Cal Petersen won’t play much for USA Hockey this month. There’s a chance he could play a lot next year, and it has the Sabres prospect intrigued.

Petersen is the third U.S. goaltender at the world championships, which begin Friday in Germany. He’s behind Detroit’s Jimmy Howard and Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck on the depth chart.

As of now, there won’t be any NHLers at the 2018 Olympics, so Petersen could shoot to the top of the Americans’ list. It might be enough to lure him back to Notre Dame for his senior season.