Under-18 World Championship: Connor Bedard makes history, USA dominant

LANDSHUT and KAUFBEUREN, Germany – We’re through two days at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship and I’ve had a chance to see all eight teams competing live and in person. Hundreds of NHL scouts, many of the NHL’s top team executives and some really great crowds of spectators have flocked to Bavaria to see some of the future stars of the league.

Through two days, USA and Finland hold the top spots in their respective groups with perfect records, Canada and Sweden bounced back from disappointing setbacks in their openers and all of Czechia, Germany, Switzerland and Latvia have shown they can be competitive with the Big Four.

There’s been a bit of an odd feel to this tournament as there is usually a Big Five. The absence of Russia has loomed particularly largely in the first world championship event since the IIHF instituted a ban on Russia and Belarus from competition in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Both would have been in the tournament otherwise. It’s hard not to notice as Russia had one of the best teams in the age group and Matvei Michkov was the reigning MVP of this tournament.

The talent pool is slightly watered down compared to previous years, but there is still a litany of top-level prospects for the 2022 NHL Draft and an unusually large amount of elite-level 2023 NHL Draft prospects, including Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, Canada’s duo that should go in the top three next year with Bedard being the consensus No. 1.

While I’m out in Germany, I wanted to give you a glimpse of what’s going on here in this important draft event and share some of the things I’ve seen and heard over the course of this tournament.

USA’s dominant start fueled by Isaac Howard, Logan Cooley

Isaac Howard, who was ranked No. 12 on Daily Faceoff’s midseason draft rankings, has had a sensational start to the tournament as the U.S. has rolled through Canada, 8-3, and Czechia, 6-2, en route to the best record in Group A. The skilled winger scored four goals against Canada and another against Czechia. He is currently leading the tournament with five goals and six points and has been a force for the U.S. from the drop of the puck.

Also getting highly involved is Logan Cooley, our midseason No. 1 prospect, who has four points and ranks third in the tournament so far. Cooley and Howard were both part of the team last year as well, so the experience certainly helps.

In Cooley’s case, his speed has overwhelmed defenders and he’s able to make a lot of plays at speed, too. That’s always been one of his greatest attributes and he’s allowed it to shine here. As for Howard, he has outstanding puck skills and has shown an ever-more-dangerous release. More importantly, however, he’s getting to the tough scoring areas and finding the middle of the ice easily, which is important for him as he’s not a particularly big guy.

Both Cooley and Howard have seen their draft stocks dip a bit in the months since I put out my midterm rankings. They’re both looking like first-round picks and Cooley still probably goes in the top five, but having a big tournament really helps that cause.

Also on Team USA, captain Rutger McGroarty had a big hand in the team’s come-from-behind win over Czechia as he scored two goals and has been a particularly disruptive force for opposing defensemen in their own zone. His size, strength, work ethic and shooting ability are all standout traits that I think can help teams win. The biggest thing he needs to improve on is his skating, but so much else about his game screams NHL.

Lastly, this U.S. team could have as many as seven first-rounders on it. Defenseman Ryan Chesley is making a great case to be among them with two strong games and three points in the tournament so far. His numbers weren’t spectacular, but he’s looked like a top-level defenseman in this tournament.

Bedard picks up right where he left off, makes history

He’s only 16 years old, but he’s a veteran – the only veteran on Canada’s roster from last year’s gold-medal team. Bedard had seven goals and 14 points in that tournament, matching the production of Connor McDavid at the same age in this tournament. McDavid also won gold.

Now the captain and the team’s best player, Bedard has shown that he can put the team on his back when called upon. He had a goal and an assist before the game got away from Canada against the U.S., dropping a no-look centering pass for a goal and then sniping the top corner from a severe angle for his own tally.

In the Canadians’ second contest, they still were trying to find their game against host Germany. It took them a while, but they found it, and Bedard finished that game with a hat trick. He’s second behind Howard with four goals and five points in the tournament, already scoring ahead of his pace from last season.

Bedard actually made history with his performance against Germany as well. He is now Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer in this tournament and also passed Mathew Barzal to become Canada’s all-time leading point scorer as well. Bedard has 19 points in just nine career games, while Barzal had 16 points in 14 games. This kid is on a different planet.

Sweden starts slow

Sweden got off to an awful start in the tournament, first dealing with some COVID-19 positive cases upon arrival in Germany, forcing some of their players to isolate in the hotel. They also have had some injuries, but head coach Magnus Havelid did not want to make excuses for his team, especially after losing a game to Latvia.

That’s right. Sweden got upset by Latvia, 3-2, in the tournament opener. I wasn’t in the building, but NHL scouts were disappointed with the disinterested effort Sweden gave in that particular contest. Then the Swedes were down 2-1 against Switzerland heading into the third period of their second game. I was in the building for that one and witnessed them score five goals in the third to claim a 6-2 win and regain confidence.

Havelid said after the game he challenged the team ahead of the third period to just play. They had been gripping their sticks too tightly and that nervousness didn’t allow them to play the game he knew was in there. They found it.

The line of Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Noah Ostlund and Liam Ohgren took the game over with Lekkerimaki scoring twice, including an absolutely dazzling breakaway goal in the second period, and Ostlund scoring with incredible skill on a power play. Mattias Havelid – no relation to the coach, but the son of former NHLer Niclas Havelid – has been a steadying presence on their back end, too. He was named player of the game in the win over Switzerland.

Lekkerimaki has a lot of ground to make up after missing more than a month with a non-COVID illness. Despite missing that much time, he started to look more like himself in that third period comeback. He is one of the elite shooters in this draft and looks like he could yet be a top-15 pick. Ostlund and Ohgren are still fighting for first-round consideration and can really help themselves in this tournament.

Sweden will have to hope that third period is a sign of things to come because if they play like they did against Latvia, it’s going to be a short trip for them.

The 2023 group looks exciting

Beyond Bedard, scouts are getting a great preview for the 2023 NHL draft class at this tournament. Fantilli has played very well for the Canadians as the No. 2 C behind Bedard. His strength, speed and skill have all put him among the elite players in this tournament.

The U.S. also has Charlie Stramel, who in these smaller buildings you can hear teammates shouting ‘Rig’ to get the puck from him. Rig, as in ‘Big Rig.’ The 6-foot-3, 215-pound center can absolutely fly and has really good soft-touch skills on top of being a large human. There aren’t a lot of power centers like him, so he’ll continue to attract eyeballs.

Some of the younger players for the European teams have also been eye-catching.

Eduard Sale, who plays for Czechia, had three assists in the team’s opening win over Germany. His ability to spot teammates and get pucks to them decisively has shown some of his maturity and confidence at a young age. Every level he’s been at, he’s produced at a spectacularly high rate, and he’s coming off the most productive season by a U17 player in Czechia’s top U20 league.

Finland’s Kasper Haltuunen has also turned some heads in this event. The 16-year-old is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds and is difficult to stop on the rush. He scored two goals in Finland’s win over Latvia and showcased a heavy game with great work ethic on top of having good finishing skill.

In all, there are 36 players that have appeared in a game in this tournament that are eligible for next year’s draft, 20 of them have registered at least one point and two goaltenders have made appearances.

We sometimes get a little overzealous in declaring this draft or that draft strong more than one year out, but I do think the 2023 class is a bit more enticing and the presence of so many young players in this event has increased the value for NHL teams and scouts to be here and see what they’re about as a preview for next year.

There’s more than enough to keep you busy with the 2022 class in this tournament, but it’s hard not to find 2023 guys catching your eye in a lot of these games.

Emptying the notebook

Top Finnish prospect Joakim Kemell missed his team’s second game of the tournament with a non-COVID illness. It is expected to be short term and he’s believed to be coming back as early as Thursday’s preliminary-round finale against Sweden.

The excitement surrounding 15-year-old Aron Kiviharju is not going to slow down much now that he’s started his tournament with three assists. After he put up 30 points in Finland’s top U20 league last season, there’s a lot of hype surrounding him. There are some caveats, though. Kiviharju is a smaller defenseman, but there is hope he can grow some more. His hand skills, vision and passing ability are all high-end traits, though. As he gets stronger and plays older, stronger competition, he’ll have to find ways to adjust, but he does not look out of place here and essentially has been a top-pairing guy for Finland. He’s not draft eligible until 2024.

Top Russian prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko, who was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma earlier this year, is being treated in Germany right now and has attended some of the games in Landshut. It’s allowed the young Russian to speak with teams to update them on how treatment is going. Before the diagnosis and everything else with Russia, he looked like he could be a top-five pick. Regardless of what any of this means for his draft stock, it was just good to see the player in good spirits.

Canada’s roster was really up against it this year. Hockey Canada does not have players leave their teams in the middle of the CHL playoffs, so that limits the pool significantly. In this particular tournament, they don’t have a single QMJHL player because that season is still ongoing, and they are missing a number of the biggest names in the 2022 NHL Draft class. This is going to be a down year for Canada at the draft as it is, but to be missing such a huge chunk of players, it has shown in this tournament. Beyond Bedard and Fantilli, Canada hasn’t had enough from other sources. That doesn’t mean it can’t win it all still, though. There’s a good amount of talent on the roster and Bedard and Fantilli just may be the two best players in the tournament. Still, we’ve seen stumbles like getting throttled by the U.S. and allowing Germany back into a game before pulling away in the third period, which are cause for concern. Still, it’s important to know the context about how this tournament operates and particularly how Hockey Canada has to select its team in this particular season after winning gold last year when it really was only missing its QMJHL players.

Speaking with Sweden coach Magnus Havelid after Sweden’s win over Switzerland, he brought up a particularly good point about how disjointed their start was. He reminded us how in a normal setting, these players would have played a lot more tournaments together in the last few years. While other things like the World Juniors and Under-18s came back, a lot of smaller tournaments like Four Nations or Five Nations were not held due to COVID-19 risks. He said the coaching staff didn’t fully appreciate how big of a challenge that presented. They couldn’t approach this World Championship like they normally would because the players are still learning each other. That might be why the team’s big line of Lekkerimaki, Ostlund and Ohgren are so good for them. They played together all year and for a chunk of their youth careers at Djugardens. It was another reminder of how COVID has really put the clamps to lower levels of hockey and hindered national team development in particular for some countries.

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Under-18 World Championship: Connor Bedard makes history, USA dominant

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