U-18 World Championship Scouting Notebook: The standouts from Day 1

BASEL, Switzerland – The 7-1 final score doesn’t provide integral context: it was 0-0 heading into the second, and the Latvians doubled up on the Americans in the first, shot-wise. The Americans were just too much for the Latvians, and by the time Latvia enlisted backup Nils Maurins to finish the game, it was all but over.

America’s top line was rolling as expected. Will Smith scored twice, Gabe Perreault had a pair of assists and Ryan Leonard was named player of the game with three points. Smith, in particular, had his usual moments of trying to get too fancy to make something happen, but he dominated at points in a way nobody else could match. Coach Dan Muse gave props to goaltender Trey Augustine, who looked like his typical self in the second half after allowing some dangerous rebounds early.

You can’t watch a USA game and not be fixated on Cole Eiserman. He’s on the third line with his good buddy James Hagens, but he’s better than most team’s first-liners. Like, miles better. The way he commands the puck, rushes it down the ice and gets a shot off is above the rest for the 2024 NHL Draft crop. He played the point on the power play as opposed to the wing like at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge in November. Regardless, he’s downright lethal no matter where.
Watching Cole Hutson is like watching his brother, Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson. He’s a tremendous puck-mover with a quick release that sometimes makes him look more like a forward. But there are the occasional defensive mistakes that make you scratch your head. Granted, he’s an underaged defenseman, and the highs outweigh the lows, but he needs to tone his game down occasionally. Ultimately, he had three assists and got huge praise from his coach. So, yeah, he’s still a Hutson brother. He’s still a great offensive defenseman. Simple as that.
After an excellent World Junior A Challenge in December, Aksels Ozols keeps the momentum rolling with yet another great performance in the Latvian net. He wasn’t challenged too much in the first, but made a couple of stops on the power play and generally didn’t look fazed. He was a bit more confident in the first period than Trey Augustine at the other end, who gave up a bit more rebounds than we’re used to. Ozols only played the first two periods as they elected to keep him rested for Friday’s game against Switzerland – one they should be able to hang in.
Latvian forward Kristers Ansons, the brother of Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Ravis, had a good showing. From talking to some other scouts, many were disappointed he didn’t shoot more – there were at least two times he could have scored had he not elected for a pass in the slot. But from talking about scouts, many are excited about his progression and think he’ll go up in the upper-half of the 2024 draft. From a skill perspective, I can see it.

Sweden slaughters Canada 8-0

I’m not even sure what to say about what happened to Canada.

This was a group so many had high hopes for. With a stacked offensive unit, highlighted by top 2023 prospects , Canada completely fell apart, allowing five goals in the first period against Sweden. That Swedish group is largely the same that lost to Latvia at the World Junior A Challenge, by the way. They took bronze in the end, but on paper, you’d still think Canada wouldn’t have been decimated like they were, especially after a strong pre-tournament.

But, alas, it was a slaughter.

The Swedes won 8-0, with Canada forced to make goaltending change early. Carson Bjarnason, considered to be one of the top goaltenders in the game, was pulled early after allowing five goals on seven shots. After that, Gabriel D’Aigle allowed three, but it didn’t matter anyway – his team literally didn’t score. As soon as Sweden got up early, it was over.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka was just outside my top 10 in my latest NHL Draft rankings. I wonder if he took it personally, because he put up a five-point afternoon against Canada. He’s as confident of a puck-mover as they come, and
Otto Stenberg had one of the biggest falls in my draft rankings due to some less-than-stellar work in the SHL. But against his own age, he’s excellent and led the way with a pair of goals. Internationally, he’s been one of the better Swedes this year. I’m hoping to see him step up the rest of the way.
It wasn’t an easy night for Swedish goaltender Noah Erliden, either. He stopped all 30 shots, including some high-quality chances from Canada’s top line. Given the matchup, a shutout seemed highly unlikely. But Erliden, who was a big reason why Sweden won bronze at the World Junior A Challenge, was also on the top of his game.
Macklin Celebrini, the top prospect for the 2024 draft, had a pair of penalties and only mustered three shots on net. He looked out of his element, which was rather unusual. Early tournament jitters, maybe, but he just looked frustrated out there.
The Swedes did an excellent job of shutting the Canadians down. Canada’s top line had nine shots, Nick Lardis had five, and then nobody else had more than two. And while they had 30 shots, there weren’t a ton of high-danger chances in close. Canada just looked frustrated – don’t expect the same against Germany on Friday.
Lukas Dragicevic… minus five. And he looked the part too. Not good.

Slovaks surprise Czechia in first game back from promotion

Well, that was interesting.

Typically, the Czechs would have the edge against Slovakia in a junior international competition. Instead, the Slovaks – including top 2023 prospect Dalibor Dvorsky – took a 2-0 lead before eventually closing it out 3-2 in the shootout.

It was a big win for the newly promoted Slovaks, who hadn’t beaten Czechia at this tournament since 2018. Both teams had considerable high-end draft talent, but it was Slovakia that ended up snagging the extra point – something that could prove critical in a tight Group A race.

Adam Cedzo had as good of a game as I’ve seen from him, with two goals and six shots. Along with Dalibor Dvorsky, Cedzo played nearly half of the first period before seeing his ice time drop in the latter stages, naturally. He then scored in the shootout to answer the Czechs, which turned out to be key.
Speaking of Dvorsky, nine shots, but nothing to show for. He played 25 minutes, which you should expect to see often during this tournament given the team’s forward core. Still a solid game, despite getting shut out.
Eduard Sale, projected to go early this year, was also exactly as advertised. He scored the game-tying goal late in the second and added another in the shootout to give the Czechs a temporary advantage. He has a good track record against prospects his own age.
Michael Hrabal had to play the game of his life on Thursday, stopping 39 of the 41 shots sent his way. Considered to be one of the top goaltenders in the draft, the big 6-foot-6 keeper struggled at points during the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup last summer. Despite the loss, this was good redemption at the U-18 level.

Finland edges Switzerland 4-2

Let’s be frank: the Swiss were outmatched, but they gave one heck of a fight in front of the home crowd. They grinded the Finns down, survived some heavy pressure on the penalty kill and got some decent goaltending from Ewan Huet, the son of Stanley Cup champions Cristobal Huet. After trailing 2-0, they sent the Basel faithful into a frenzy, making it 2-2 to close out the second.

But in the end, the Finns ended up taking it 4-2. It was a hard-fought game overall, but the Finns were definitely the better team and the result was as expected. Although, even with the win, the Finns left a lot to be desired. We’ll see how they develop the rest of the tournament.

Switzerland’s Leo Braillard has been a contention point for me. Sometimes, I love him. Other times, I don’t see a ton there. Tonight, especially on that power-play goal to make it 2-1, he looked dangerous. His release is great and I wish he’d use it more. It’s his decision-making that can leave me scratching my head sometimes, though. I think he’ll get drafted, albeit late. Regardless, they’ll need him at the top of his game over the next week, and he’s definitely capable of that.
I was waiting for Finland’s Kasper Halttunen to pot one, and he did – the game-winner. I saw him a lot in Liiga action and just wish he was given more opportunities but he can dominate U-18 competition. That goal felt well-deserved.
Eemil Vinni is one of the best goaltenders for the 2024 draft already, but I feel like he has a tendency to allow too many goals up high. That’s not atypical at this age group, though.