The Athletic Hockey Show breaks down the Hlinka Gretzky Cup: Who rose, who fell?
This excerpt is from today's episode of The Athletic Hockey Show.
MAX BULTMAN: This is our Hlinka Gretzky Cup recap. Corey, you were on the ground there in Brno. I think I was expecting Canada to really walk through this. That is not what happened here. So I guess the question is: why?
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COREY PRONMAN: It was one of the most competitive Hlinkas I've been to. Canada didn't make the gold-medal game for the first time in about a decade, with one COVID gap in there. Team USA — not the NTDP, mostly kids who didn't make it or chose the CHL — beat both Canada and Sweden to win its second Hlinka ever. That's a big statement about U.S. depth in this age group.
Canada never looked fully in control. Finland game in the round robin was close. The 9-1 over Switzerland was 1-0 well into the third. The Czechs took them to the wire. Then the U.S. knocked them out in the semifinal.
The strength was the blue line. Keaton Verhoeff, Daxon Rudolph, Carson Carels (hurt late in the tournament), Ryan Lin — looked like four potential first-rounders. Up front they were light. Outside of Tynan Lawrence and Mathis Preston, there wasn't consistent chance creation. If you're trying to feel great about the 2026 forward crop — especially at center — this tournament didn't help.
BULTMAN: Let's stick with those Canadian forwards, Scott. Is that where it went wrong?
SCOTT WHEELER: Big time. Lawrence's semifinal was his best — he drove play, just didn't finish. Ethan Belchetz was a clear positive: he went to the middle, he was good at the net-front and wall work, and still made plays. Preston had a hat trick versus Switzerland and had a lot of quiet stretches. Alessandro Di Iorio, Beckham Edwards, Colin Fitzgerald — nobody really stepped up. There wasn't a Porter Martone or Berkly Catton type of performance.
PRONMAN: Canada's most purely skilled player might've been a defenseman, Landon DuPont, and even he didn't have his best tournament. Still one of their better players — he showed his high-end skating and vision — but the dynamic plays were inconsistent, and he wasn't leaned on early until Carels was hit.
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The top power play with Liam and Marcus Ruck didn't produce enough. (Adam) Valentini played a lot and couldn't break through. They played Dima Zhilkin a lot, while skill guys Pierce Mbuyi and Cooper Williams sat. Maddox Dagenais being cut raised eyebrows with scouts.
BULTMAN: Quick height check: Tynan Lawrence now reads over 6 feet. That matters at center. Going from sub-6 to 6-foot center changes perception.
PRONMAN: It does. And despite not getting many points, scouts were most impressed by Lawrence coming out of the tournament, with most calling him Canada's top prospect. He's a high-end skater and competitor, coming off a Clark Cup MVP in the USHL, and a center in a class that's thin at the position.
WHEELER: The center scarcity is real this cycle. Lawrence being a natural two-way center puts a big spotlight on him.
PRONMAN: The conversation with him probably starts very high once Gavin McKenna is off the board, possibly at 2. I'm not saying that's where I'd rank him today though.
BULTMAN: Given positional value, teams will ask, 'How long can we wait on the first center?' Teams picking top-five tend to want premium positions.
PRONMAN: And after Lawrence, it's muddy. Ryan Roobroeck has played some center, but most project him as a wing. If Niagara plays him at center and he looks like it could translate, that could change things. Right now, Lawrence is the one clear top-six center candidate.
BULTMAN: How did this tournament change how you view the class?
PRONMAN: A bit. Coming out of U18 Worlds we thought Verhoeff might push McKenna in some ways for the No. 1 spot. He still played the most minutes and was Canada's best D, but the impact wasn't there: there were some puck bobbles, some average decisions. I didn't leave the event feeling anyone looked like a clear top five pick aside from a few Lawrence flashes. It puts more on the late-births — Ivar Stenberg, Roobroeck, McKenna, Adam Novotny — to carry the very top of the draft class.
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WHEELER: Last year's draft had a lot of late-birth first-rounders, and this age group looks similarly skewed. That's part of why the class feels different.
PRONMAN: And last year had centers. This one doesn't.
BULTMAN: Defense comparison time: Keaton Verhoeff versus Artem Levshunov at a similar stage?
WHEELER: Age matters — Levshunov's a late birthday and nearly a year older on the curve. Stylistically, Arty was more haywire, gifted, raw. Verhoeff is bigger, meaner, steadier, more NHL-habit polished. He had a productive WHL year and made big plays. They are comparable prospects.
PRONMAN: Levshunov's the smoother, more creative puck guy. Verhoeff's the meaner, more advanced defender. You'll hear Aaron Ekblad comps because of the right shot, frame, nationality. At North Dakota he'll play big minutes right away. How much offense he will show in college is the question. If it's there, the Hlinka concerns will fade fast.
WHEELER: I do wonder about his feet at college pace — retrievals and pivots looked heavy at times. Not a red flag, but something to watch.
PRONMAN: I'd call them good, not great. It's not the trait that excites you about him.
BULTMAN: We owe the champs some air time. This wasn't the NTDP. How did this U.S. group win?
PRONMAN: They were highly physical and competitive, killed penalties well and gave up few Grade-A looks. Then they had just enough skill to capitalize. Blake Zielinski and Jack Hextall drove offense; the PP scored when it needed to. I don't know if there's a sure first-rounder, but the late-birthday Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll (Medicine Hat) looks like a real Round 1 candidate with his size/speed/skill for 2027. Hextall could flirt with late first but is more likely Day 2. And I think a lot of guys from this roster get drafted — lots of traits to bet on. Not a fluke, and they weren't carried by a hot goalie. It was an all-around effort.
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WHEELER: Add Levi Harper (Saginaw) — smaller offensive D who put up a pile of points— and Noah Davidson (Medicine Hat), a 6-3 winger with playmaking and pro habits.
PRONMAN: A few of these kids could push for the U18 Worlds roster.
BULTMAN: Sweden next. Elton Hermansson and Marcus Nordmark led the tournament in scoring.
PRONMAN: I see three first-rounders: Nordmark, a 6-2 forward who can skate and has a great shot, Hermansson, maybe the most purely skilled non-Canadian there, and the big defenseman Malte Gustafsson, who is 6-4, skates well; think Simon Edvinsson-lite. With Nordmark, the production screams top-10/15, but I didn't see constant dominance — more opportunistic than dynamic.
BULTMAN: Quick word on Finland?
WHEELER: Last year's age group was the thinnest I've scouted. This one looks better. Oliver Suvanto (6-3/6-4 C) was excellent — could be top-50, maybe late first in a center-light draft. Vilho Vanhatalo and Oscar Hemming both looked legit. On D, (Juho) Piiparinen and (Samu) Alalauri stood out; Piiparinen could flirt with late first. Also: Finland iced the heaviest team, and their top line — three 6-3, 200-plus — played like it.
PRONMAN: Suvanto might've been the second-best center prospect at the event behind Lawrence. Feet are a little heavy, but he's young for the class, plays hard and has touch and sense.
(Photo of Oliver Suvanto and Adam Valentini: Patrik Uhlir / CTK via AP Images)
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