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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, International, NHL, NHL Entry Draft

Edmonton Oilers: 2019 Hlinka/Gretzky Group A Preview + Thoughts on the Oilers Defense Past 2019

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is set to kick off on August 5th and run until the 10th in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. For those of you that are new to the competition, it’s basically the world’s best under-18 players going head-to-head. Canada has won 22 of the last 28 contests and are looking to repeat as champions after winning last year’s edition of the tournament that was played in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Today’s Group A preview comes to us from the mind of Max L. (@TPEHockey)

Canada:
The Canadians are an early favorite to run away with this tournament due to their combination of high-end talent and depth. They occupied 5/10 of the top 10 scorers at the U17s last year. The team will be without 2020’s top prospect in Alexis Lafreniére due to him being a late 2001 born player rather than 2002. Nonetheless, the team has plenty of high-end talent, and anything less than a gold medal is a failure for this squad.

In net, the Canadians have various options. The go-to guy will likely be Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers who has a strong 16-year-old season with the team. They also have Tristan Lennox who is a late birthday eligible for the 2021 draft. Their defense is where it gets crazy. Canada has 4 or 5 first-round talents on their blueline including Jamie Drysdale, Jeremie Poirier, Kaiden Guhle, and Lukas Cormier. With the prominence of their blue line, Canada doesn’t lack forwards either. The consensus #2 guy for the 2020 draft, Quinton Byfield, will play for the team. The 6’5” monster dominates with his ridiculous skating ability and high-end skill set. Other potential 1st rounders include Cole Perfetti, Connor McClennon, Hendrix Lapierre, Jack Neighbors, and Theo Rochette.

Quinton Byfield | 2018-19 OHL Highlights | HD

Finland:
The Finns have been a dominant force in hockey as of late, but this year may be a little different. Their 2002 born and 2020 draft class lacks a ton of talent, but there is hope. They’ll be without consensus top 5 prospect Anton Lundell due to him being a late 01 which is a huge hit to their roster. Finland has a chance at competing for a medal, but they’ll likely be steamrolled by a team like Canada. Although they could be a very exciting team.

The team features a few stars that will come up in later drafts that everyone should have an eye on. Underaged Brad Lambert will likely make this team and he is nothing short of phenomenal. He is one of the best upcoming Finnish players we’ve ever seen, but not eligible until 2022. Lambert has far exceeded the benchmark put up by a player like Kaapo Kakko at the same age. Aatu Räty is also a top player as he’s the #1 prospect for the 2021 draft. Other players to look out for are Veeti Miettinen, Valterri Karnaranta, Roni Hirvonen, and Kasper Puutio.

Czech Republic:
Czech hockey has seemed to be getting weaker as of late and the trend may continue. There isn’t much to be expected from this team, but there are a few good players.

In net Jan Bednar and Jakub Malek will compete for the starting job. Both are top prospects for 2020. On defense, we can expect to see Stanislav Svozil who is a 1st round prospect for the 2021 draft. The only real forward of note is Jan Mysak. Mysak could compete for a top 10 root in the 2020 draft after his time in the Czech pros as a 16-year-old. He had a remarkable playoff run with HC Litvinov where he scored 5 goals and 4 assists in 6 professional hockey games at 16.

Switzerland:
The Swiss team this year won’t be fun to watch. With only one real prospect they don’t stand a chance. They lost dual citizen Theo Rochette to Canada, a huge hit to the program. Their only guy to watch is Noah Delemont who served as an assistant captain for Switzerland at the U18s.

The Group B preview written by Keith Fries (@keithfries) will be posted tomorrow as well as a little rumor on the Oilers search for their third-line center.

The Oilers Defence Past 2019/20

Earlier this week I tweeted out a video of Darnell Nurse fluffing a 10ft pass and it caused a bit of an uproar amongst some of his biggest fans. My point was, and has been for some time, that even though he’s a tough son of a bitch and he can skate like the wind (when there’s an open lane), his decision making, IQ, and passing isn’t up to snuff for a player who is looking at Jacob Trouba’s new $8M per year deal as his own deal is expiring after this season.

Personally, I think his numbers are propped up by playing most of his career TOI with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. At least over the previous three seasons, it looks that way,

  • Connor McDavid – 1583:55 min
  • Leon Draisaitl – 1517:54 min
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 1275:37

Who are the three guys who stand at the blueline during warm-ups each game again?

And don’t ask me why Todd McLellan, for the most part, and Ken Hitchcock, to a lesser degree, decided to do this. It’s obvious that Nurse was a drag on the team’s best forwards. Here are his possession metrics in all strengths With/Without/Player without Nurse during the same three seasons,

  • McDavid: 53.09%/44.25%/58.18%
  • Draisaitl: 52.09%/44.87%/57.85%
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 48.31%/47.13%/52.50%

Stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

For a game where the defensemen are evolving every year, it’s just not a good look on a defender who can’t move the puck without having to take it himself, to have such poor metrics. And Look, Nurse isn’t the only one, he just happens to be the one that might be asking for the moon in his next deal. Sam Girard (COL) just signed a 7-yr deal with $5M per year and I think they compare quite well and think that’s the ideal AAV for Nurse to sign that would help not only the team going forward but possibly himself should he make it for 5 years and walk himself into free agency.

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So, when people tell me that you can’t move him because he was the team’s highest-scoring defender last year and he’s only 24 or that he’s the Oilers best blueliner, I think you have to look into those 40+ points he got last year and realize that approximately 25% of them came on the PP, which isn’t a bad thing but he probably wouldn’t have gotten them had Klefbom (or Sekera) stayed healthy. Also, his secondary points (19) nearly match his primary (22) and his SH% almost doubled from the season prior (3.09% to 5.10%).

Getting back to the powerplay for a moment, do you think that Nurse will be playing a lot of minutes with the man advantage with Joel Persson and Caleb Jones most likely making the team next season? And what about that when Evan Bouchard is on the team?

My argument isn’t that Nurse is a bad player even though I’m presenting some pretty damning evidence that doesn’t really speak to the pluses of his game. I’m saying he’s not worth what Trouba makes right now and he’s never been an offensive defender.

I want Darnell Nurse to be the next Chris Pronger, but as weird as it sounds, he’s not as mean as Pronger was. He looks it when it’s time to throw down, but Pronger was as dirty as he was mean. Could Darnell be like that? Absolutely and I’d love to see it.

What I truly desire for Nurse is for him to embrace the shutdown role. Really dig in on being amazing defensively for this team so that they can pair him with a righty who needs a clean-up man in order to be the best player he can be for the Oilers. But in order to do that, he can be doing things like this,

If you think that the Oilers would have a gaping hole in the toughness department without Darnell, you need to watch a bit more of William Lagesson. This guy is as tough as nails plus he can skate and pass the puck and I think if I’m being honest, his progression is part of the reason I think I feel comfortable with the idea of moving Nurse.

Tying all of that in with the title of this portion of the post, IF Anton Thun decides he’s going to be brave with Holland like he was with Chiarelli, I don’t think it’s going to end up well. In addition to that, we’ve heard from pundits covering the team that this group of defensemen could be getting a facelift. Now whether that comes internally or externally, my belief is that the Oilers are looking for better puck-movers and more offense from the blueline.

After this season, I would project the defense to look something like this if Nurse re-signs,

Oscar Klefbom/Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse/Evan Bouchard
William Lagesson/Caleb Jones

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I do believe that this year will be the last time we see Kris Russell and Matt Benning in Oilers gear. Joel Persson is also a question mark past this upcoming campaign, so I didn’t include him.

If Nurse doesn’t re-sign and is moved, I think the defense would look like this,

Klefbom/Larsson
Lagesson/Bouchard
Jones/Bear

I know. It looks awfully green and it is, at the NHL level, but Lagesson, Jones, and Bear will have had multiple seasons of experience in the AHL and most likely games in the NHL too. Bouchard would have one full year (probably) and if Tyler Benson can get the push after one year, why not Old Man Bouchard? Can’t forget how Bouchard was the team’s best passer as a 19-year-old in his stint last year.

That group of defenders CAN move the puck extremely well and I’d be willing to bet that we’d soon forget about the toughness and puck-rushing that Nurse brings today not to mention the return on a trade for him would most likely net Edmonton a pretty good forward…

Let me reiterate this one more time, I don’t want Nurse traded. I want him to sign a team-friendly contract that pays him what he is worth long-term. But in the event that his camp is asking for too much money, I do believe the organization depth would give the Oilers the ability to field offers on the defenseman and allow them to upgrade the roster.

FYI: Almost 14 years to the day, Chris Pronger was traded to the Oilers for Eric Brewer, Jeff Wowitka, and Doug Lynch. The anniversary of that trade is very soon and I asked my followers on Twitter what the equivalent of that deal would look like today if we were using this roster? Would it be Nurse, Lagesson, and Bear for Victor Hedman? Let me know your idea in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers, International, Michael Sifeldeen, NHL

McJesus and the World Cup Promised Land

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(I’ve got a copy of The Hockey News’ World Cup preview magazine in front of me as I write this, so if you’ve got a problem with any of the stats I’m quoting, take it up with them.) Ok, perfect. While the hockey world tries to figure out if they give a shit or not about the World Cup of Hockey, I’m sitting here looking at the rosters and immediately coming to the conclusion that Team North America is the team to beat, and then also seeing quickly after that no one who matters agrees with me. So, now, I’m going to go over a few key World Cup facts and figures here, and inject a healthy dose of bias and starry-eyed opinionated commentary to try and pull you firmly onto the Team NA bandwagon with me. Many of our more naysaying readers may be saying nay right now to Team North America’s chances of winning this tournament, and I’m going tell them, in as many words, why they’re dead wrong. Ready? Let’s do it.

Team NA is not significantly smaller or lighter than the other teams

Here are the average heights and weights of all the teams competing in this tournament:

Canada: 6’2″, 207lbs
Sweden: 6’1″, 200lbs
Finland: 6’1″, 199lbs
USA: 6’2″, 210lbs (Jesus Christ, get out of here, Byfuglien, you’re screwing up the metrics)
Russia: 6’1″, 200lbs
Czech Republic: 6’1″, 205lbs
Europe: 6’1″, 204lbs

And finally, Team North America coming in at a very respectable average height and weight of 6’2″, 200lbs. The NA boys have an inch on 5/8 teams, and weigh the same as or more than three others. This is a non-issue at these averages.

Team NA is significantly younger than any other team

The average ages of the World Cup teams:

Canada: 28.7
Sweden: 28.7
Finland: 25.9
USA: 29.0
Russia: 27.0
Europe: 29.9
Czech Republic: 27.3

And again, we have Team North America coming in at a young, but respectable, 21.7 years old on average. This is an age range where most of the players have about two-to-three years in the NHL under their belts, so they’re not green rookies, and they are at the age where their speed and reflexes will almost certainly be at or near their career high.

Team NA is Faster Than Any Other Team, and It’s Not Close

McDavid, Eichel, Larkin, Gaudreau, Droin, MacKinnon… this team is obscenely fast. Tell me how the defensive monsters on the Canadian squad like Doughty and Weber, or the Americans’
Johnson or Byfuglien are supposed to exert their power over these kids if they’re too big and slow to even keep up with them? Which leads me to the next point…

Defensive Size and Grit Won’t Matter*

It’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t a typical NHL playoff series grind, and won’t even really be reminiscent of regular season games. This is a short tournament. There won’t be significant contact, certainly no dirty plays with an NHL season about to start and a KHL season already underway, and fighting is out of the question. So where exactly do the big, intimidating bodies of the other national teams have a significant advantage over the quickness and skill of the North Americans?

*(09/10 Post-pre-tourney CAN vs USA games update: … *Except* for the CAN/USA games, apparently. Jesus.)

Plus, the Team NA Defensive Lineup is Amazing in Its Own Right

Ekblad, Ghost Bear, Jones, Murray, Parayko, Rielly, and Trouba? Are you kidding me? You’re looking at the future of NHL defence right now, and these guys haven’t even entered the prime of their careers yet. They’re dynamic and intelligent, and they can eat minutes along with the best of ’em. I’m not even kind of worried about this aspect of the team.

Don’t Worry about Team NA’s Goaltending

I laugh really, really hard and obnoxiously every time someone says the goaltending of Team North America is going to be their achilles heel. Yes, I too am super concerned about rookie-playoff-record-15-game-winning-Stanley-Cup-champion Matt Murray and All-Star Game player and Ducks’ 23-year-old bona fide starter John Gibson.

Puh-lease. These guys are killer. Obviously they’re not a Carey Price or a Henrik Lundqvist yet (I spelled The King’s name right the first time, just so you know), but what does that matter in a tiny preseason tournament? We aren’t testing these guys over the course of a 60-start season.

That’s the root of the problem with most criticism levied at this squad: it presumes the need for a bigger sample size than is necessary or warranted for the format and length of the tournament. Is anyone arguing that, historically, experience and grit wins championships? Of course not. But for the glorified preseason exhibition series the World Cup is poised to be, traditional evaluative factors don’t apply. Team North America is going to skate circles around the competition. They’re going to score ridiculous goals and come up with whacky, inventive shit that will wins them games because they’re young and fast and skilled, and that’s what’s going to matter.

In Conclusion

I wrote the bulk of this piece before the first pre-tournament games had taken place, so let me just acknowledge how wrong I was about the whole “no dirty plays, etc” bit. Clearly I underestimated the classlessness of some of the American squad (*cough*Kesler you still suck*cough*). So let me amend part of my statements to say that, for the majority of the teams, this isn’t going to be an all-out war of who can play the most boneheaded and outmoded brand of hockey.

I stand by my overall assessment that the North Americans are going to win it all based on their skill and speed, because they’re never going to have to play the Americans, because the Canadians will dispatch them before the group final round.

Where North America will win.

Because McJeez/Johnny Hockey/Eich is the most ridiculous first line I’ve ever heard of in my life and I refuse to stop fanboying. Goodnight, and may god have mercy on the rest of the world’s souls.

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Edmonton Oilers, International, Michael Sifeldeen, NHL

Hall Passed

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This is going to be a short article. But there are some things I’ve been wanting to say to Edmonton’s faithful who are still on the “boo hoo how could we trade Taylor Hall” bandwagon, and this is an appropriate enough time as any.

May 27th, 2016

Team Canada’s World Cup of Hockey roster is fully announced. The initial roster announcement weeks before was notoriously Taylor-less, as he had just made his presence felt in a great IIHF World Championship tourney, and everyone and their dog was expecting to see that big #4 show up on the finalized full player list sooner rather than later. Well, May 27th came and went, and Team Canada was still without, what some people thought and still think, is one of the NHL’s top-3 left wingers.

Now, at that time, we could’ve argued that he was missing simply because the coaching staff made a conscious and strategic decision to load up the forward lines with centres, and yes, at that point in time, there is validity to that.

July 16, 2016

Rumours abound that Jamie Benn, having undergone surgery to repair a core muscle injury this offseason in July, may not be able to participate as planned as Team Canada’s top left winger. Who better to replace him than one of the NHL’s other high-scoring left wingers than… Taylor Hall?! The very same Taylor Hall so heartlessly and thoughtlessly spurned from the initial Canadian roster.

August 23, 2016

Logan Couture is named to Team Canada as replacement for Jamie Benn. Christ almighty, the sky is falling in Taylor Hall Apologist land. How stupid could Mike Babcock and Doug Armstrong be to just forget that Taylor Hall is ripe for the picking for that #1 LW spot? Are these guys even paying attention? Do they even hockey, bro? Forget for a moment that Logan Couture, just a couple months prior, scored 10 goals and 30 thoroughly convincing points in a Western Conference Championship run with the Sharks, Edmonton’s twittersphere cannot fathom how New Jersey Devils legend Taylor Hall wasn’t on speed dial as soon as Benn became a question mark.

September 2, 2016

Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter is ruled out of contention for Team Canada following the announcement that he had suffered a lower-body injury during offseason training. (Boy oh boy, with all these inexplicable injuries plaguing the World Cup teams, I’m starting to think everyone forgot the All Star Game weekend isn’t until February…) Regardless, surely now is the time the Canadian management team realizes where they left Taylor’s number and fires him off a text at the very least inviting him to camp at the start of next week… Oops, Corey Perry is announced the same day as Carter’s last-minute replacement. What has Corey Perry ever done for a Canadian international squad, anyway? Idiots!

Present Day

Shock and disbelief is still palpable in the tweets and Facebook comments of Oilers and Devils fans. But it shouldn’t be. The lame excuses of “Well, Armstrong just has some kind of vendetta against Hall”, or “Babcock only wants centres” are overplayed and irrelevant at this point. There were four opportunities for Taylor Hall to be named to the team, and five times he was passed over for other players. Edmonton has in the past, and to this day continues to overvalue him and overlook the obvious flaws in his play. (We’re not getting into this shit again about the truth or falsehood of the claims about his off-ice behaviour.)

We aren’t better coaches than Mike Babcock. We aren’t better at crafting teams than Doug Armstrong. There is a general opinion amongst the professionals in this league about how Taylor Hall plays hockey, and it isn’t as good as Edmonton’s media and social media commentators want to recall it was.

Sorry.

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, International, NHL, Prospects, Rumors

Sunday Ramblings and A Czech Worth Cashing

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Evening y’all! It’s morning over here in the land of stinky tofu and bubble tea, so I get the advantage of reading the day’s posts regarding the Edmonton Oilers (or otherwise interesting comings and goings) and commenting on them. To which I’ll do exactly just that!

WHO TO WATCH AT THE 2016 IVAN HLINKA MEMORIAL CUP 

  • This is the annual preview of the u18 tournament that our good buddy from Draftgeek.ca, Brayden Sullivan, does up for us. This year’s is especially amazing because Justin Froese from Future Considerations has decided to give us a hand! These are two great up-and-coming hockey minds covering NHL prospects folks!
  • Joseph Veleno (CAN), Klim Kostin (RUS), Ostap Safin (CZE), Timothy Liljegren (SWE), Michael Pastujov (USA), Nico Hischier (SWI), and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (FIN) are all potential future Edmonton Oilers who’ll look to make waves at this year’s tourney! Click the blue link above to read more on them!

CRUEL SUMMER by Lowetide

  • L1: Lucic—McDavid—Eberle
  • L2: Pouliot—Nuge—Draisaitl
  • L3: Maroon—??—??
  • L4: ??—Letestu—Kassian
  • D1: Klefbom—Larsson
  • D2: Sekera—Fayne
  • D3: ??—Davidson
  • G1: Talbot
  • G2: ??

Five question marks. Too many. Seriously. Connor McDavid is a fantastic talent and I do think the defense and goaltending will be better, but why have the Oilers done so little work on the 3 and 4 lines? Comes the answer: Jesse Puljujarvi! I honestly believe Nail Yakupov on the 1 line is a strong option, doubt the Oilers feel that way.

Folks, it isn’t enough, by plenty. It is August, and the only conclusion a reasonable person can reach is that the city of Edmonton is doomed to another winter of cheering for a losing team. At least the seats are nicer and the sight lines for goals against will be clearer.

So LT is a bit bothered by the moves and/or lack thereof from the Oilers. I don’t blame him one bit. I would however cut Chiarelli some slack though. PC has, in fact, changed the fabric of this team in two off-seasons and the days of the soft but skilled forward are soon to be forgotten (once Yak has been dealt that is).

Speaking of Yak, I believe there’s still a way to salvage him and it would be in the vein or the Derek Roy experiment a couple of seasons back. Enter Jiri Hudler.

The 32-yr old Czech is still without a team. Now at this point in the off-season the players that haven’t been signed are either SOL or have handshake agreements with teams but are waiting for those teams to make moves to open up some room under their caps.

But is Hudler not nearly a perfect match for this Oilers team?

  • He’s a veteran of nearly 700 NHL games.
  • He’s a centre (left-handed albeit).
  • He won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008.
  • Was a Lady Byng Trophy winner in 2014/15 for Most Gentlemanly player.
    • Accepted the award in his socks… LOLs
  • Is a high-percentage shooter with career average of 15.1%.

  • According to stats.hockeyanalysis.com, Hudler’s impact on his most common linemates (Hudler played over 400 min 5×5 w/Gaudreau and Monahan) was very positive.

  • I think price point could be somewhat of a concern. Hudler made $4M last season but his production fell off nearly 30 points as well.
    • He did much better in his time with FLA though (6g, 5a, 11pts in 19gp w/ only 2 goals coming on the PP).

So if the Oilers added Hudler at say $3M per year for 2 years, that would fill in the 3C spot and give Yak a skilled veteran centre to try to get his act together with. And Hudler’s skill set is not that far off of Roy’s.

Now you’d have:

L1: Lucic—McDavid—Eberle
L2: Pouliot—Nuge—Draisaitl
L3: Maroon—Hudler—Yakupov
L4: ??—Letestu—Kassian

The only issue might be Hendricks on that 4th line but if that line is only getting 6 or 7 minutes of 5×5 TOI per game, how much of an impact might they really have apart from those players getting more minutes on the PK. I think that Iiro Pakarinen, Tyler Pitlick, Jujhar Khaira, or possibly Drake Caggiula could fit that role adequately.

Then again, maybe it’s time to stop sinking money into the rehabilitation of Nail Yakupov’s career but I fear that the Oilers will do what they’ve always done with their high-profile 1st rounders and start Puljujarvi in the majors. I mean that scenario works if it’s Pulju instead of Yak as well.

I’m not as concerned about the defense as Lowetide, maybe I should be if LT is, because there’s depth there; unfortunately its young depth. Inexperienced depth. So we can only hope that the defense stays relatively healthy this year or that someone comes in via free agency as the team is on the brink of having said depth at nearly every position. But they’ll be going into next year by the skin of their asses and if that dirty pirate we call the “injury bug” sails back to port, there could be trouble.

Anyways, let me know what you think about Jiri Hudler or the Ivan Hlinka Memorial in the comments below!

Ciao!

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, International, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects

Who to Watch at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup

Tomorrow, the hockey season starts as the latest edition of the u18 international tournament known as the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup begins. If you don’t know much about this tournament, let us get you caught up before previewing the 2016 version.

From the Ivan Hlinka Memorial website itself:

“The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, formerly known as the Junior World Cup and Pacific Cup, has been held annually since 1991, with the first tournament being held in Japan. Since 1997, the tournament has taken place in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, although only since 2002 has the tournament been held in both countries simultaneously.

Involving players under the age of eighteen, the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup is the premier showcase for hockey talent from Europe and overseas. The teams that regularly feature in the tournament are: Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. In the past, the tournament has helped introduce the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Steven Stamkos to the international stage.

The most successful nation at the tournament so far has been Canada, who have won gold a staggering eighteen times in twenty-two attempts. Including the Soviet Union’s 1991 victory, Russia have won gold three times, while Sweden and the USA have one gold medal to their credit so far.

The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup bears the name of the deceased Czech hockey legend who died in 2004. The name of the tournament was changed in 2012, whereas before it was called the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka.”

THE 2016 IVAN HLINKA MEMORIAL CUP PREVIEW

I enlisted the services of two ridiculously talented and “in the know” hockey prospect guys to help me with this preview. Brayden Sullivan (@SullyDraftGeek) from Draftgeek.ca has actually taken the time to write the preview you’re about to read and to give us an even better idea of the players we should be watching out for, we’ll be using some individual players reports from Justin Froese (@FroeseFC) from Future Considerations. Those will be italicized to differentiate from Brayden’s comments. 

She’s a tad long but I hope you enjoy it!

Will Joe Veleno be the 1st overall pick in 2018?

Coming into this year’s Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament, Canada will be looking to build off of their dominant display last year where they won their 8th consecutive gold medal. Over the past 8 years Canada has managed to consistently form highly skilled and highly competitive teams that have dominated the tournament. This year is no exception as they will be led by several highly touted prospects that will look to make an immediate impact on their draft eligible year.

Three players named to Canada’s roster are still one year away from beginning their draft year, however the highly touted 2018’s, including Ryan McLeod (Mississauga Steelheads) and Joseph Veleno (Saint John Sea Dogs) will be looking to showcase their high end skill and dynamic playing styles in hopes of impressing the plethora of scouts in attendance.

Joey Veleno, C, St. John (QMJHL)- Exceptional talent is worth the hype. All over the ice making brilliance happen. Top tier awareness keeps him pacing the game when he’s on the ice. Only knock is that he could use his teammates a bit more when the pressure is on.

Ryan McLeod. C, Mississauga (OHL)- Very talented two way player who skates well and shows deception in his ability to shake opponents. Vision is top notch and he can thread a pass through a mine field. Willingness to compete is there.

Outside of those two forwards the lone 2018 draft eligible defender is Evan Bouchard (London Knights), a rangy two-way right-handed blue liner who impressed with his poised play and his crisp first pass. Expect him to anchor the Canadian blue line and be a very impactful player in this tournament.

Evan Bouchard, D, London Knights (OHL)- Big time catalyst on the backend. Shows great anticipation to jump into plays and make a difference. Excellent puck mover who can hold and show off a booming shot. Very sound defender.

Canada’s roster features many highly touted 2017 NHL draft prospects and features a variety of skill sets. Starting with the bigger bodied players in Michael Rasmussen (Tri-City Americans) and Maxime Comtois (Victoriaville Tigres), who are both capable of dominating this tournament physically and production-wise. Comtois and Rasmussen will be coming into Slovakia with a lot of confidence after their impressive showing at the summer showcase and will be given key roles in order to win the 9th consecutive gold.

Maxime Comtois, RW, Victoriaville (QMJHL)– Skilled forward who plays a dependable game. Shows up every shift and uses top end puck skill and smarts to create offense.

You’ll find a lot of mobility on the back end with players like Ian Mitchell (Spruce Grove Saints), Elijah Roberts (Kitchener Rangers) and Marcus Phillips (Owen Sound Attack) who all have the ability to impact the game offensively with their top-end skating abilities and offensive instincts with the pucks.

Ian Mitchell, D, Spruce Grove (AJHL) – Smaller puck rushing defenseman who pushes the pace and has good instincts with the puck on his stick. Has quarter back type skills and handles the puck with finesse, manufacturing lanes and chances with his quickness and excellent awareness.

Markus Phillips, D, Owen Sound (OHL)- Steady defender has intelligence to succeed in any situation. Calm nature and has skating ability to get out of trouble or lead a rush.

Look for Elijah Roberts to break out on scouts list and be top defender in this years tournament, as he was highly impressive at the summer showcase and raised a lot of eyebrows with his mobility, puck moving abilities, and defensive awareness.

Another few players who I will be keeping an eye out for is forwards McKenzie Entwistle (Hamilton Bulldogs), Owen Tippett (Mississauga Steelheads), Stelios Mattheos (Brandon Wheat Kings) and Shane Bowers (Waterloo Blackhawks)., as well as QMJHL defenseman Antoine Crete-Belzile (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada).

Owen Tippett. RW, Mississauga (OHL)-Showed off his ability to execute under pressure. Great offensive ability.

Stellio Mattheos, C/W, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)- Skilled and strong offensive threat plays the game responsibly and with skill. No one has taken a bigger stride forward in the last 2 months. Power game and effectiveness on the rush taking center stage in the playoffs.

Shane Bowers, C, Waterloo (USHL)- 200 foot guy that works well with the puck. Great speed and natural skill. Plays with a lot of gumption and makes life hard for opponents.

While Tippett and Mattheos are two highly-touted forwards who have been on scouts’ watch lists for months, Entwistle and Crete-Belzile are two players I look forward to watching because of their notable performances at the summer showcase.

In net, I expect Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires) to take the reins in net for Canada and play most of the tournament, but I do believe that Ian Scott (Prince Albert Raiders) will get the opportunity to show what he has and will strive in that moment.

Other Notable Players

The following players will grab your attention almost immediately if you get a chance to watch their games.

Nico Hischier (Switzerland): My current #2 ranked prospect going into the 2017 entry draft, Nico will have an opportunity to dominate this tournament and lead in the scoring department. He finished last year with 6PTS (3G-3A) in just 4 games and was arguably the most valuable player for the Swiss. Hischier is a highly skilled playmaker that plays the game at a high tempo and with loads of compete. He possesses elite vision and makes his linemates better by finding them on the ice in a consistent manner. Recently Hischier has followed in the footsteps of Swiss product Timo Meier and will join the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.

Timothy Liljegren (Sweden): A top-end defensive prospect going into this years NHL entry draft, Timothy Liljegren will be looking to show scouts that he can challenge Nolan Patrick for that #1 spot in the draft. Currently ranked #3 on my personal rankings, Liljegren is a mobile offensive defender that has the potential to put up big time numbers in this tournament. He possesses a deadly wrister from the point and a laser-like first pass that NHL scouts are in awe about. A right-handed shot, Liljegren has already played in the SHL as a 16 year old and already posted a solid 5PTS (1G-4A) in 19 games. Look for Liljegren to get big time minutes for Sweden and rack up some major stats on the score sheet.

Timothy Liljegren, D, Rogle (SWE J20 Elite)-While there needs to be some defensive work he is a rangy and excellent puck rushing defenceman who loves getting involved offensively.

Urho Vaakanainen (Finland): Another solid Finnish draft eligible who knows how to move the puck, Vaakanainen will be looking to proves to scouts that he should be treated as a top-10 pick. Going into his 2nd season in the Finnish elite league, Urho’s passing abilities have impressed on all stages of hockey he has played at. Look for Vaakanainen to eat up a lot of minutes for Finland and more importantly produce at a high-end level.

Urho Vaakanainen, D, Blues (Liiga)- Intelligent two way defender is great at turning the puck up ice. Very little risk and does a good job boxing out and managing the defensive zone.

Ostap Safin (Czech Republic): My current #10 ranked player in this year NHL draft, Ostap Safin will be looking to lead the Czech Republic into the medal stages. Another big power forward, Safin put up very impressive numbers in the Czech U20 league last year and I believed he would have came over the NA this upcoming season. I fully expect that Safin will be in the run for MVP since this is his opportunity to show NA fans what he can do.

Ostap Safin, RW, HC Sparta Praha (Czech U20)- Large and offensively gifted. Builds momentum to overcome adversity. High IQ and creates chances with skilled passes or individual sequences.

Klim Kostin (Russia) : The 1st overall pick in the 2016 import draft, Klim Kostin is a big bodied power forward who has amazing offensive scoring abilities. He will most likely be the Captain for Russia and will be given the biggest responsibility in this tournament, to lead Russia to a medal. A player who may play against men in the KHL next year, I’m looking for Klim Kostin to make a huge impact in this tournament physically and production wise. A player who I believe will be in the run for tournament MVP alongside Safin and Hischier.

Klim Kostin, RW, Dynamo Moskva (Russia U17)- Man sized guy who can dominate for stretches with the puck. Works his tail off and leads by example. Could be top Russian off the board.

Isac Lundestrom (Sweden) : Not eligible till the 2018 NHL Draft, the Swedish forward will be looking to make his mark at this tournament as an underage. A top end puck handler who protects the puck well, Lundestrom has the talents to shine at this tournament. Also, he has already played in the SHL but was unable to put up any points. I fully expect that Lundestrom will be a crucial part to the Swedish roster and will be hassle to deal with as a defender, thanks to his NHL caliber speed.

Isaac Lundestrom, C, Lulea HF J20 (Super Elit)- Poised puck handler is capable of leading a play and makes quick decisions when he is flying. Puts himself in the right spot to execute consistently.

Filip Zadina (Czech Republic) : A high-end dynamic offensive threat, Zadina will also be going into this years Ivan Hlinka tournament as an underage player, not being eligible until the 2018 NHL draft. Coming off of a solid year in the Czech U20 league, Zadina will suit up this upcoming season with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL and will be looking to showcase his talents to the North American fan. Personally I love his offensive game and I feel he will be able to produce big time numbers at this tournament alongside Ostap Safin, but will struggle against much faster teams and will need to get over that in order to be successful here. Expect a big time tournament out of Filip Zadina.

Filip Zadina, F, HC Pardubice (Czech U-20)– Absolutely dynamic skillset and a premier puckhandler. Has blazing speed and the thought process to think 3 steps ahead. Conscious efforts to defend. Capable of domination.

Michael Pastujov (USA) : Once highly regarded as a 1st round pick in this years upcoming NHL draft, Pastujov will be looking to show scouts that he is still capable of playing at that level. The University of Michigan commit is coming off of an injury riddled season that saw him only play 14 games with the USNDTP of the USHL. I expect we’ll see a heavily motivated Pastujov.

Rasmus Dahlin (Sweden) : As one of the lone 2000 players in this year tournament, Dahlin will be pushing for ice time and responsibilities on a stacked Swedish blue line. A player to remember for the 2018 NHL draft, Dahlin possesses similar offensive abilities to teammate Timothy Liljegren and will hopefully be able to produce at this tournament. Currently ranked #6 on my list of 2018 draft eligible, this will be Dahlin’s chance to lock his name into scout’s rankings.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Finland): One of the only highly-regarded goaltenders going into this years Ivan Hlinka tournament, Luukkonen will be batting with Canadian goalie Michael DiPietro to prove that he is the #1 goalie in this year’s NHL draft. Coming off of a season with HPK U20 where he posted a 1.98 GAA and a .924 SV%, Luukkonen is looking to carry those top end number into the tournament and be named the top goalie of the tournament. At 6’3 196lbs, Luukkonen is certainly NHL goalie size.

Nando Eggenberger (Switzerland): A late ’99, Eggenberger will be coming into his 2nd Ivan Hlinka tournament looking to improve on last year’s performance. Last year Eggenberger finished the tournament without a point and at a brutal minus-5, he was very under-utilized and will be looking towards being a more impactful player this time around. Not being eligible until the 2018 draft, Eggenberger will have a head start on all the other eligibles. Eggenberger is a solid 6’2 power forward who has a solid drive to go to the net and battle for his points. He plays hard in all 3 zones and has a reliable defensive game that scouts will be looking for.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the tournament! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!