RED DEER, AB – The 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the first U18 tournament on the ice hockey calendar this season – played without Russia – ended with Canada’s 4-1 win over Sweden in the gold medal game on Saturday. I was present throughout the event. Here’s who I think did well or badly at the tournament.
Colby Barlow, LW, Canada, 2023 eligible: Barlow didn’t play a prominent role on scoring or power play in this tournament, but I found he did what he was asked to do effectively. He competed well and was an undermanned threat. I thought his feet looked better than they did last season in the OHL. We know he can shoot – 30 goals as a 16-year-old in the O doesn’t happen by accident – but seeing the other things he’s good at helped his pro case even if he wasn’t putting up big numbers.
Zachary Benson, LW, Canada, 2023 eligible: Benson didn’t make it as big as I expected, but to me he was the driving force behind Canada’s offense and he was clearly the most skilled player in attendance. Benson isn’t that tall and doesn’t have great speed, but that’s why I loved seeing how hard he fought and how many fights he won. He’s elusive enough with his edges that if he works like that all the time to go with his elite hands/brains he’ll be able to make a difference as a pro.
Michael Hrabal, G, Czech Republic, 2023 eligible: Hrabal did quite well in this tournament and helped lead the Czech Republic to a couple of wins in games where they were outplayed. At 6-foot-6, 201 pounds, he’s an imposing figure on the net even as a 17-year-old. His lateral movement isn’t amazing, but it’s good for his size and complements his strong technique and reading. He is involved with UMass and plans to play in the United States this season. His USHL rights are owned by Dubuque who is bringing back some experienced goalkeepers so Hrabal told me his plan is to play in the NAHL. In that case, he would be the best NAHL prospect since Anthony Stolarz in 2012 as Hrabal looks like the early favorite to be the first goalie picked in the 2023 draft.
Eduard Sale, LW, Czech Republic, 2023 eligible: Sales have been good but after his spring U18 World Championships where he scored 9 points in 6 games I was expecting a bit more. His toolkit is clearly NHL quality. He skates, plays the puck, passes and shoots like a pro. In his best shifts, playing with pace and making skillful plays, Sale looked like an impact player and made some of the skillful plays of the tournament. However, I found his effort to be just average and there were long stretches where he didn’t do much.
Brayden Yager, C, Canada, 2023 eligible: Yager had a great tournament. One could easily argue between him and Benson as the most influential player of the event. He’s not the greatest striker, but he does everything well. He is a strong skater with a high skill level who can make plays. His game was full of energy and of course he can finish. He had 4 goals and multiple posts in the tournament. Aside from his shot, I don’t know if anything about his game is high-end, but he looks like a pretty complete player.
Kasper Halttunen, RW, Finland, 2023 eligible: Halttunen had arguably the most disappointing tournament of the top prospects. His effort wasn’t great, which made him disappear with his mediocre skating for a long time. As a goalscorer, just scoring once isn’t your biggest argument. He’s very skilled, can snap and is a good size, but after a great U18 World Championship, this wasn’t a great start to his draft season.
Matthew Wood, RW, Canada, 2023 Eligible: Wood got his points, but for a man who did so well at junior level last season and scored nearly two points a game in the BCHL, I thought he was ok at that level because he was in Germany was at the U18. There is no doubt that he has talent. Wood is a big winger with great hands who sees the ice well and shoots the puck. However, his skating is a significant concern as he significantly delayed the game at times and was on the bench during the important games. The plan is for him to go to the University of Connecticut this season as a 17-year-old, but I’m afraid he’s not ready for that level.
Otto Stenberg, LW, Sweden, 2023 eligible: Stenberg was the leading player for Sweden. I found he eased off a bit in the tougher games, but he was still one of the tournament’s leading scorers. He is very skilful, sees the ice well, can shoot the puck and competes well at both ends of the ice. It’s not that tall and it walks well, but it’s not a blazer. I could see him as a first-round pick in the second half of the round.
Aron Kiviharju, LHD, Finland, 2024 eligible: Kiviharju was a standout for Finland despite being 16 years old. His hockey feel is excellent. He always tries to play at both ends of the ice and shows great attitude with the puck. Kiviharju has strong, not amazing speed, but he’s a great skater with excellent edge work. He reminds me a bit of Ty Smith as a junior in the way he skates and moves pucks. His 5-foot-9 height may be the only thing keeping him from being a super-high pick in the 2024 NHL draft.
Ethan Gauthier, RW, Canada, 2023 Eligible: Gauthier was a player I wasn’t too sure about coming to this event but I thought he had a very strong tournament. He’s got great hands and brains and he’s scored five goals which shows he has an offensive touch. His work ethic really struck me, albeit in a way I’ve never seen in the past. He’s not a great skater, especially for his size, but the competition gives him a real shot at being a guy helping an NHL team.
Where are the defenders?
I wrote about this far too early in my 2023 NHL draft, but the lack of defensive talent in this draft class is at least noticeable early on.
Mikhail Gulyayev was not present and he probably would have been noticed. Cam Allen was very good in the Hlinka as a two-way type – not as good as I thought, especially offensively, but good. Theo Lindstein from Sweden was good. He’s agile and can move pucks, but wasn’t that strong in the medal round. However, if you look around the tournament, you have to squint to find real NHL defensive talent. Canada had good defenders, but in terms of first-round projection, they were either good skaters with size who lacked offense, like Caden Price or Dylan MacKinnon, or undersized defenders who weren’t dynamic offensively, like Jordan Tourigny and Tanner Moldenyk. Andrew Strathmann was good for USA as a highly mobile player with good skills, but he’s also 5-foot-11.
It was my observation and that of several NHL scouts in attendance that this looks like a very easy draft year for defense (to go along with a strong year up front). Things can change though as it’s only August and I expect the guys to show up as the season progresses.
(Top photo by Ethan Gauthier by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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