If you stay on the World Selects Invitational landing page and watch the names rotate through, it reads like a who’s who of the biggest names in hockey.
Andrei Svechnikov, Adam Fox, Mitch Marner, Kaapo Kakko, Rasmus Dahlin, Trevor Zegras, Aaron Ekblad — no matter the type of player or the nationality, you can find whatever you’re looking for when scrolling through.
With top talent from across the globe coming to the tournament spring after spring, it has become a marquee event for the youth hockey community. It’s also great to have it back and fully operational this time around as the tournament is underway in Nashville, Tenn.
Eight different countries are taking part in this year’s 15U World Selects Trophy, as the 2007 birth-year really begins to make some noise in the hockey circles leading into their junior draft year.
One of those players certainly standing out to the scouts in attendance is Ryan Roobroeck, who has posted a remarkable 18 points in four games to jump out to the lead in the scoring race. Roobroeck, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound forward, won an Alliance Hockey league title with the London Jr. Knights in the winter season, and now he’s skating with the Pro Hockey ’07 team at World Selects.
He said it’s humbling to be included among the top players in his birth-year, but knows it doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of his hockey career.
“Yeah, but we’re still young,” Roobroeck said. “There’s still a lot to be done, and everybody’s still learning to play and everything, so being at the top right now is nothing special, until later.”
To put his performance in perspective, Roobroeck’s taking quite the swing at the all-time points leaders totals — Jesse Puljujarvi recorded 21 in 2013, while seven players have posted 19 — most recently, USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (USNTDP) U18 Team captain Rutger McGroarty in 2019.
Pro Hockey teammates Gavin McKenna and Callum Mainville join Roobroeck at the top of the points chart with 14 and 12, respectively, while Sweden’s Jakob Ihs-Wozniak has the most points of any European player with 10. It’s quite an adjustment for the Euros to all of a sudden be playing world-class competition in Nashville, as summarized by Sweden Selects teammate Anton Frondell, another highly-regarded ’07 prospect.
“I think the biggest difference is the rink,” said Frondell, who won a Swedish U16 national title playing with the ’06 Djurgården IF club. “In Sweden we have a bit of a bigger rink, so here it’s more physical, there are more hits, and you’re always closer to the boards. When you have the puck, you’re closer to the net, and you always have a good scoring chance. I think that’s the biggest difference.”
The players know they are skating in a must-see showcase for junior, college and professional scouts. Cole Reschny, skating with Pro Hockey after an impressive winter campaign with the Northern Alberta Xtreme of the CCSHL, acknowledged that he’s at least aware of some of the extra attention this week. However, he isn’t letting that impact his performance, as he has eight points in four games. Reschny knows how to find the back of the net; he had 92 points in 25 games with his Xtreme team this year.
“That’s in the back of my mind, but I just try to play my game, improve myself, show my skill and what I can do here,” Reschny said.
With the combination of elite talent and brand-new rosters, life can be difficult for the goaltenders, but the brave souls entering the crease at World Selects are holding their own. Troy Wright of Laytonsville, Maryland and the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers is standing on his head, as he holds a .50 goals-against average and .970 save percentage for Top Line Selects.
Owen Butler of Pro Hockey has the same goals-against, and with one shot on goal less than Wright, he’s got a .969 save percentage.
Bjorn Bronas, fresh off leading Chicago Mission to a USA Hockey national championship, has a 1.03 goals-against average and .960 save percentage. Meanwhile, Love Härenstam of Sweden is leading all the European goaltenders with a 2.00 goals-against and .958 save percentage.
The playoff bracket kicks off Friday evening. These players have spent the last several months competing for national recognition and now with the spotlight bright in the Music City, will clash for world supremacy.
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Total Package Hockey (TPH) is among the biggest name brands in all of youth hockey. With its on-ice training, off-ice schooling with the Centers of Excellence, tournament teams and events, there are very few aspects of the sport left untouched by the organization.
Founded in 2001, TPH has impacted the landscape for more than two decades, and will make its fifth appearance at the 15U World Selects Trophy since 2016. A mainstay at the event in recent years, TPH teams have an overall record of 12-14-0 and qualified for the elimination rounds on two separate occasions. Both times, they were eliminated in the first round.
This year, the 2007-born squad will look to reach heights never reached before by TPH teams in the tournament.
The team has a heavy influence from Michigan, Illinois and the province of Ontario. A region of North America that puts a multitude of players into the field of teams across various rosters. The Compuware hockey contingent of Nino Suhy, Salvatore Viviano and Tyler Ross are three forwards who played all winter together. That trio could continue to carry that chemistry into Nashville as a go-to option offensively for TPH.
Both goaltenders — Sam Kapotas and Gannon Hunter — should factor into the team’s success as well. Kapotas played last season with the Windy City Storm while Hunter backstopped the Sun County Panthers in Canada.
Puck drop is May 11th, and TPH Selects are one of two teams that the program enters into the field, alongside TPH Prospects. The challenge will be can either team advance past the first round of the playoffs and outperform the teams that have come before them.
World Hockey Hub will have exclusive coverage leading up to, and throughout, the 2022 15U World Selects Trophy. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for previews, updates, top prospects, highlights, interviews and more!
Founded in 2018, the Topline Selects program is composed of five full-time staff members with Division-I and professional hockey backgrounds. In just four short years, it has significantly impacted youth hockey prospects like Ryan Fine, Sal Guzzo, Aram Minnetian, Drew Fortescue and Quentin Musty. Those names have gone on to represent America in the U.S. national team development program (USNTDP), play North American junior hockey and in Musty’s case, be selected as the first overall pick in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft.
Topline Selects will look to continue that path of success with the 2007 age group at the 15U World Selects Trophy in Nashville.
A pair of Cleveland Barons — Nathan Bujdos and Tucker Mears — will look to lead the offense on May 11th. That duo played a significant role this winter for the Barons, combining for 43 goals and 85 points during the team’s 63-game schedule. Add in fellow forwards Jack MacFarlane and Ryan Schweitzer to round out the attack up front. If that’s not enough, defenseman Carter Amico goes north often to get involved in the offense; he led all Seacoast Performance Academy defensemen in scoring last season with 19 goals and 45 points.
Offense may not be a problem at World Selects, but can the very diverse team of players from across North America play sound enough defensively? The roster includes players from nine different U.S. states and Canadian provinces. May 11th will be the first time this group comes together in game action, and they’ll have little time to waste when going up against the best players in youth hockey.
World Hockey Hub will have exclusive coverage leading up to, and throughout, the 2022 15U World Selects Trophy. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for previews, updates, top prospects, highlights, interviews and more!
In the past five years, HD Engine has competed in iconic youth hockey tournaments like The Brick Series and the Triple Crown. However, the historic 15U World Selects Trophy in Nashville had eluded the program… until now.
On May 11th, HD Engine will make its tournament debut, competing against the best 2007-born youth hockey teams in the world. It’s an age group that HD has actually had prior success, with a Super Series AAA Triple Crown championship in 2020 to its resume.
If the team is to achieve similar results in the Music City, names like Cole Tuminaro, Sam Kapell and Kadden Soukup will certainly have to play a factor. Tuminaro was a top defenseman for the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies, while Kapell and Soukup were standout forwards for high school programs Notre Dame Academy (WI) and Anoka (MN).
Goaltender Charlie Abel is slated to play for the Florida Alliance after spending the 2021-22 season spread between Plant High School (FL), Minnesota Elite League and the Tampa Jr. Bulls. He will need to play some of his best hockey between the pipes to keep HD Engine in contention in Nashville.
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Ten years ago, Freddy Meyer launched the Dream Big HockeyStars program based out of the New England area. Being an undersized, undrafted defenseman, Meyer himself proved doubters wrong by playing Division-I college hockey and then nearly a decade of professional hockey in the NHL and Europe. Achieving those goals set the tenor for his Dream Big program to inspire other young players to do just that: Dream big. So much so that he signs all memorabilia with his autograph alongside that two-word phrase.
After a decade, Dream Big will add its hat into the ring amongst other top spring hockey programs in the world at the 2022 World Selects Trophy in Nashville.
Tournament teams are a relatively new endeavor for Dream Big, with much of its programming geared towards individual skill training. The team that will arrive in the Music City will have a strong contingent from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, with reps from Vermont, Maine and Alberta, Canada to round things out.
“I would consider us to be ‘team strong’ versus just four or five studs,” said Meyer. “We have a great group of players that have a bright future.”
Can Dream Big fulfill lofty goals at Nashville? It will be a star-studded lineup of the best 2007-born youth hockey players in the world, so they’ll take their best shot at other top programs.
World Hockey Hub will have exclusive coverage leading up to, and throughout, the 2022 15U World Selects Trophy. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for previews, updates, top prospects, highlights, interviews and more!
In one of the more stunning outcomes in World Selects Invitationals history, the Czech Selects shocked the girls youth hockey world last week, winning the 14U championship.
After the conclusion of pool play, the Czechs were fifth out of six teams in the standings, and it’s only regulation win was over the sixth-seeded Alps Selects. When the elimination rounds began, the Czechs needed a 2-0 win over Germany Selects in the quarterfinals. That win gave them a rematch with top-seeded Sweden Selects; a team that had beaten them 4-1 just three days earlier. The Swedes had dominated their way to the top spot, out-scoring opponents 26-3 in round-robin action.
It was a tough semifinal, but a pair of goals from Alena Luxemburgová would change the tides in the rematch. That early offensive surge helped the Czechs knock off the No. 1 team 3-1 and advance to the gold medal game.
The stage was set for the Czechs to take on the No. 2-seeded Finland Selects; another team they lost to earlier in the tournament. Again, this rematch would be all about the Czechs as Merkéta Kafková scored four goals to lead the team to a 6-1 victory and WSI championship.
A pair of Finns Yenna Kolmonen and Julia Kuhta led round-robin action in scoring with 12 points and 10 points respectively. Eventual champion Aneta Florýková also had 10 points. Goaltender Wilma Hallbeck played 139 minutes of scoreless hockey and didn’t allow a single goal against until playoffs. France Selects Lysa Nogaretto had a .914 save percentage, stopping 53-of-58 shots.
It’s just the second time that the Czech Selects have won a girls WSI event and the first time since 2015. This tournament in particular is a unique accomplishment after the WSI had been on pause for the past two years. Circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and international travel had made such events virtually impossible to operate. However, in 2022, the situation was such that several European countries were able to travel in some capacity and the six-team event was able to go off without a hitch.
The early success of this event — and the 12U Boys Elite event — is an encouraging step back towards normalcy regarding WSI. The World Selects Trophy in Nashville will feature 30 teams from eight different countries next week as well. Coupling all that together with the remaining slate of WSI events this month, and it adds up to a lot of progress for a series that was on hold for the better part of 24 months. After a full slate of tournaments this spring, the goal for 2023 will certainly be to have a full slate of teams in the competition, and the return of North American programs in European events.
Want more coverage of the World Selects Invitationals this spring? There’s seven events over the next two weeks, and WHH will have exclusive coverage of the top teams, players and champions. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for the last news!
Some of the top 2010-born European hockey players in the world gathered in Czechia last week for the 10U World Selects Invitational, and they put on quite a show.
The hometown Czech Knights ended up prevailing in the European showcase that featured teams from Czechia, Slovakia, Latvia, Sweden, Finland and the Alps.
In the final, the Knights topped the Slovakia Kings 4-1 to capture the title inside the Letnany Ice Arena in Prague.
The win capped off a perfect week for the Czech club, as they posted a 5-0 record in the preliminary round before rolling through the playoffs, as well.
To start, they beat the Latvia Selects 5-0 Tuesday morning, before beating the Alps Selects 7-1 later in the day. On Wednesday, they took down the Slovakia Kings 4-1 and the Sweden Selects 2-1, before wrapping up the prelims with a 7-1 win over the Finland Selects on Thursday.
That earned the Knights a bye to the semifinals, where they took on the winner of the Sweden Selects vs. Alps Selects quarters. Sweden beat the Alps club 14-1, but their scoring streak ran out when they took on the Czechs, as the Knights picked up a 4-0 shutout victory.
The Czechs wrapped things up Friday evening with the aforementioned 4-1 win over Slovakia in the final. The Knights scored four goals in the first period to take control of the contest and coast to victory in their rematch with the Slovakian club. The Slovakia Kings were undefeated in all of the other contests they played in, finishing with a 5-2 record on the week.
Czechia’s representatives thrived on their home ice, as they out-scored the competition 33-5 in their seven games. Nobody managed to score more than a single goal on them during the duration of the tournament.
Czechia’s Matyas Vik led the tournament and the Knights in scoring during the five-game preliminary round, as he racked up nine points over the five contests. Vik found the scoresheet in every game but the final, showing a consistent presence for his club each and every contest. His nine-point mark was matched by Slovakia’s Simon Sisik, who had four goals and five assists for the runners-up.
Oliver Hammerman of the Sweden Selects finished with eight points, one point off the tournament lead. Even more impressive than his eight points in five games was his eight points in two games in the playoffs, as Hammerman did everything he could to help his Swedes in the elimination rounds.
Two of the Knights — Niko Fatyka and Marek Sedlacek — both had eight points in the prelims, while Tomas Albrecht had six, and Adam Novotny had five.
In the playoffs, David Jahn and Niko Fatyka both had three points apiece, while a total of nine different Knights found their way to the scoresheet over the two games.
Tobias Orechvsky and Tomas Zmitko split time between the pipes for the Czechs; in the preliminary round, Orechovsky posted a .966 save percentage with only one goal against, while Zmitko finished with a .903 save percentage and only three goals against.
In the playoffs, Orechovsky saw 60 minutes of action between the pipes, stopping all 11 shots sent his way for a perfect 1.00 save percentage and 0.00 goals-against average. Zmitko only needed to make five saves on the six shots sent his way during his 20 minutes of postseason action; he finishes with a .833 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average.
Slovakia’s David Brucek deserves some high praise as well – the Kings’ goaltender played every minute of the preliminary round and stood on his head while doing so. Brucek finished with a 1.40 goals-against average and .933 save percentage while allowing only seven goals in the five games. He faced 105 shots on goal in the timeframe.
Want more coverage of the World Selects Invitationals this spring? There’s seven events over the next two weeks, and WHH will have exclusive coverage of the top teams, players and champions. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for the last news!
The North American program DHI has had an influence on the World Selects Invitational series since 2016. In four previous appearances in the North American tournament, DHI has qualified for the playoff rounds three times, with its best finish being a 7-1-0 second place in their tournament debut. Now focusing on its first trip to Nashville for the 15U World Selects Trophy, DHI will rely on strong performances from a few key players.
Defenseman Ryan White was a standout for the U15 Ottawa Senators in the Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO) AAA league. He finished in the top five in scoring among defensemen with six goals and 21 points in 22 games. White will be joined by a top D from the opposite end of the country, with Calgary, Alberta, native Jackson Smith. A key player for Edge School U15 Prep, Smith scored 21 goals and 51 points in 33 games. Thirteen of those points in the CSSHL playoffs, leading his team, as Edge finished in third place.
The leading scorer in the HEO among 2007s, Jacob Cloutier scored 32 goals and 60 points in 26 games for the Ottawa Jr. 67s. The team finished with a 40-12-8 record and ranked among the Top 10 in Canada. Cloutier will now look to be a leading producer against the best 2007-born players in the world at WSI.
The DHI program has been a contender for 15U world championships in years past, but hasn’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs in three straight appearances. This group in 2022 will look to turn the tides in Tennessee when the puck drops on May 11.
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The MN Blizzard missed the playoff rounds of the 2021 World Selects Trophy by just one point in the standings. Entering the 15U tournament for a second consecutive year, they look to get over the hump in 2022 and into the elimination rounds when the puck drops on May 11th.
In five years, the program has developed numerous players and advanced their playing careers to junior and college levels. This 2007-born group is expected to continue that trend, starting with a pair of high-end goaltenders.
Owen Lunneborg and Grayson Hanggi are compact — listed at 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-8 respectively on Elite Prospects — but maintain great footwork and crisp movements in net. The defense group is very strong and mobile as well, so the Blizzard is one team that could thrive in their own zone.
A strong team effort defensively should provide forwards Poul Andersen and Tre Peck the opportunity to get loose going north and create some offense for the team. Anderson scored 17 goals and 33 points in 20 AAA games. Peck is a shifty skater from Long Lake, Minnesota, who played varsity hockey for Totino-Grace this winter.
The Blizzard are one of three teams primarily based out of Minnesota; a state that has yet to win the 15U world championship. They will certainly rely on their defensive prowess and ability to frustrate opposing offenses, hoping it will be enough to bring the ‘State of Hockey’ its first world title.
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Eight years ago, the California Patriots were developed as an elite-level spring development program. In that span, it has grown to be recognized as one of the top organizations in the Golden State. Now for the first time, the Patriots will enter the ring to compete with some of the world’s best 2007-born teams at the 2022 World Selects Trophy.
The West Coast of the United States has seen a boom in the hockey community over the last decade or more. Pockets like Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Jose, and the addition of the NHL’s newest expansion teams, expect Las Vegas and Seattle should certainly continue that trend of growth in the region. With teams like the California Patriots competing for 15U world championships, it certainly validates how far youth hockey has come in the area. Now, players and coaches alike set their sights on worldwide recognition.
Coaches Kevin Bieksa, Dean Caban and Peter Torsson will head up the team in Nashville. Bieksa is well known for being a 13-season NHL veteran for the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks. Torsson is a native of Sweden, who played four years of NCAA Division-I hockey for St. Cloud State University.
Forward Max Silver is coming off of a season in which he averaged a goal per game for 70 games between California High School and AAA. He scored 68 goals and 98 points this winter. Fellow forward Hayden Russell is an impressive goal scorer as well; he eclipsed the 100-point mark with the California Golden Bears this season in 66 games.
While Hayden and company help propel the offense, twin brother Garrett Russell and crew will anchor the defense. Garrett is a right-hand shot who posted 61 points in 71 games and finished second on Mater Dei High School in scoring, trailing Hayden by just five points.
Daniel Tverdovsky — son of 11-season NHL vet Oleg Tverdovsky — adds his defensive skills to the mix after splitting his time this season between the Golden Bears and CP Dynamo in New York.
Can the California Patriots contend for a world championship in the Music City? World Hockey Hub will have exclusive coverage leading up to, and throughout, the 2022 15U World Selects Trophy. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for previews, updates, top prospects, highlights, interviews and more!