U-18 World Championship Scouting Notebook: The top standouts on final day of round-robin

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Ryan Leonard (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

Basel, Switzerland – And now, the fun begins.

We’ve completed the round-robin portion of the U-18 World Championship in Switzerland, with most of the games being blowouts on Tuesday. It was a shame, but now we’re faced with a few interesting match-ups to begin the elimination round.

The opening game in Ajoie saw Sweden beat Germany 3-0, with all three goals coming in the final 10 minutes of the game. USA then smacked Switzerland for double digits in Basel before Canada put up eight against Czechia. Finland capped things off with a massive 10-2 win over Norway, a game with a bit of physical intensity despite the lopsided score.

So now, we’ve got this quarterfinal schedule for Thursday’s action:

USA vs. Czechia – 6:30 AM ET
Finland vs. Slovakia- 9:00 AM ET
Canada vs. Switzerland – 11:30 AM ET
Sweden vs. Latvia- 2:00 PM ET

Germany and Norway will also kick off a best-of-three relegation series in Porrentruy on Thursday with a 5:00 AM ET start.

USA smashes Switzerland 10-0

  • Well, Cole Eiserman. All he does is score. And with his eighth of the tournament, he now has the single-season U-17 goal-scoring leading in the same year he broke the record at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. Eiserman is now up to 68 goals this year, good for second behind Cole Caufield in a single USNTDP season. There’s a reason scouts consider him to be one of the best shooters in recent years – and he’s not eligible until 2024.
  • Gabe Perreault had yet another four-point effort, his third time doing so this week. His creativity was on full display once again as he increased his all-time USNTDP scoring record to 129 points. Nobody is even close at this point.
  • But where would Perreault be without Will Smith? That’s another four-point night for the dynamic centerman. There are a lot of teams with a chance to draft around the 5-10 mark this year that are loving what they’re seeing.
  • Oh, and then there’s Ryan Leonard. A five-point night for him, and his 49th goal of the year? Yeah, he’s quite special.
  • Shout out to Drew Fortescue, who scored his first goal of the season just 15 seconds into this one. He’s been active offensively, more than we’re used to seeing. He was rewarded early in this one.

Finland obliterates Norway

  • It was the Jesse Kiiskinen show on Tuesday, with No. 23 scoring twice and adding an assist. He’s a smart player who knows where he must be, and this might have been his most dominant performance of the tournament – even if the opponent left a lot to desire.
  • Kasper Halttunen can be a frustrating player to watch. When he uses his shot (with one clocked at 148.5 km/h today), he’s lethal. When he uses his size correctly, nobody wants to mess with him. But he took a couple of penalties out of anger today, and you could see scouts writing things down while shaking their heads when that happened. Today, with four points, there’s a bunch to like.
  • Yes, it’s another Aron Kiviharju update. With three assists in the opening period and another near the end, the 2024 NHL Draft prospect played some of his best hockey of the tournament today. Kiviharju is tied with USA’s Cole Hutson for the tournament lead with seven points, all assists. He’s also playing about 25 minutes a night, which is absurd for an underaged prospect.
  • Emil Kuusla hasn’t played much, but he’s smart, feisty and dangerous around the net. He’s a decent sparkplug player, fitting in a nice role position deep in the lineup after putting up nearly a point per game in U-20 league action.

Canada stands tall against Czechia

  • Matthew Wood‘s excellent tournament continues. He scored a hat-trick to lead the way for the Canadians, including the game-winner just 14 seconds into the third. Watching him, you can see a level of maturity that he obtained during his year in the NCAA. He fast-tracked to get there a year early, and with his size and skill, he thrived. That second half was excellent, and he’s been Canada’s best forward in this tournament.
  • Riley Heidt joined Canada for its third game over the weekend and has made an immediate impact. He has already shown some considerable chemistry with Wood on the top line and it’s good to see him playing on the power play, as well.
  • That was Caden Price‘s most impactful two-way game. He had a pair of assists while playing around 15 minutes a night. Despite not playing a ton, he’s generating plenty of scoring chances and has shown off his smart decision-making.
  • Once again, Porter Martone… man, he does it all. It’s too bad we’ll have to wait another year for him to get drafted, but the progress this year has been exceptional.
  • If the Czechs are going to pull through against the United States, Eduard Sale will need to get himself on the board. He’s been the team’s best skater every night and scored again today. But the Czechs have struggled to generate secondary offense – it might take a multi-goal effort from Sale to make a real dent.

Sweden edges Germany 3-0

  • The Germans had nothing to play for, but Nico Pertuch made 25 saves to give an outmatched German team a fighting chance. It was Pertuch’s first game of the tournament, and he gave the fans a nice show.
  • Otto Stenberg was a man on a mission late in the game and set up both power-play goals six minutes apart in the third. I, like many, was one that shoved him down the draft rankings due to some poor play in the SHL. But against other kids his age, Stenberg has managed to stand out time and time again this week.
  • Tom Willander has been one of the best two-way defensemen in the tournament, and he capped off the round-robin with two points. He’s especially dangerous on the power play, but he’s also patient enough with the puck to make you notice.
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