2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup: Top standouts from Day 2
EDMONTON – With two days complete, we now know three of the four teams headed to the semifinal.
Canada and Czechia have qualified for Friday’s playoff round, with both teams looking to win medals again after playing in the gold medal game back in 2023. Sweden, one of the pre-tournament favorites, also clinched, with USA and Germany set to battle on Wednesday to see which team will claim the final spot.
In the opening game of the day, Czechia improved to 2-0 and advanced to Friday’s semifinal with a 7-4 victory over the Germans. Adam Benak became the all-time tournament-scoring leader thanks to a five-point night, giving him 17 over the past two years. The United States then followed it up with a 3-1 victory, with the Finns missing out on the playoff round after registering just two goals in two games.
Sweden had the most lopsided victory of the day, pummeling Switzerland 12-1. Ivar Stenberg and Milton Gastrin both had seven points in an incredible showing for the linemates, with Viktor Klinsell coming in with six points himself.
Canada then capped the day off on home ice, beating Slovakia 5-1. Cameron Schmidt scored twice in the first period to help put the game away, while Lucas Beckman ultimately won the goaltending duel in his tournament debut.
Here’s a look at the top performers from the four games in Edmonton on Tuesday, with the three-day preliminary round set to conclude on Wednesday:
Canada
#23 Cameron Schmidt, RW: With two goals in the first, Schmidt stole any energy that the Slovaks would have possibly hoped to have with a hot first period. He was in the right spot in the right time in both situations, something that has helped him be productive early in his junior career. Schmidt isn’t a playdriver, but something must be said about how dangerous he is around the net.
#26 Luca Romano, RW: Romano scored Canada’s lone goal in the second and then had two more good looks later in the period. It seemed like everything started to click after that, which is good because I haven’t seen much on the offensive front from him over the past few years. Romano finished the game He seemed to have good chemistry with Liam Kilfoil, which helped.
#24 Liam Kilfoil, LW: Speaking of Kilfoil, the Halifax Mooseheads forward showed why he’s known for his playmaking. He has a good shot, too, but he made some good headman passes to generate scoring chances, and it paid off with Romano’s goal. I remember being quite disappointed with Kilfoil at the U-17s last year but he’s had two decent games to kick this tournament off.
#31 Lucas Beckman, G: Beckman was fantastic in his tournament debut, especially in the third period as the Slovaks looked to get back into contention. It started off quietly, but Beckman finished with just under 30 saves, including some high-quality stops during Canada’s five-minute penalty kill. Jack Ivankovic likely has the net the rest of the way, but Beckman was as good as you could ask for.
#3 Jackson Smith, D: After starting the tournament as Canada’s seventh defender, Smith played a more prominent role on Tuesday. His point shot early in the first resulted in a rebound chance for Schmidt, who made no mistake. Smith is an all-around defender who likes to hit, but also keeps guys to the perimeter. Today, we saw his mobility and two-way play on display.
Slovakia
#2 Michal Pradel, G: Pradel had to be good again, with Canada keeping him busy with 30 shots through two periods. That’s after he was fantastic against the Swedes, stopping many of their five-bell opportunities late in the game to keep the Slovaks in it. With good size and the ability to track pucks as well as anyone, Pradel has been one of the most impressive goaltenders through two games.
#15 Andreas Straka, RW: I appreciate how much Straka wants the puck. He tends to have it more than anyone on his line, and while it resulted in a bad giveaway at one point, Straka wants to get things done with the puck as often as possible. Players like that are useful in the NHL.
Finland
#1 Patrik Kerkola, G: Put it this way: Kerkola looked like the only player who wanted to play for the Finns today. He held the fort well with good positioning and mobility and made a couple of solid pad stops along the way, too. He’s been Finland’s best player through two days, but you can’t win when you’re limited offensively.
USA
#24 Nicolas Sykora, LW: The son of former NHLer and Czech national team forward Petr Sykora, Nicolas had a couple of early looks before nabbing an assist on the 1-0 goal. He stole the puck behind the Finnish net and fired it toward goaltender Patrik Kerkola, only for Chase Jette to tip it in. Sykora has an excellent shot release and while he didn’t get a goal of his own, he puts enough power behind every release that you can be confident something dangerous is going to happen at least a few times a game.
#22 Matthew Lansing, C: I love how Lansing attacks the game with speed, and he used it to help score a goal tonight, too. Lansing is very skilled with the puck and drives the play with purpose out there. That’s two games in a row where I thought he was one of USA’s top players, and that’s partly because he’s always moving.
#7 Ben Kevan, C: Kevan scored the second goal and then had a couple good looks the rest of the way. He is smooth and smart with the puck and drives the net as well as anyone, and this felt like a step up for him compared to yesterday’s effort – and even that was a solid showing. Kevan will remain a vital piece of USA’s attack as the tournament wears on.
Sweden
#15 Ivar Stenberg, RW (2026 NHL Draft): Stenberg had four goals and seven points in the most statistically dominant performance we’ve seen in quite some time. Just every time he touched the puck, magic happened. On one of his shots, he went bar down – and it wasn’t even his most impressive play. Stenberg means business when he touches the puck, and he won’t have to wait long to get selected in 2026.
#22 Milton Gastrin, C: Every good winger needs a good middleman, and Gastrin was the glue that made everything work on that dominant third line. He had seven points himself in easily one of the best performances I’ve seen from him. He just commands attention with the puck and today was as perfect of a game as you could ask for from the potential first-rounder.
#25 Viktor Klingsell, LW: And to round out, Klingsell had six points himself. He’s a tremendous setup man and his chemistry with Stenberg, in particular, has been evident through two games. I just love what he does with the puck – he knows where he wants it, and he gets it there.
Switzerland
#21 Florian Schenk, C: It’s hard to write anything positive about the Swiss, but Schenk at least gave it his all on the penalty kill and at 5-on-5. He’s clearly the most skilled forward they have but he has nobody to pass to out there. The Swiss will need him to keep moving if they’re going to produce… anything at this tournament, but at least Schenk’s effort was noticed by scouts.
Czechia
#17 Adam Benak, C: With a whopping five-point effort, Benak has now passed Magnus Paajarvi for first in all-time Hlinka Gretzky Cup scoring with 17. That was off the heels of a three-goal, five-point effort, showing that he has loads of skill to burn with. Benak has first-round talent, but at 5-foot-7 will he be good enough? That’s the question teams will be wondering to themselves all year long, but he clearly has the talent to be a game-breaker at this level, at least.
#8 Vit Zahejsky, C: Zahejsky had a goal and an assist today, building upon an excellent first game that scouts were raving about. He’s energetic out there and he’s got the footspeed to burn. I like how hard he battles in front of the net and he seems to sneakily find himself in scoring lanes, blasting through the middle to beat a defender while being nearly undetected.
#5 Radim Mrtka, D: Mrtka showed some good flashes of skill today, playing a much more effective game than against the Americans. He’s one of the players scouts are really honing in on here thanks to his big 6-foot-6 frame. I also liked how he kept opponents to the perimeter, and he deked more than a handful of players on the rush. Besides Benak, Mrtka is the player I’m focusing the most on for the Czechs.
#15 Tomas Poletin, RW: The team’s captain had a pair of points, while also being a distraction on the ice to allow Benak to break through on the attack and put pucks in the net. He’s a good puck handler who defenders tend to have an issue reading because he makes moves so swiftly and with a purpose.
Germany
#28 Gustavs Griva, C: After scoring the game-winning goal yesterday, Griva scored the opener today to give the Germans a brief lead. For a fourth-line center, I thought he stood out as Germany’s best player because he attacked the puck and drove the net quite often. He has good chemistry with his twin brother, Rihards, which is to be expected.
#22 David Lewandowski, RW: Lewandowski isn’t a great skater, but he knows how to take advantage of open space. And if you’re not going to be a speedster, you need that. The Saskatoon Blades draft pick seemed to be in a scoring lane more often than not today, and he was rewarded with the third German goal off of a nice shot. Lewandowski has been one of Germany’s better play drivers early on.
Wednesday’s Schedule
Czechia vs. Finland: 2:00 PM ET
USA vs. Germany: 5:30 PM ET
Switzerland vs. Czechia: 7:30 PM ET
Canada vs. Sweden: 9:30 PM ET