U-18 Men’s World Championship: Who stood out in the quarterfinals

Credit: LJ Mooney (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

ESPOO, Fin. – And then there were four.

USA, Canada, Sweden and Slovakia are the four teams moving on to the semifinal round on Saturday, taking victories in an exciting day of action in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland.

The United States kicked off the day with a 4-0 victory over Switzerland – but it wasn’t easy. The game was 0-0 after 20 minutes, but James Hagens’ three-point night helped them skate away with the victory. The Swedes then won a tight 2-1 over Finland, meaning the hosts won’t have a chance to play for a medal this year.

In Vantaa, Slovakia managed to shock Czechia with a 3-2 win, meaning Slovakia will challenge for a medal for a second consecutive year despite just squeaking into the quarterfinal in the final day of round-robin play. In the late game, Canada was dominant with a 4-0 win over Latvia, sending them back to the final four for the second year in a row.

The relegation game was absolutely wild, with Norway beating Kazakhstan 6-5 after an 11-round shootout. The Kazakhs will head to Division IA in 2025, getting replaced by Germany after just one year up in the big event.

Here’s a look at the top performers from Thursday’s action:

USA

#10 James Hagens, C: With three points, Hagens now owns the record for the most points ever by a Draft-1 player. He’s at 19 points, two short of the all-time scoring record set by Nikita Kucherov in 2011. Hagens has been one of the top MVP candidates at this tournament, registering just under four points a game while driving USA’s top line.

#2 Brodie Ziemer, RW: Ziemer has progressively gotten better in this tournament – he still plays his typical two-way hockey, but he’s now in double-digit territory for points, He had a goal and an assist today to help him reach 10 points in five games. I thought his effort without the puck was excellent, too, forcing a few turnovers and turning them into scoring chances, just like he did on the 1-0 goal.

#17 Trevor Connelly, LW: This was Connelly’s best game of the tournament, even though he didn’t register a point. He was one of the biggest reasons for the 1-0 goal, stealing the puck at 4-on-4 to keep the pressure on the Swiss before Hagens eventually scored to make it 1-0. He had a few other good looks and controlled the puck as well as anyone on the ice. He’s been excellent in a third-line role for the dominant Americans.

#25 LJ Mooney, RW (2025): But Connelly wouldn’t have been as effective without Mooney, who was consistently one of the best set-up guys all game long. He was moving and grooving, getting a ton of puck touches and danced around defenders often. Mooney has played better than his statline suggests – he’s helping to make things happen with his speed and creativity.

Switzerland

#1 Christian Kirsch, G: Much like he had against Canada, Kirsch stood on his head in the first period before things started to unravel. It’s hard to win games when your team can’t score, but he was easily Switzerland’s best player today. He made a few athletic stops on 2-on-1s and his glove hand was on full display today.

#9 Nolan Cattin, RW: Cattin was probably Switzerland’s most-rounded player today, giving a legitimate 200-foot effort, especially late. He’s not a scorer, but at 5-foot-9, he was moving like a mad man and had some good checks. I thought this was his most noticeable game after the two-point effort against Kazakhstan, especially when it came to stealing pucks from the stronger, faster Americans.

By Steven Ellis

Canada

#24 Tij Iginla, LW: Iginla was sound throughout the game, picking up two big assists on the opening goals from Masse and Ritchie. Iginla’s ability to see the ice and make key plays in the O-zone contributed to quite a few scoring chances. He has demonstrated how quickly he snap the puck off his stick and shoot from a variety of positions with his incredible shot. He came so close to scoring at one point, but hit the post.

#4 Harrison Brunicke, D: Brunicke has displayed solid offensive and defensive awareness throughout the tourney. He quickly jumped in the rush and made a nice pass to Iginla, who fed Ritchie for a goal. Brunicke helped guide Canada to a third goal after jumping up in the play with Caleb Desnoyers and McKenna, for good measure. Brunicke has good skating and uses his lateral movement to get himself and the puck out of tight spaces. He’s also good at using his skating to evade oncoming forecheckers and on the breakout.

#25 Caleb Desnoyers, C (2025): Desnoyers was fun to watch this game as he displayed raw offensive and defensive talent. Heck, he even walked in and tried to do the Michigan. Desnoyers picked up a big assist on Porter Martone’s goal after passing the puck off to Brunicke. As he did that, Desnoyers dropped back to the left side and retrieved the rebound, setting up Martone. His defensive awareness without the puck is high-end.

Latvia

#1 Mikus Vecvanags G: Vecvanags kept Latvia in this game, and despite losing 4-0, the game could have easily gotten out of control if it wasn’t for some big saves from the Latvian netminder. Vecvanags made 35 of 38 stops and looked rock solid throughout the game facing, giving Latvia it’s best chance of potentially snagging an upset. Unfortunately, you can’t win without scoring.

By Colton Davies

Finland

#10 Veeti Vaisanen, D: I’ve been critical of Veisanen, who I feel has been too quiet for my liking this week. But he was so smooth and calculated with his passes today and was very difficult to play against in his own zone. The Finns started off very slowly today, but Vaisanen came to play from the get-go and that momentum lasted the whole way. I thought he was better than Aron Kiviharju, his defense partner.

#24 Joona Saarelainen, LW: I liked him more at the start of the game, where it seemed like nobody could take the puck off him. He trailed a bit as the attention turned to shutting down Finland’s top line, but I thought Saarelainen still did a great job of pressuring the Swedish defenders to make moves sooner than they wanted.

Sweden

#20 Alfons Freij, D: This was Freij’s best game today. His speed and skill was on display, and while his play didn’t directly result in a goal, he did have a hand in generating some quality scoring chances for the Swedes. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with him at this tournament – when he’s on his game, he’s great. But a full 60 minutes of consistency has been hard to come by. In terms of live viewings at this tournament, this was my favorite.

#35 Love Harenstam, G (2025): Harenstam was lights out in the first half, with the 1-1 goal being a bit ugly. But beyond that, Harenstam showed how athletic he was, making a few major stops on some high-danger chances by the Finns. Goaltending might have been the difference in this game.

#17 Viggo Nordlund, RW (2025): Nordlund was one of the better defensive forwards for Sweden in a game that saw a full team effort. You can see the skill that he possesses but he didn’t show a ton of it – instead, he kept it simple and backchecked as hard as just about anyone.

By Steven Ellis

Czechia

#17 Adam Titlbach, LW: Another day, another Adam being highlighted for Czechia. Titlbach is a quick and skilled forward who uses his playmaking abilities along with his shot to be a dual threat. After a one-timer shot from Zilenski went off the pad and out, Titlbach used his nose for the net to pounce on the rebound and tie the game. Titlbach can control a play well, he is fast, very agile and quick.

#9 Adam Benak, C (2025): Benak was all over the ice again, recording two big assists. On the second goal, he made a nice entry play, beating out a Slovak defender and feeding a tape-to-tape pass to Fibgir, who went bardown. Benak’s speed was on full display, as the small forward was constantly moving his feet and on the prowl to strip pucks away. With his creativity, Benak uses a variety of pathways to get himself to the net.

Slovakia

#4 Luka Radivojevic, D (2025): Radivojevic is among the top ice time leaders at the U18 tournament, averaging 27:51 minutes and it’s easy to see why. Radivojevic is a smaller puck-moving defender, the 5-foot-10 defenseman is a fast and powerful skater and possesses a great tape-to-tape passing game which he displayed by registering an assist on Tobias Tomik’s opening goal.

#17 Ondrej Maruna, C: Maruna had the big go-ahead goal for the Slovaks after picking up a nice feed from Chovan right in front of the net for Maruna to tap in. He then scored his second goal of the night off a weird shot off the boards that beat Milota. Maruna’s best attribute is using his size to his advantage and creating havoc around the net front that helps create space and open chances for linemates.

#18 Miroslav Satan, C: The large center isn’t afraid to go into corners and battle it out, using his size and reach to knock pucks loose, tie up defenders and create plays. Satan’s board work was evident on Maruna’s goal as he stayed with the puck while a Czech forward hounded him, using his size to disrupt the play and make a quick pass off to Chovan.

#31 Alan Lendak, G: Lendak bailed the Slovaks out more than once. Lendak stopped 27 out of 29 shots he faced and had a flurry of shots against in the third as Czechia tried to even it up. Lendak’s poise and ability to position himself towards shots while puck tracking is one of his strong suits. He displayed solid lateral movement and a quick glove, especially late as the Czechs tried to create chances in the third.