The Sweden Ice Hockey Federation announced final rosters for this month’s under-16 Three Nation’s tournament and under-17 Five Nations tournament. In total, 17 former Sweden Selects players will suit up to once again represent their country on the international stage.
Eleven 2007-born youth hockey players will skate in Kopřivnice, Czech Republic, for Sweden’s U16 national team. This comes less than four years after they represented Sweden at the World Selects Invitational and World Selects Trophy tournaments.
Additionally, six 2006s will head to Romanshorn, Switzerland, for the U17 Five Nation’s Tournament. They last represented Sweden in 2019 at the 13U World Selects Invitational in Chamonix, France.
Names like Love Härenstam, Anton Frondell, Melvin Novotny and Jakob Ihs-Wozniak are among some of the most notable youth hockey prospects in Sweden. Other Sweden Selects alumni include:
Sweden U16
Noa Bräutigam
Oliwer Sjöström
Filip Ekberg
Milton Gästrin
Sigge Holmgren
Aron Dahlqvist
Zeb Lindgren
Sweden U17
Felix Öhrqvist
Alfons Freij
Leo Sahlin-Wallenius
Viggo Nordlund
Filip Holst-Persson
Joakim Engholm
The 15th season of the World Selects tournament series will begin on April 25th. Following that day, 12 different events will take place over the following weeks. They’ll be hosted in five exotic locations across six different age groups for both boys and girls international youth hockey players.
The World Selects Invitational has a long and decorated history as one of, if not, the most iconic tournament series in youth hockey today.
More than 650 participants have gone on to be chosen in the NHL Draft. That includes 2022 first overall selection Juraj Slafkovsky (Slovakia Selects), 2021 sixth overall selection Simon Edvinsson (Sweden Selects), 2020 second overall selection Quinton Byfield (Canada) and 2019 second overall selection Kaapo Kakko (Finland Selects). Every NHL roster features at least one name that’s been etched in the World Selects halls of history.
The next wave of top-tier talent in youth hockey will take the stage this Spring. It begins with the 2008 Boys Elite tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, USA on April 25th. The U14 Girls Elite event will take place at the same time 4,600 miles across the globe in Chamonix, France. Also taking place that week is the 12U Boys AAA tournament in Bolzano, Italy.
That trio of events will signify the beginning of a World Selects season of events that will decorate the calendar over the next three months. Here’s a complete list of dates, ages and locations:
World Selects tournaments fall into two categories. The first is the Elite events, where participating teams apply for entry, and go through a thorough vetting process. Those teams compete in the World Selects Invitational. Participants include franchises such as DraftDay Hockey, Eastern U.S. Selects, NorthStar Elite, Premier Ice Prospects, Pro Hockey, Sweden Selects, Finland Selects and other European Selects programs.
In total, 20 different North American programs and 20 European programs will be represented this season. Additionally, teams from more than 18 different countries will take the ice including the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czechia, Slovakia, France, Norway, Latvia and Kazakhstan, among others.
Teams consist of players that are carefully recruited and selected to compete in the Elite events. These are high-level AAA players capable of competing against the absolute best in the world. These teams typically represent the best youth hockey players their respective countries have to offer. Hundreds of futures NHL players, thousands of NCAA college hockey athletes and countless national team representatives from around the world.
The AAA events provide the same, exotic experience offered in Elite events, but are open to any AAA caliber youth hockey player. Hosted in many of the same locations as the Elite events, the AAA World Selects Trophy tournaments provide players — and teams — with an opportunity to compete, perform and potentially be promoted to compete at Elite events in the future.
World Hockey Hub is the exclusive media provider for all 12 World Selects tournaments and will produce one-of-a-kind content you won’t find anywhere else in youth hockey. Games can be live-streamed on SolidSport, and WHH will have complete breakdowns, commentary, analysis, highlights, photo galleries, interviews and more from some of the top players and teams in the WSI.
Join more than 28,000 people in following WHH on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube. The WHH community will be the first to receive updates as the WSI unfolds this spring. Additionally, you’ll receive announcements regarding upcoming events, future tournaments and other news about the World Selects tournament series.
Florida Alliance captured the 2023 Champions League title this past weekend in their home state. It was a pair of prolific scorers leading the way at various points of the tournament.
Justin Fernandez and Trevor Daley were unstoppable at different times, creating a one-two punch that carried the 2009-born club to a 6-1-0 record. That was enough to earn a tournament championship against international competition at the Florida Panthers IceDen.
Fernandez led the Alliance in scoring through the round-robin play to kick things off in a big way. He registered five goals and five assists in four games; a more than two-point-per game average. Only a collection of Finnish skaters — Toomas Reijonen, Aleksi Leinonen and Jusso Fredrikson — topped or matched Fernandez in preliminary-round scoring.
With that impressive display of offensive production, teams knew they had to keep tabs on Fernandez heading into playoffs. There, he was contained to five total points in three games. Still an impressive stat line but certainly slowed from his round-robin pace.
So that’s when Trevor Daley took over.
In the quarterfinals against the NA Stars, Daley recorded two goals and an assist to power the Alliance to a 7-1 win. The son of former Stanley Cup champion Trevor Daley, he set up Florida’s first goal, which evened the score 1-1 in the middle of the first period. Then, the younger Daley went on to score the go-ahead goal eight minutes later.
Daley added another strike in the second period to make the score 5-1. That effectively putting the game out of reach and secured the win for his Alliance squad.
In the semifinals, Daley again helped the Alliance to victory with a 6-3 win over Finland-based Tappara. Florida was the only team to beat Tappara in the tournament, after they prevailed 5-1 in the preliminary round on Dec. 29th. In the New Year’s Eve semifinal rematch, Daley posted a goal and two assists. First, he set up Reese Tracy’s goal that made it 2-0 early in the first period. Later on, Daley scored to make it a 5-3 game before getting the second assist on Fernandez’s power-play goal. That performance solidified Alliance’s spot in the final.
The scoring spree from Daley continued into the final. He factored into all but one of Alliance’s goals in a 5-1 victory over SPA Futures. After Logan Anderson scored a goal for Florida early in the first period, Daley set up Fernandez for another tally. Daley wasn’t done there, as he scored a short-handed goal after that. Florida went up 3-0 quickly.
After SPA scored to pull within two, Daley found the back of the net for his second goal of the night. And moments later, he’d put a bow on his performance — and the team’s tournament run — by setting up Fernandez once again to round out a four-point night.
Daley finished with 13 points in the tournament, while Fernandez had 15. Additionally, Reese Tracy registered 14 points in the seven contests. While Daley, Fernandez and Tracy led the charge up front, it was Nello Torriero taking care of business at the other end. He logged every minute of goaltending duties for Florida, finishing with a 6-1-0 record, a .854 save percentage and 1.86 goals-against average with one shutout. In five of his seven games, he held the opposition to a one goal or fewer.
SPA came up short in the championship game, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort from two talented forwards. Samuel Pisarcik led the playoffs in scoring with 10 points in three games, while Oliver Ozogany had seven.
Pisarcik, a forward from HK Dukla Trenčín in Slovakia, finished the tournament with 14 points over his seven games. Ozogany, a forward who plays for HOBA Bratislava in Slovakia in the regular season, had 13 during his trip to Florida.
With the tournament all wrapped up, Fernandez ended up leading the whole field in scoring with 15 points. Tracy was right behind him with 14, as was the aforementioned Pisarcik of SPA and Reijonen of the Kiekko-Espoo Blues out of Finland. Reijonen was the only skater to produce that many points in just six games, compared to seven for the rest of the group.
Kasper Aihinen of Kiekko-Espoo finished with a .901 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average in five games – he was the only goaltender to crack the .900 save percentage mark. Torriero, as previously mentioned, posted a 1.86 goals-against over his seven contests for tops in that category.
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While the month of December is known for chilly temperatures and festive greetings, the action inside the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Florida, will be heating up. The venue will host the second annual Champions League tournament from Dec. 28 – 31st. Eight 2009-born teams from Europe and North America will tangle in a rare international event.
Participating Teams:
| Florida Alliance (United States) | Mountfield HK (Czech Republic) |
| Seacoast Performance Academy (United States) | Geneve Futur Hockey (Switzerland) |
| NA North Stars (North America) | Kiekko-Espoo (Finland) |
| HC Slovan (Slovakia) | Tappara (Finland) |
Any teams from similar countries will be split into different groups so that pool play provides unique international competition. After completing three preliminary-round games, teams will qualify for either the championship rounds or consolation rounds, based on in-pool standings. After a day of rest, the championship rounds will be held, where competition will follow an elimination-style playoff.
In some instances, there are also rosters that have been compiled to be all-star squads of sorts. Tappara and Kiekko-Espoo usually have numerous split quads for a majority of their regular season. Then, come tournament time, they compile the ‘best of the best’ players into one unit to strut their stuff on the big stage.
Three of the split squads from Kiekko-Espoo have been mainstays in the Top 10 of Finland in the WHH World Rankings. In the latest installment, K-Espoo Blues I, K-Espoo Blues II and K-Espoo EPS I hold positions as No. 1, No. 2 and No. 8, respectively.
In similar fashion, the NA North Stars are a melting pot of players from varying teams across North America.
Don’t count out teams like the Florida Alliance or Seacoast Performance Academy from making some noise at this year’s tournament. The Alliance have played some close games against the best in America. It certainly helps when your coach is two-time Stanley Cup champion Trevor Daley.
To take a deeper look into some of the more prominent matchups, click HERE.
Complete stats, standings and upcoming games are available HERE. For continued coverage of the Champions League, be sure to follow WHH on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
It was a busy weekend in Sweden with a variety of tournaments signaling the start of the 2022-23 season. This collection of games across varying tournaments allowed those from 2008, 2009 and 2010 birth years to showcase their talent. From upsets to big finishes, see all the highlights from the tournaments below.
The Sweden Hockey Trophy was held last weekend for the 2008 birth year, with Nacka HK standing atop the rankings by the end of the weekend. The champions went undefeated through the entire tournament, and sliced through the playoffs, besting Astana HC and Linden Hockey by a combined score of 9-1.
Heading into the elimination rounds, the stage was set for a rematch with Linden, whose only loss in the tournament came to Nacka in the preliminary rounds in a tight 4-3 game, the day before.
However, Linden’s offense dried up in the title game on Sunday, with Nacka snagging a shutout victory 4-0, led largely in part to dual two-point performances by Sam Tillström (2G) and Oliver Sundberg (2A). Tillström tallied three points (2G, 1A) in the team’s five games heading into the playoff round, but really turned it on in the group playoff stage, where his four points (3G, 1A) and Sundberg’s three assists over two games paved the way for Nacka to secure the title.
Nacka also managed to hold Linden to just eight shots on net in the two-period, 40-minute championship game.
Despite the loss in the championship game, Linden managed to gather the second-best record at the tournament, going 4-1 in their five games before the group playoff brackets. Leo Gürler and Melker Juhlin Ulvhag tallied nine points (6G, 3A) and seven points (4G, 3A) respectively, to lead Linden to the playoff round. Gürler would add three more points in two playoff games, trailing only Alfred Lagerberg’s five-point total (3G,2A).
In the bronze medal game, Astana HC defeated Boo HC in a close 5-4 affair. After Astana jumped out to a 2-0 lead, Boo stormed back with two goals in 41 seconds from Viggo Fors and Gustaf Revay to tie things up to end the first period.
Nikita Gridassov would put Astana back up by one just five minutes into the second period, but Boo would again knot things up just over a minute later thanks to Hugo Mikaelsson’s tally. And just a little more than a minute after that, Ollie Andersson would put Boo ahead 4-3 with a goal of his own.
Egor Panych would even the score 4-4 and just about two minutes following that, Roman Michurov would put Astana up 5-4 towards the middle of the second period with what would stand as the eventual game-winning goal.
Overall, Arvid Ermeskog would lead all players in the tournament with 12 points in five games (7G, 5A), with Flemingbergs IK’s Salim Ismailov tallying the most goals with seven. Astana’s Rakhymbek Rakhymzhan, was statistically the best netminder between the pipes, leading all goalies in wins (4), save percentage (.966) and goals against average (0.92).
The Farsta Games for the 2009 birth year took place last weekend as well, with Brinkens IF topping the table of the seven teams in Group A. Each club played one game against each team in the group to determine final standings.
Across six games, Brinkins would end tournament play with a 4-0-2 record. One of those ties was against the second-best team of the weekend, AIK Hockey, who ended their run with a 4-1-1 record. Just behind them, the only other team to record four wins at the tournament was Huddinge Hockey, who skated to a 4-0-2 record.
Viggo Malmin (11G) and Leonard Torgner (4G,7A), both forwards for Brinkins, tied for most points with 11. Just behind them was Lucas Törngren, who tallied 10 points (6G,4A) for Huddinge.
Topping the stats column for AIK were Anton Persson and Joel Johnsson, who both recorded five goals and four assists for nine points. Altogether, Brinkins had 10 skaters from a points perspective in the top 10, showcasing their depth en route to a first-place finish.
Those in Sweden within the 2010 birth year took part in the Tommy Söderström Cup this past weekend. Eight teams were split into two groups of four for a round-robin schedule. Following that, clubs faced a single-elimination, four-team playoff rounds.
Värmdö Hockey and Täby HC topped the Group A standings with equal 2-0-1 records, with one tie coming against each other. Trånsgunds IF would top the Group B table, going 3-0-0 with a high-powered offense that found the back of the net 30 times over their three games.
Yet, the offense for Trånsgunds would dry up in the semifinal round, as eventual gold medal winners Täby bested them 3-2 in overtime to kick off the playoff rounds.
Trånsgunds would have a chance for a medal as they took to the ice against SDE in the bronze medal game. It would also require overtime, though, with Helge Anund finding the back of the net at 2:04 of the extra frame to secure the victory for Trånsgunds.
Täby found themselves in the title game against fellow Group A club Värmdö. With both these teams sitting atop their group, it came as no surprise that the gold medal game was a thrilling display of offensive skill, with Taby coming out on top 8-6.
Leading the way for Täby were forwards Gustav Jacobsson (2G, 1A) and Felix Ragneborn (2G), who propelled the squad to an early 3-1 lead. After Charles Wikström got one back for Värmdö to make it a 4-2 game, Täby would pot four goals in just over four minutes to take a commanding 8-2 lead.
Not done yet, Alexander Myrentorp tallied a natural hat trick in just under six minutes to bring the score to 8-5 around 12 minutes into the second period. Charlie Ebberyd would add a late tally to close the gap to 8-6 but the hole was too deep for Värmdö to fully mount a comeback.
Teams at the Kronwall Cup for the 2010 birth year were split into two groups of four teams. Clubs took part in a round-robin schedule against their group, followed by a playoff round and then group finals.
All four of the clubs in Group A medaled at the tournament, with two from Group B receiving hardware as well. Nacka HK skated to a gold medal in the Group A final against Saltsjöbaden Hockey, while Segeltorps Idrottsförening garnered gold in the Group B final against Järfälla HC Röd.
The Group A bronze medal went to Järfälla HC Vit, and Balsta Hockey skated to bronze in the Group B final over Tyresö Hanviken.
While Saltsjöbaden fell short in their gold medal match, they were proud to have the top-three players in points come from their squad. Tiel Lindqvist (7G, 6A), Charlie Jacobson (7G, 3A) and Eliot Deltin (5G,4A). Jacobson found the back of the net twice in the gold medal game and Lindqvist added an assist.
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The AAA Kickoff Classic was the first big tournament of the fall in the United States, and in the process it provided an early look at some teams to watch for this season.
While the 15U, 16U and 18U divisions were showcase-style events with no true playoff structure, the 14U division featured a round-robin preliminary round before semifinal and championship contests, allowing Seacoast Performance Academy to flex some muscle at the 2008 birth year.
The SPA crew finished 5-1-1 over the course of the four-day event, leaving Grand Rapids, Mich., with a tournament title before the calendar flips to September.
In the championship game, the Spartans and Team Wisconsin both scored three goals apiece in the opening frame, but in the final two periods, SPA took control, and eventually won 6-3.
It was a big victory for SPA in terms of winning the AAA Kickoff Classic title, but also because they avenged their only loss in the early-season tournament. The Spartans started things off with a 3-2 nail-biting loss to the same Team Wisconsin club, ending up on the wrong end of a three-goal third period between the two clubs.
That was the only time they would lose in Grand Rapids, however, as Seacoast rebounded with a 7-1 thumping of Team Illinois Friday morning. In their second Friday tilt, SPA played one of the two clubs from Czechia, battling the Pilsen Wolves to a 5-5 tie.
On Saturday, SPA won their two contests by scoring five goals in each – first they beat Chicago Fury 5-2, before taking care of the Nashville Jr. Predators 5-1 later in the day.
In the first of two playoff games on Sunday, SPA took on the other Czech club, and HC Trinec dragged them all the way to a shootout. The Spartans prevailed in the shootout session, leaving with a 2-1 final on the scoreboard and a rematch with Team Wisconsin at 2 p.m.
In the title contest, Timothy Kazda wasn’t about to let SPA fall to Team Wisconsin again. A native of Slovakia, Kazda was dominant in the final, scoring a hat trick in the first period alone, and finishing with five goals in the 6-3 win.
That five-goal outing put Kazda in first place in scoring for both the 14U division and the Kickoff Classic field across all age groups. He finished with 12 goals and 13 total points. Aside from Kazda, SPA had well-balanced scoring throughout the tournament, as Jackson Smail had six points, while Daniel Trucka, Rockland Babcock, Hunter Chadbourne and Garrit Turcotte all had five.
Kamden Jackson and Filip Vavro took care of business between the pipes for SPA, both appearing in four contests apiece.
Team Wisconsin had plenty of firepower throughout the tournament, as well, as the next three spots in the 14U scoring race went to members of the second-place squad. Mack Diggins had 11 total points, while Grant Molski and Owen Porter both had nine.
They didn’t play in as many games as the 14U division, but the 16U Team Wisconsin made their own early-season statement in Grand Rapids.
After making the trek across (or probably around) Lake Michigan, Team Wisconsin played to a perfect 3-0-0 record in the showcase-style event.
None of their games were decided by more than two goals, showing that TW can go up against top competition and hold their own when things get tense.
On Friday, they took down SPA 3-1. Caden Feinstein scored in the first, Dylan Bryne scored in the second, and Will McDonald wrapped things up in the third.
Saturday, they took care of Team Minnesota, a collection of high school players from the ‘State of Hockey.’ Bryne’s third-period goal turned out to be the difference in that one; Riley Boyle and James Flanigan also scored for TW.
To wrap things up, they went toe-to-toe with Little Caesars in a Sunday afternoon affair, taking on a team that was a national title contender last season. All three goals in the contest were scored in the third period; TW scored twice, while LC only scored one. Quinn Smith and Jackson Hoem had the goals in a 2-1 win, as TW picked up a statement win early in the year.
Smith ended up leading TW in scoring with five points in the three games, while three players — Bryne, Vincent Greene and Joseph Coghlin — had two points apiece.
Rowan White started two games, finishing with a .938 save percentage and 1.00 goals-against average. Devin Rustlie played in one game, allowing two goals and registering a .913 save percentage.
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It’s the first big tournament of the 2022-23 schedule, which means one thing — hockey season is officially here. The 2022 AAA Kickoff Classic is back for its second year, bringing together talent from across the country — and the globe — to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Played across the 14U, 15O, 16U and 18U age groups, the early-season event kicks off today at the Southside Ice Arena and Kentwood Ice Arena on the west side of the Great Lakes State.
Let’s take a look at the competition for each of the divisions:
Eight teams are coming to Grand Rapids for the 14U age group, as the 2008 birth year begins play in its first nationals-bound season. The first game of the age group, however, features one of the teams that won’t be competing for a USA Hockey national title — HC Trinec of Czech Republic. HC Trinec, which will play the Nashville Jr. Predators to kick things off at 3 p.m. EST, is joined by the Pilsen Wolves, as two 14U teams from Czechia are making the pilgrimage to Grand Rapids.
Joining those three squads in the eight-team field are the Chicago Fury, Team Wisconsin, Seacoast Performance Academy, Team Illinois and Fox Motors, Southside Ice Arena’s primary tenant.
The 4:35 time slot at Kentwood will be a good one; the matchup between SPA and Team Wisconsin will certainly be one to keep an eye on. Last year, TW finished as the No. 8-ranked team in the country on our World Hockey Hub rankings, while SPA checked in at No. 19 on MyHockeyRankings. Rosters change every fall, but when those two squads clash, it will be a good matchup of Top-20 teams in the country.
15O AAA
The 15-Only age group features six teams competing from the 2007 birth-year. Team Minnesota and Michigan Hockey Advancement bring high school talent from two hockey powerhouse states together for the tournament. SPA brings its ’07 group, Fox Motors is in, and the Pittsburgh Predators and the Nashville Jr. Preds battle for the title of best Preds squad in the age group. It may just be six teams, but it’s going to be a fun weekend of hockey in the age group.
On Saturday, MHA and Team Minnesota battle it out; that’s definitely one to tune in for.
16U AAA
In the 16U group, we have 10 teams slated to participate. Like the younger age groups, there’s SPA, Fox Motors, the Pittsburgh Preds, Team Wisconsin, Michigan Hockey Advancement, Team Minnesota and the Nashville Jr. Predators. To spice things up a bit, Little Caesars, the Tri-State Spartans and a Team Wisconsin Prep team also enter the ring for the 2006 birth-year bracket.
Last year, the Little Caesars ’06s finished ranked No. 5 in the country and No. 11 in the world by World Hockey Hub. The roster will look a little different this fall, like it will for most teams, as some of the players have moved on to junior hockey. Still, LC will be expected to compete for a national title again this season, and they’re one of the many teams in this group to keep an eye on.
Caesars takes on SPA on Saturday, and Team Wisconsin to round things out on Sunday. Each of those battles could provide a glimpse into our preseason rankings set to come out next month.
In the biggest field of any age group, 12 teams will be competing in the 18U division at the Kickoff Classic. HoneyBaked makes the drive from Metro Detroit to GR for the tournament, as does Compuware. They will be battling SPA, Fox Motors, Team Wisconsin, Chicago Fury, MHA, Tri-State Spartans, Team Minnesota, the Nashville Jr. Preds and the Pittsburgh Preds over the four-day span.
The 18U Nashville Preds and Team Wisconsin squads finished two spots apart in last year’s 18U final rankings on MyHockeyRankings — they clash on Saturday for a big early-season battle.
Fox Motors and SPA wrap up a wild first day of hockey with an 8 p.m. puck drop Thursday night as well.
WHH will have more coverage from the Kickoff Classic, and other major tournaments to start the 2022-23 season. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for the latest news!
There was only one team that traveled to and from Exeter, New Hampshire, this past weekend without enduring a single loss.
The TPH Selects are the 2022 champions of the 16U World Selects Trophy.
In a battle of the top two teams at the tournament, the TPH Selects — the No. 1 seed after an undefeated run through preliminary round play in Group B — beat the New Hampshire Jr. Wildcats, the top team from Group A.
TPH prevailed 6-2 in the final, thanks in large part to a two-goal and one-assist outing from Luke Melnik and a dominating defensive performance from the entire Selects roster. Goaltender Owen Lepak only faced nine shots in the title game, making his life easier after playing in all eight contests for the Selects club. He was stellar throughout, posting a 1.57 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in the preliminary round and a 1.00 and .947 in the three-game postseason.
Lepak saw a little more action in the quarterfinals and semifinals, but he received plenty of offensive support throughout. In the quarters on Sunday, the TPH Selects beat Boston Hockey Club 5-0; Lepak made 21 saves in that one. Then in the semis, he turned in a 26-save performance in a 7-1 win over the RSG Selects.
The offensive firepower TPH brought to the tournament was on display throughout, as they out-scored their competition 44-12 over the eight games. Michael Barron led the team in scoring with nine points in the preliminary round and four in the postseason for a total of 13 in eight games. With an impressive six points in the playoff rounds, Melnik finished with 12 on the week, and Cam Springer finished with 11.
The TPH Selects roster, coached by Jason Deskins and Troy Barron, was built primarily from AAA players from Michigan, with Massachusetts natives Michael Munroe and Aiden Brown, and Ohio natives Cooper Struckel and Chase Nyitray joining in on the fun.
Their lone blemish in the entire tournament came from needing a shootout win to beat RSG 5-4 in the preliminary round; TPH made up for that with the 7-1 win over the same squad in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the NH Jr. Wildcats did everything they could to defend home ice in the prestigious international tournament. After dominating Group A with a +18 goal differential and a 4-1-0 record, they took down NorthStar Elite 1-0 in the quarterfinals, and then the Czech Selects 3-2 in the semifinals. The semifinal victory over the Czechs erased the Wildcats’ lone loss in the prelims, after the Czechs got them 3-1 on May 28.
Ronnie Hill led the Wildcats in scoring, recording nine points in the five preliminary-round games before adding three more in the three postseason matches. He was matched by forward Max Dineen, who had 11 points in the round robin before registering one in the postseason.
Chris Dakers and Camden Moran split time between the pipes for NH, while Moran took care of crease duties in the postseason. He finished with a 1.83 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in eight games, while Dakers wrapped up with a 1.00 goals-against and .939 save percentage in three outings.
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The 16U World Selects tournament got underway this week as the final — and oldest — installment of the 2022 spring season. The 2006 birth year marks the last in a series of eight boys international events that began with the 12U age group on April 26th.
Exeter, New Hampshire, hosted some of the top youth hockey prospects from the birth year, as 12 teams from four countries clashed in the six-day event that is expected to conclude on the American Memorial Day holiday. Pool play concluded on Saturday, after 15 of the 30 games were decided by two goals or fewer.
New Hampshire Jr. Wildcats claimed the top spot in Group A with a 4-1-0 record. Their plus-18 goal differential was the highest in the tournament through pool play. Max Dineen currently leads the Jr. Wildcats — and the field of players — in scoring with 11 points.
TPH Selects earned the No. 1 bid out of Group B, as the only undefeated team in the tournament thus far. A 5-0-0 record with one of them coming by way of a shootout makes TPH the top seed overall for the elimination rounds with 14 of a possible 15 total points in the standings.
European-based Czech Selects wrapped up pool play with a 3-2-0 record to finish third in Group A. Forwards Dominik Halacka, Lukas Kollar and Tristan Konobelj combined to score nine of the Czechs’ 19 goals so far.
Fellow Europeans Sweden Selects have not been as fortunate with a 1-4-0 record. Despite finishing in the top half of the tournament in scoring, the Swedes find themselves near the bottom of the standings with three totals points. Defenseman Emil Stadin out of Frölunda HC has eight assists, and a point in four out of five games for Sweden Selects.
RSG Selects forward Niko Tournas has a goal in all five tournament games so far, including a hat trick in the team’s 8-5 win over Sweden Selects. He currently leads all scorers with eight goals. Tournas’ hat trick is one-of-five on the weekend so far; he joins Milo Andersson, Luke Delaney, Kirill Evstigneev and Nick Rockey as the only ones to strike three times in a single game.
Five players enter the elimination rounds on five-game point streaks. Halacka, Tournas, Michael Barron, Cam Springer and Dominik Halacka have recorded a point in every game thus far.
Goaltender Chris Dakers has stopped 46-of-49 shots on goal for the Jr. Wildcats. He’s tied with Bloodline Hockey’s Marko Vucemilovich for the highest save percentage in the tournament with a .939 in pool play. Owen Lepak has won all five games in net for TPH Selects, and his 1.57 goals-against average is only outdone by New Hampshire’s duo of Dakers and Camden Moran.
Elimination rounds are slated to begin Sunday morning with the tournament championship scheduled for 10 a.m. EST. World Hockey Hub will have continued coverage of the World Selects tournament series, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for more!
The 13th annual 15U World Selects International Trophy concluded on Sunday with one of the best rivalries in hockey. The International Stars — with a heavy contingent of players from across the United States — squared off against Pro Hockey, whose roster consisted of representatives from six different Canadian provinces and territories.
In a game that featured a wealth of soon-to-be CHL Draft Picks, USHL selections, Division-I commits and NHL superstars, it was Pro Hockey that came away with the 2-1 win over International Stars at the Ford Ice Center in Nashville.
Near the halfway mark of the first period, defenseman Reese Hamilton fired a wrist shot past goaltender Joey Slavick to put Pro Hockey on the board first. Forwards Ryan Roobroeck and Gavin McKenna helped set up the strike by Hamilton, as the duo finished first and second in the tournament in scoring; Roobroeck with 28 points and McKenna with 21.
Less than two minutes later, Hayden Harsanyi tapped in a goal from the weak side after Liam Kilfoil found him with a back-door pass. Just like that, the Canadians were up 2-0 and in control of the contest.
The Stars wouldn’t go down without a fight, though. Despite going into the half trailing by two goals, forwards Evan Jardine, Cullen Potter and John Mooney led a charge to get back into the contest. Five minutes into the second half, Alex Baughman hit a streaking Will Horcoff who came flying into the high slot. Horcoff gripped and ripped a wrist shot past goaltender Owen Butler’s blocker and into the net, putting the Stars on the board and cutting the deficit in half.
Over the next 15 minutes, the Stars swarmed the Pro Hockey net, outshooting the Canadians 17-3 in the second half. Butler came up big for the boys in blue, though, frustrating American shooters as he had done all tournament long. In five games, he stopped 92-of-95 shots and won all five starts, including the championship game. The strong second-half push from the Americans would be denied though, as Butler and Pro Hockey held on to the 2-1 gold medal victory.
It is Pro Hockey’s fourth World Selects Invitational championship all-time, and first ever at the 15U age group. In 2019, this ‘07 group won the 12U Elite tournament in Bolzano, Italy, making five members on the current squad — Roobroeck, McKenna, Shayne Gould, Will Sharpe and Jayden Connors — two-time WSI champions.
The World Selects Invitational series has seen more than 300 future NHL superstars come through its tournament doors over the last two decades. Names like Alexander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, Trevor Zegras and Adam Fox have littered the scoring leaderboard in years past. No player at the 15U level has ever amassed the numbers Roobroeck reached this past week in Nashville though.
The 6-foot-2 power forward led all scorers with 28 points, surpassing Jesse Puljujarvi’s single-tournament mark of 21 points in 2013. Roobroeck also joins Zack Stringer (69), Matthew Savoie (58), Jack Devine (57), Ilya Ivantsov (55) and Connor Bedard (53) as the only players in tournament history to reach the 50-point plateau. In 2019, Roobroeck led the 12U Elite event in scoring as well with 22 points. His 50 total points puts him sixth all-time in tournament scoring.
Appearing in the World Selects tournaments more than 50 times in the past 10 years, Pro Hockey has fielded both boys and girls teams across all age levels. The ‘07 team in Nashville dominated pool play, going 5-0-0 and out-scoring its opponent 43-4. Twelve different skaters recorded multiple goals, with Roobroeck, McKenna and Callum Mainville finishing one, two and three in scoring.
That earned them the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye. Pro Hockey made quick work of TPH Selects in the round of 16 and Alps Selects in the quarterfinals before taking on the 12-seed and defending champion DraftDay-Black. Jordan Switzer pitched the team’s fourth shutout of the tournament, with Roobroeck, Kilfoil, Harsanyi, Savin Virk and Kieran Riley tallying a goal apiece in the 5-0 win.
A high-powered offense elevated Pro Hockey to the championship game with International Stars. However, Butler stole the show in net with a sensational effort and 28 saves to win Pro Hockey’s lowest-scoring game of the tournament.
It may be the first time that Canadian prospects like Ryan Roobroeck, Gavin McKenna and Cole Reschny go head-to-head with Americans Evan Jardine, Cole McKinney and John Mooney on the ice, but it certainly won’t be the last. That’s not to mention the 100-plus other Europeans that competed in the tournament from Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, France and Kazakhstan.
Jakob Ihs-Wozinak and Anton Frondell pushed Sweden Selects into the No. 2-seed after going 5-0-0 in pool play. The Swedes scored a last-minute goal from Ruben Westerling to defeat DHI Ontario 5-4 in the second round of the playoffs. They then knocked off the Czech Knights in the quarterfinals before losing to International Stars in the semifinals.
Czech forward Adam Novotny scored six goals in pool play — tied for third among skaters — as the Knights qualified as the No. 10-seed in the playoffs. Matyas Jonak scored two goals and an assist to defeat LivePolar Hockey 5-4, before the Czechs were eliminated in the next round.
Alps Selects — with a roster of players from four different central European countries — finished as one-of-four teams to finish without a regulation loss during pool play. They qualified as the No. 8-seed after tiebreakers were resolved. Matey Pekar and Adam Feher both recorded multi-point games in Alps’ 4-1 win over Twin Cities Selects. In the next round, they would be eliminated by eventual champion Pro Hockey.
Whether it’s the U18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, U20 IIHF World Juniors, the Olympics or NHL Playoffs, many of these players will certainly share the ice on an international stage again in the near future.
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