in Ottawa, Canada, was standing on the blue line at the end of the tournament, singing the national anthem of the United States of America.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a memory that fuels the Chaska, Minnesota-native as he practices and plays this week at <\/p>\n
USA Hockey\u2019s World Junior Summer Showcase<\/a><\/p>\n on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. The event features squads from the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden. <\/p>\n Exhibition games run through Saturday at Ridder Arena.<\/a><\/p>\n The showcase is part of the national team selection process for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in December and January at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis <\/p>\n at what is currently known as Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.<\/a><\/p>\n Duluth <\/p>\n will be hosting pre-tournament games<\/a><\/p>\n in December.<\/p>\n Kleber, a 2024 second-round NHL draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, said he doesn\u2019t want to be listening to any national anthem but his own come January in St. Paul.<\/p>\n United States defenseman Adam Kleber of Minnesota Duluth skates during the 2025 USA Hockey World Junior Summer Showcase on Sunday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n Bjorn Franke \/ USA Hockey<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be singing any other team\u2019s national anthem. That\u2019s a real motivator, especially having it be in Minnesota,\u201d Kleber said. \u201cWe\u2019re playing for a lot more than just a gold medal. We\u2019re playing for our country, the home country.\u201d<\/p>\n Kleber is seeking his second World Juniors gold medal while the U.S. is going after a third straight. He said this week in Minneapolis is about proving to the coaching staff \u2014 led by the Gophers\u2019 Bob Motzko \u2014 that he can take on a bigger role and be more of an impact player in 2026 than he did in 2025 when he had a single assist in six games.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just trying to take a bigger role, trying to command more on the ice and have more of a killer mentality out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Minnesota Duluth defenseman Adam Kleber (6) celebrates a second-period goal against Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n Clint Austin \/ File \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n Physically, Kleber has brought a larger presence to the ice. He\u2019s visibly stronger, and taller, than the lanky 6-foot-5, 210-pound freshman who put up two goals and three assists in 33 games last season with the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n Kleber has spent the summer working out back home in the Twin Cities, focusing more on his strength and mobility \u2014 being more of an athlete \u2014 than his skating. He\u2019s skated less this summer than in the past, but that\u2019s starting to ramp up, he said.<\/p>\n “Just a big, strong, positive presence,” Motzko said in his assessment of Kleber. “All these teams are going to say returning players take that next step. For us, it’s those kids who come back for their sophomore year of college that take those big steps. We watch it year after year.”<\/p>\n Sunday and Monday\u2019s split-squad games for the United States against Sweden and Finland in Minneapolis were Kleber\u2019s first hockey games since the Bulldogs\u2019 season ended on March 15 at Arizona State in the NCHC quarterfinals.<\/p>\n The U.S. will combine its two teams for exhibitions on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at Ridder Arena.<\/p>\n The Bulldogs still have another two months off before playing games, opening the 2025-26 season with a trip to play the Alaska Nanooks in Fairbanks on Oct. 3-4.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s getting to the point where I’m hitting the wall in the offseason with working out,\u201d Kleber said. \u201cYou just want to start playing games and get the season rolling.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"United](\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/12685cb\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3327x2218+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fbe%2F1d%2F609a2f624aaba9dccd9b38093116%2Fadam-kleber474675.jpg\")
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