hockey, he had no such concerns.

"I made it to the Instagram post, taking a photo with him," Moore said. "It was interesting. We train with other OHL guys, and they didn't want to touch it because it's bad mojo. I was the only one in the photo."

Now it's Moore who has the trophy to win. The U.S. has won gold 11 times at U-18 Worlds since the tournament began in 1999, more than any other nation. Moore has a chance to help the U.S. add to that record -- fitting, for someone whose grandfather, R. Laurence Moore, is a noted scholar of American history at Cornell University.

"This tournament is the culmination of the last two years, the adversity we faced in our [U-17] year, the tough work, hard losses and big wins of our [U-18] year," Moore said. "What we have coming up is a really special time."

And if there isn't already a club of Carnegie Hall pianists with IIHF gold medals, Moore soon might be able to start one.