The World Youth Championships wrapped up in Prague on Sunday, with three teams securing titles. West Can Prime, East Coast Prime and Pro Selects Slovakia emerged victorious in the 2011, 2010 and 2009 divisions, respectively. All entered the playoff round as the respective No. 1-seeds of their birth year.
What a great last day in Prague at the World Youth Championships! Congrats to our winners 2011 WestCan Prime, 2010 East Coast Prime & 2009 Pro Team Selects! Finished off the day with a river cruise of the Vlatava River 🚢 @PrimeHockeyNA pic.twitter.com/r9X0x8SVAQ
— PLAY Hockey (@playhockeyna) June 4, 2023
Three tournament champions from three different countries hoisted the WYC trophy. American 2010-born Bobby Spang, Canadian ‘11 Brody Antignani and ‘09 Oliver Ozogany from Slovakia were key contributors in their respective divisions. All helped their squads claim gold in Europe over the weekend.
A large reason why West Can was able to find itself with a perfect 5-0-0 record heading out of pool play was the team’s dynamic offense. The biggest contributors of that attack were Brody Antignani (15G, 13A) and Beck Van Kemenade (7G, 21A). Picking up where they left off, West Can shut out Europe Hockey Selects in the quarterfinals, 5-0. Van Kemenade’s incredible play-making ability was on display, helping him record a goal and three assists. In the championship, the duo combined for another seven points in a 6-2 victory over Midwest Prime.
The two forwards ended as the second and third leading scorers across the entire tournament. They were second only to Max Prudovsky, who finished with 18 goals and 29 points for East Coast Prime.
In the preliminary round, East Coast Prime bested West Can Prime by a score of 7-2. In that game, Matthew Lynn had his best game of the tournament for East Coast by scoring three goals and two assists. Helping Lynn propel East Coast into the championship game was Bobby Spang. Spang entered the playoffs as co-leader of the team with Lynn 12 points. Over the next two playoff contests, Lynn added three points (1G, 2A) and Spang nabbed six (4G, 2A). A solid showing that allowed Spang to end up as the second overall scorer among the 2010 division behind West Can’s Liam Pue. Pue was the best goal scorer of any 2010-born skater, putting up 19 goals.
In the championship game, East Coast’s defense and goaltending held Pue off the scoresheet. Without production from its leading scorer, West Can struggled to put up offense. However, Spang and Lynn continued their production, combining for four points. With the 5-1 win, East Coast secured the 2010 division.
No other team in the 2009 division was able to produce quite like Pro Selects Slovakia. Across seven games, the team produced a tournament-best goal differential of plus-34. Heading the charge were Oliver Ozogany and Elias Matousek, who finished their runs with 20 and 16 points, respectively. The two ended as the top point-getters for ‘09 players. The next three following them in the Top 10 also hailed from Slovakia.
In the final meeting, East Coast Prime had the daunting task of trying to halt Slovakia’s potent firepower. But armed with some of the most gifted players at the tournament, Slovakia secured a 10-1 win. Ozogany and Matousek alone combined for eight points. Slovakian forward Michal Lazovsky totaled the most goals among 2009-born skaters with 10.
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With pool play wrapping up today at the World Youth Championships in Prague, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge as to playoff matchups heading into the weekend. The top two teams from the ‘09,’10, and ‘11 divisions have already locked up spots. The remaining four teams in each birth year will face off in play-in games to determine the third and fourth seeds for playoff positioning. One player who led East Coast Prime to secure one of those top seeds was 2011-born forward Max Prudovsky. After pool play, Prudovsky leads all skaters across all birth years with 17 goals and 27 points in just five games. He has also scored at an incredible pace of 5.40 points per game. Here’s a look at who else has stood out thus far and which teams have the best chances to compete for the championship…
A main reason why West Can Prime and East Coast Prime were able to finish as the top two teams in the 2011 division was scoring depth. Matching the incredible output by Prudovsky was West Can’s Brody Antignani (11G, 11A) and Beck Van Kemenade (6G, 15A). Carter Watson has been a dependable secondary source of offense behind Prudovsky, collecting 11 goals and 24 points. In the lone matchup between the two teams in the preliminary round, Antignani notched a hat trick and Van Kemenade added a goal as well. Prudvosky was held to two assists. West Can will attempt to keep their perfect 5-0-0 record alive in the playoffs, and don’t be surprised if it’s these two squads battling it out for the 2011 championship on Saturday.
The Ice Bears Selects will take on Midwest Prime and Top Speed will clash with Europe Hockey Selects in the play-in games later today to determine the fourth and fifth seeds.
There has been no better goal scorer among 2010 players at this year’s tournament than Liam Pue. Averaging close to three goals per game, Pue was only held off the scoresheet once in five pool play contests. He amassed 16 goals in those games. The next closest skater to that total is teammate Reid Nicol, who currently sits with nine. Across all divisions, Pue’s goal total is second only to Prudovsky. With a 4-1-0 record, West Can Prime will enter the playoff round in second behind East Coast Prime.
It comes as no surprise that East Coast has been helped by the dynamic play of forward Matthew Lynn. Lynn, who skated with the No. 1 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers this season, was a constant source of leadership and production for the team. He has carried that momentum into the WYC, tied for first in team points with Bobby Spang. The forward duo has each collected 12 points. Lynn’s best game came against West Can, where he put up three goals and two assists. The lone blemish on East Coast’s run was a 7-6 shootout loss to Midwest Prime. Following that, the team rebounded with a 7-0 shutout of Pro Selects Slovakia. Given the skill on each roster, it’s shaping up to be a rematch between East Coast and West Can for the ‘10 title.
Pro Selects Slovakia is set to take on STASA Hockey, while the North Wind Selects will attempt to defeat Midwest Prime in the play-in games later today.
Pro Selects Slovakia have been able to handle each team they have squared off with thus far. The offense that Oliver Ozogany and Elias Matousek have provided has been a spark to an undefeated run. Each forward has recorded 14 points and a combined credit on three game-winning goals. Armed with one of the more daunting attacks among the ‘09s, Slovakia has scored at least seven goals in four of its five pool play games.
Holding down second place, Midwest Prime, is the favored team to be able to contend with Slovakia for the championship. However, in their preliminary round meeting, Slovakia bested Midwest 7-2. Ozogany and Matousek each impressed in that game with three points each. In order for Midwest to have any chance in a rematch, team depth will need to be stronger. The trio of Dominic Slevin, Grady Anaka and Gianfranco D’Agata have supplied most of the points for Midwest. If anyone has a chance to slow down Slovakia, it’s them.
TSH Selects drops the puck against East Coast Prime to settle positioning in the first play-in game. Following that tilt, Top Speed will drop the puck with Crazy Hockey to see who moves on to the playoffs.
You can catch all the playoff action this weekend with live streams of the games HERE.
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Some of the best 2008 and 2009-born youth hockey players will travel to Ontario this week for Play Hockey’s All-Star Prospects Showcase. Each birth year will consist of 10 teams, with participants taking part in on and off-ice combine testing as well as competitive games. Of the 300-plus players that will be attending, 114 played on world-ranked teams during the 2022-23 season. The exclusive, invite-only event is a perfect opportunity for players to test their skills against the best of their peers.
Among the ‘08s will be 10 players from No. 9 Soo. Jr. Greyhounds, who make up a large portion of Team Northern Ontario. That includes top scorer Nik Rossetto, who finished the ‘22-23 season with 88 points for the Jr. Greyhounds. Several players from the No. 8 Peterborough Petes will be split between Prospects ETA and Prospects East. Teammates during the regular season, Colin Fitzgerald, Ryan Chamberlain, Matt Souter and Kale Mace will look to score on their fellow Petes goaltender Morgan Hyndman. They won’t be the only teammates competing against one another. Five players from the No. 1 Vaughan Kings will be split between Prospects GTA and Prospects East. That includes the team’s most prolific offensive talent Ben Bowen on one end, going against Kings goaltender Joseph D’Angelo.
Three of the five skaters from No. 4 York Simcoe Express are set to fill out the roster for Prospects East. Two others were placed on Prospects ETA. Ten attendees from No. 5 Oakville Rangers will be split among the 10 showcase teams. Six of them have been placed onto Team SCTA. A pair of top players from the No. 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite will skate for The Ottawa District. Canadians Kent Greer and Alexander McLean look to continue strong off-season campaigns.
No. 1 Toronto Jr. Canadiens will have nine representatives among the ‘09 group of players. Four of them will play for Prospects ETA, including Jax Pereira and Keaton Ardagh. That tandem topped the list of performers at the U14 OHL Cup two months ago. Four of Prospect East’s roster spots were given to invitees from No. 8 Toronto Marlboros. In total, 10 players from the Marlboros will compete in the ‘09 group. Seven skaters from No. 9 Huron-Perth Lakers will be divided among Prospects East and Prospects West.
Fellow Toronto-based No. 4 Titans and No. 7 Red Wings will also have representation. Five players from No. 2 Don Mills Flyers were divided across four different teams. No. 5 Sun County Panthers and its nine invitees were placed on two teams. Seven of them found will play for Prospects West. Five of six participants from No. 10 Ottawa Myers Automotive will play for the Ottawa District.
Since 2018, the All-Star Prospects Showcase has included one team of players from the United States. This year’s prospects include top talent from some of the best programs south of the border. Dominic Pajkic of No. 1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s will patrol the blue line for Prospects USA. The No. 6 Los Angeles Jr. Kings will be represented by two players in Ontario as well. No. 1 Chicago Reapers and No. 5 Chicago Mission will bring three and two skaters, respectively, for the ‘09s. No. 4 Pens Elite’s Nolan Snyder will join them. High-profile forward Trevor Daley from Florida Alliance earned an invite as well.
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