Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Three Stars: Hextall, Hermansson, and Betts Shine as USA Wins Gold, Canada Takes Bronze

Yahoo

3 hours ago

The Hlinka-Gretzky Cup has wrapped up with Team USA taking the gold medal in a thrilling win over Sweden, while Canada took home the bronze against the Finns. This edition of the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup was an exciting tournament, featuring some excellent standout performances, including a number of players who saved their best for last.
The gold medal game between USA and Sweden was a back-and-forth affair filled with sloppy play, excellent power play efficiency by the Americans, and a Swedish team that never seemed to get their feet under them.
Sweden opened the scoring, but the Americans responded to take the lead. Sweden tied it, and the USA added a couple to pull ahead. Sweden pulled within one, but the Americans added one last goal late to secure the win.
Canada took home the bronze in a bit of a ho-hum game, taking a lead early in the first period and never really looking back. The Canadians dominated the pace of play for most of the game, eventually adding an insurance marker in the second period. After Canada lost to the U.S. in the semifinals, they came into the bronze medal game with a business-like approach.
Let's take a look at the three stars of the medal round.
First Star: Jack Hextall, C, USA
No one was buzzing around the ice in this game the way that Jack Hextall was. His speed and skill allowed him to constantly find himself in positions to create something with the puck, buzzing east-west off the puck to collect loose pucks or pick up rebounds. His patience with the puck was an asset on both his first assist and his goal. Hextall added a second helper on a secondary assist on the power play as well.
The assist came on a play in which he was able to rotate to the halfwall on the power play, wait for his teammate to attack the back door, and Hextall sent a cross-ice pass right to the doorstep of the crease, where he was able to time Noah Davidson's arrival perfectly for a tap-in. On his goal, Hextall was moving laterally across the top of the circles, drawing two defenders' attention who both went to block the shot at different times before Hextall waited for a clear lane and fired the puck past the sprawling defenders.
Every time the Americans felt like the Swedes were beginning to push back, Hextall was thrown over the boards, and Team USA got back some of the momentum. This was a coming-out party for Hextall, and he should be able to build off a leading role at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup to propel him to a strong draft season.
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Second Star: Elton Hermansson, RW, Sweden
Opening the scoring less than a minute into the game and then adding a second goal in period two that pulled the Swedes within one at the time, Hermansson showed off his high-end shooting ability. The game's opening goal came on a rush opportunity where Hermansson simply pulled the puck in to use the defender as a screen before launching a wicked snap shot by the American netminder. His second goal came on a short five-on-three power play, walking down toward the inside edge of the faceoff circle and firing a low-to-high pass by the goalie in an instant.
Throughout the third period, Hermansson was one of the Swedes who were buzzing around, trying to even up the game. His speed and skill were on full display as he did everything he could to evade pressure, spin off defenders and create chances for himself and his teammates. Ultimately, Hermansson and the Swedes came up short, but the impressive performance Hermansson put together in the gold medal game and the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup as a whole should be a building block for this season for the Swede.
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Third Star: Gavin Betts, G, Canada
In a game where Canada wasn't pristine or overly dynamic offensively, netminder Gavin Betts made 22 saves for the shutout. There weren't many big pushes from the Finns, but whenever they did begin to push, Betts was there. It's often tough for goalies when they aren't staying busy, and there were stretches of play where Betts didn't see a shot for quite some time, especially early in the game, but he remained locked in for when the Finns did make a push.
The third period was Betts' busiest, stopping nine shots as Finland looked to try and get onto the board, but Betts stood tall. He consistently cut down angles and avoided letting a bad one in to give Finland life. Betts will look to build on his performance at the HGC, bringing the winning ways to the Kingston Frontenacs.
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