As mentioned earlier this week, the ‘09 and ‘10 World Selects Invitationals (WSI) are running concurrently in two separate European cities. While the international tournaments have been vastly different, the favorites to win both events may hail from the same club. The ‘09 Czech Knights completed pool play with a 5-0-0 record and are the top seed entering the 14U playoffs. Their ‘10 team is also 5-0-0, and they enter playoffs as the No. 1 seed as well.
The Czech Knights have proven to be a wildly successful club on the international stage. The organization has two WSI championships to its name already. They’ve also won the PeeWee Quebec in 2018 and 2020, as well as finalists in 2016 and 2019.
The ‘10 squad won last year’s 12U tournament, and is off to an undefeated start to the 13U event this week as well. If the Knights were able to claim two WSI titles simultaneously, it would be the first time since 2011 that one club won at multiple age groups in the same season. That year, CSKA Moscow won the 15U, 13U and 12U tournaments in the same spring season.
He played the ‘22-23 season for Chicago Mission, and now, Oliver McKinney is the front-runner to win the scoring title at the ‘09 WSI. As the top forward for Pro Hockey, McKinney has scored five goals and eight points through pool play. His performance, along with teammates Michael Tang and Tyler Lee have put Pro Hockey into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed with a 3-2-0 record.
While the Czech Knights are undefeated, Pro Hockey may stand the best chance at knocking off the Euros in the playoffs. The two teams began the tournament on Tuesday, with the Knights pulling away with a 7-4 win. Goals from McKinney and Tang gave Pro Hockey a 3-1 lead early in the game, which is the only time the Czechs have trailed in the tournament thus far. Three goals in a four-minute span allowed the Knights to escape defeat. However, can a championship rematch net a different result? McKinney and company will certainly hope so.
The Czechs will draw Barys in the quarterfinals, while Pro Hockey faces off against Finland Selects. Should chalk prevail, a championship matchup of the Czech Knights and Pro Hockey would be the first 1-v-2 finale since top-seeded CSKA Moscow defeated No. 2 WCAN in 2019.
The highest scoring offense at the ‘10 WSI is neither the No. 1 or No. 2 seed heading into the playoffs. Three-seeded Slovakia Selects has scored a tournament-high 42 goals in five games, with the top seven point producers. Patrik Šušoliak, Dominik Bičkoš and Dominik Domonkoš are tied for the tournament lead with 12 points apiece. Teammates David Macejka and Luka Križanovič are close behind with 10 points each. Simon Sisík (nine points) and Leonard Švajda (eight) add even more scoring depth to an already deep Slovakia Selects squad.
However, a 6-4 loss to top-seeded Barys has kept the Slovaks out of a top spot in the playoffs.
Miras Zhumabay recorded a hat trick in that game for Barys. As the team’s leading scorer, he has six goals and eight points in the tournament thus far. They’ll draw DraftDay in a quarterfinal matchup Friday morning; a team they beat 5-2 earlier in the week. A win there could set the stage for a potential Slovakia-Barys rematch on Friday evening with a trip to the championship at stake.
The ‘10 WSI has featured plenty of offense, averaging 8.1 goals per game. It hasn’t been favorable for the goalies, however, three have managed to post shutouts in the tournament thus far. None were more important than Yegor Togobitskiy’s 10-save performance for Barys. It may not have been an overwhelming workload in terms of shots, but the 2-0 result left little room for error for Togobitskiy in net.
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With 19 and 20 points respectively, Dylan Dean and Sammy Nelson became the highest-scoring duo to take the ice at the 15U World Youth Championships in Philadelphia. It was also the first time that teammates had finished one and two among scoring leaders, with Nelson setting the tournament record of 20 points in nine games. Both were crucial to SDP Elite’s success in the tournament, as one or both of them factored in on 29 of their team’s 54 goals.
Nelson is a proven producer, having been one of the top scorers in the 14U Minnesota High Performance League last fall. The 5-foot-11, 155-pound forward got a chance to show the world what makes him such a dangerous offensive threat at the ‘08 WYC. He opened up the tournament with a hat trick against RSG Selects. That would be the first of eight multi-point performances Nelson put on at the ‘08 WYC. His 20 points in nine games breaks the previous tournament record of 19 held by 2006-born Malcolm Spence.
After leading No. 7-ranked Mount St. Charles in scoring this past season, Dean got to showcase his scoring ability on the international stage at the ‘08 WYC. His nine goals and 19 points would have tied the tournament record, if not for the efforts of his SDP Elite teammate. Dean put together seven multi-point performances, none bigger than his two-goal, three-assist game against Czech Republic’s Crazy Hockey. That five-point display was the most by any player in a single game.
While Nelson led all skaters in goals (11) and points (20), a trio of forwards nearly out-did him with their ability to find the back of the net. Teammate Mikey Berchild and RSG Selects’ Ryan Tserlin each scored 10 goals apiece; one shy of Nelson’s mark. In fact, Tserlin accounted for more of his team’s offense than any other individual in the tournament. The 5-foot-7 New Jersey native factored in on 68 percent of RSG’s goals scored.
Berchild was one of the leading scorers in the country this past season for Shattuck-St. Mary’s. At the ‘08 WYC, he showed he could produce at the international level as well, finishing in the top five among scorers.
Underager Landon Dupont scored six goals and 12 points for Western Canada Prime. Both marks were tops among defensemen in the tournament. The 2009-born defender was second in the U15 Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) this past season playing up an age level for Edge School as well. Dupont is quickly emerging as one of the top prospects of the birth year.
All individuals at the ‘08 World Youth Championships took part in off-ice combine testing. Those exercises included vertical jump, multi-rebound jump, broad jump, 20-meter sprint, fastest sprinter, pro agility, pull-ups and grip strength. Results were provided to each of the participants, with the top 10 performers from each exercise made public below.
Playing for Chill Hockey Club, Spencer Thornborough topped the overall leaderboard with a 1.836 Z-Score. Chase Petrova followed close behind with a 1.720, but after that, no other participant surpassed a 1.50 Z-Score. Thornborough ranked first in vertical jump, multi-rebound jump and pro agility. He also finished in the top three in broad jump and 20-meter sprint.
The off-ice combine was conducted by The Park Sports Facility, which is run by sports technologist Ryan Smyth.
Tournament MVP: Sammy Nelson, SDP Elite
Top Forward: Sammy Nelson, SDP Elite
Best Defenseman: Landon Dupont, WCAN Prime
Top Goalie: Luke Carrithers, SDP Elite
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Champions were crowned at the third annual World Youth Championships in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Top select teams from across North America — and three European clubs — competed for the ‘08 WYC. After more than 100 games of action from the 15U age group, Minnesota-based SDP Elite earned the gold medal with a 5-2 win over Maroon Hockey. Goaltender Luke Carrithers had been one of the best in the tournament, leading his team to the championship with a 7-1-0 record. In the finale, though, he faced a trio of forwards Ben Bowen, Ethan Belchetz and Beckham Edwards from Maroon Hockey that presented the biggest challenge of the week.
Maroon Hockey entered the final as the only undefeated team at the ‘08 WYC. That would change when Riley Zupfer scored three consecutive goals in the second half to secure the championship for SDP Elite. Carrithers was sensational in the finale as well, making 33 saves en route to his tournament-leading sixth win.
Despite surrendering the most shots against in the ‘08 WYC, SDP Elite made it all the way to the ‘08 WYC finale with a 7-1-0 record. Luke Carrithers was a big reason for that playoff run, as he posted a 1.97 goals-against average and .914 save percentage through eight tournament games. An 18-save shutout in the semifinals helped propel SDP Elite to the championship game.
Maroon Hockey entered the final with a three-pronged attack of Ethan Belchetz, Ben Bowen and Beckham Edwards. However, when Carrithers took to the crease, none would be able to find the back of the net. The 5-foot-11 goaltender snuffed out Maroon’s three biggest offensive threats to help SDP Elite win gold on Tuesday.
Even though they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, both Jamie Glance and Braidy Wassilyn finished among the top five in points. A forward for Mount St. Charles this past season, Glance started the tournament off with a five-point performance on Friday. He followed that up with a three-point outing in a 5-2 win over Russia-based Provorov Selects. Glance would put together two more multi-point games before tournament’s end. His most pivotal performance being a two-goal game in the Round of 16, where Glance scored the game-winning goal in a 5-2 win that eliminated DraftDay-Black.
Wassilyn was equally influential for Everest Academy. Skating alongside Alex McLean, Wassilyn helped fuel an offense that finished third in scoring with 30 goals in seven games. The team’s plus-30 goal differential was the second-largest of all 36 participating teams.
They were only out-done by a pair of SDP forwards in Sammy Nelson and Dylan Dean.
Nelson scored a tournament-high 20 points in nine games. Eight of those came in the elimination rounds, including a pair of goals in the championship. Dean — another player from Mount St. Charles this season — added nine goals and 19 points to the mix. Together, they accounted for 37 percent of SDP Elite’s total offense.
Lightly tested throughout the tournament, Jacob Ceranic stopped 69-of-72 shots faced as he won five of his six starts for Maroon Hockey. He made __ of those saves in the _-_ win in the championship game.
After falling to RSG Selects 7-6 in a shootout on the opening day of the tournament, SDP Elite won eight straight games en route to ‘08 WYC gold. Each of their wins would be by a margin of three goals or more, as SDP dominated its opponents.
Nine different SDP skaters average a point per game at the tournament. That depth pushed the Minnesota-based club to the top of the standings. Their plus-36 goal differential was the best among the 36 participating teams.
In the elimination rounds, SDP faced three consecutive opponents who had not experienced a loss. In the quarterfinals, they beat previously undefeated Roc City Elite Red 6-2 on Monday. Then, SDP eliminated Western Canada Prime who was 7-0-0 prior to the matchup. And finally, in the championship, they handed Maroon Hockey its first, only and biggest defeat of the tournament.
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Oliver Tomaštík and Dominik Železný came out flying at the ‘11 Elite World Selects Invitational. With a combined 28 points over five games, the forwards led Slovakia Selects to a 4-0-1 preliminary round record. That run secured the No. 2-seed heading into the playoff rounds. It was there they carried the team to three more wins en route to the championship. The gold medal was Slovakia’s first at the tournament.
Slovakia scored the most goals out of all 10 participating clubs in pool play. Domination that many expected to continue into the playoffs. Against Finland Selects, both Tomaštík (3G, 1A) and Železný (3G, 2A) recorded hat tricks to propel Slovakia to a 8-0 victory. Next up was Pro Hockey, who managed to put up some offense on Slovakia. However, it was not enough in a 5-3 loss. That win sent Slovakia into the final game against Sweden Selects. Sweden upset the heavily favored Czech Knights in the semifinals with an overtime victory.
The odds were looking good for the Knights to defend their title from last year’s tournament. Skating into the playoffs as the only undefeated team, they made a statement with a 16-0 quarterfinal win over ALPS Selects. Riding that momentum, the Knights opened the scoring against Sweden just over three minutes into the game. Determined to not let things get out of hand, Sweden responded with three goals in nine minutes to take a 3-1 lead into intermission.
After Sweden increased its lead to 4-1 early in the second, the Czechs flipped a switch. Displaying the depth that got them to the semifinals, three different players scored for the Knights to tie the game at four. In overtime, Liam Klarén finished off the win for Sweden 1:26 into the extra frame. The victory secured Sweden’s spot in a rematch against Slovakia for the title. Earlier in the tournament, Slovakia bested Sweden 3-2.
Like in their previous meeting, Sweden had no answer for the offensive attack of Slovakia. After blazing out to a 3-0 lead, Sweden cut into Slovakia’s lead only to surrender two more goals before the first period ended. Gustav Grundström and Tomaštík tallied the only goals of the second to end their run with a 6-2 win. Tomaštík and Železný only collected one point apiece, leaving Tomáš Brázdil as the lone Slovakian player with more than one (2G). The championship was Slovakia’s first at the ‘11 Elite World Selects Invite.
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The 2009 and 2010-born World Selects Invitational tournaments take place simultaneously this week in separate European cities. Games will get underway on Tuesday with teams competing in host cities Bolzano, Italy and Chamonix, France. Eight 13U teams will clash for the ‘10 WSI while eight other 14U teams compete for the ‘09 championship. Last month, CCM All Out won the 15U championship in Nashville, while Team Minnesota won the 16U championship. Plus, Slovakia Selects won the 12U WSI this past weekend to become world champions as well. The pair of tournaments this week will close the book on WSI Elite tournaments for the 2023 season.
We take a closer look at each of the ‘09 and ‘10 WSIs before action gets underway on Tuesday.
Sweden Selects won the 14U World Selects Invitational last spring thanks to the efforts of ‘08-born Marcus Nordmark and Alexander Command. If the ‘09s are going to repeat as WSI champions for Sweden, they’ll need big performances from the likes of Love Lorentzon, Tom Pråhl and Oliver Sundberg.
If Sweden returns to prominence in Bolzano this week, it would be the first time an organization has ever gone back-to-back at the 14U WSI.
A repeat will be no easy task, as seven other teams from around the world make a case for championship gold as well. North American-based Pro Hockey has four players from the No. 1-ranked team in Canada, the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. Similarly, Finland Selects brings players from various Top-10 teams as well, including Kiekko-Espoo, Tappara and Jokerit.
Czech Knights, ALPS Selects and Latvia Selects all draw players from various Central European regions. Plus, Barys (Kazakhstan) and Eastern U.S. Selects round out the field of participating teams.
Each team will compete in five pool-play games from Tuesday to Thursday. Single-elimination playoffs will begin on Friday, with the ’09 WSI championship final going down on Saturday.
CSKA Moscow was the last 13U team to win the World Selects Invitational in 2019. That was a tournament of top ‘06-born players in the city of Chamonix. Four years later, the ‘10s return to the same city in search of the first 13U WSI championship since CSKA hoisted the trophy.
Due to COVID-19 and significant travel restrictions, there has been a drought in 13U champions. Now in 2023, eight teams from around the world look to be the first to recapture gold in the age group.
In years past, prospects like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Alexey Dontsov have made their mark in this very tournament. Dontsov is a top European prospect in the 2024 NHL Draft class; he currently plays for No. 1-ranked CSKA Moscow. Celebrini was just named the USHL Player of the Year after scoring 86 points in the Tier-I junior league. And Bedard, the all-time leading scorer of the 13U WSI, is slated to be the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft next month.
The youth hockey community will get a good look at a ’10 WSI tournament that’s featured some of the best youth hockey players in the world. The eight participating teams hail from Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia and Slovakia, as well as the Alps region of Europe. Additionally, DraftDay and Eastern U.S. Selects bring top prospects from North America. Barys will represent Kazakhstan, as the club participates in its third World Selects event of the spring.
Each team will compete in five pool-play games from Tuesday to Thursday. Single-elimination playoffs will begin on Friday, with the championship final going down on Saturday. There’s also an All-Star Game consisting of top performers from the tournament slotted for Friday afternoon.
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As preliminary round play concluded on Thursday, there was only one club left standing with an unblemished record at the 2011 Elite World Selects Invitational. The Czech Knights entered this year’s tournament with sights set on repeating at 12U champions. The squad has gotten off to a stellar start, going 5-0-0 in pool play and enters the playoff round as the No. 1-seed. As all eight participating teams make the playoff round, we preview the initial matchups and which clubs stand the best chance to move on.
The Knights were able to put up 50 goals during pool play contests. Those numbers were largely aided by the stellar play of Arnošt Binter, Gabriel Wsol and Michal Hruška. All three forwards produced 15 points, with Wsol leading all players at the Invitational with 12 goals. Six of the club’s 11 skaters have 10 or more points, giving the Czechs some of the best depth among any team. If they can keep the production spread throughout the lineup, and Binter can continue to show off insane skill like on the goal below, the Czechs will be a tough out.
Taking on the Knights in the quarterfinal round will be ALPS Selects, who went winless during preliminary round games. The Knights bested them 19-2 in their previous meeting on Wednesday. The Czechs should have no issue recording a second victory and moving on. Either the Latvia Selects or Sweden Selects will be waiting in the semifinals.
After suffering a 6-5 opening overtime loss to Latvia Selects, the Slovakia Selects haven’t looked back. Finishing pool play with four consecutive wins, they secured the No. 2-seed and will take on Finland Selects. Having played each other once already, Slovakia was victorious against Finland in a 20-1 final earlier today. In that win, 12 players collected at least two points, led by Matias Krúpa’s six assists. Oliver Tomaštík (11G, 6A) and Dominik Železný (9G, 7A) will lead the charge for Slovakia. The two enter as the top scorers thus far among all players. Having only scored nine goals total, it will be all hands on deck for Finland. The winner of this tilt will take on whoever emerges from the clash between Pro Hockey and Südtirol.
Pro Hockey skated to a 4-1-0 record to lock down a matchup with No. 6-seeded Südtirol. The lone blemish was a 7-3 loss to the Knights. Tyson Orr has impressed on the offensive side with 11 goals and 15 points. Pro Hockey’s success also hinged on the strong performances of goaltender Donovan Knapp. Knapp was between the pipes for three wins, recording a 1.60 goals-against average and .948 save percentage. Both numbers were good enough for second overall among all goalies in preliminary round play. Only four goals managed to find their way past Knapp in those three appearances. Continued consistency from him will be paramount to playoff success, especially against an interesting opponent like Südtirol. Despite lower offensive numbers than Pro Hockey, the club still managed two wins in pool play.
For the No. 4 and No. 5-seeds, Latvia Selects will face off with Sweden Selects for the second time at the showcase. In the prior meeting, Sweden shut out Latvia 7-0, with Charles Wikström producing two goals. In net, Hampus Trygg made 24 saves and was unable to be solved by Latvia. If Sweden puts him back in the crease for the rematch, Latvia will have to come up with a new strategy to get pucks by him. Both rosters are close in skill, so of all the quarterfinal games this one feels like it can go either way. If the head-to-head results are any indication, Sweden will have no issue moving on.
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The third annual World Youth Championships (WYC) in Philadelphia are set to begin on Friday. Thirty-eight teams will compete in the ’08 Division, with players from as many as 10 different countries in attendance. More than 500 individuals from the U.S. and Canada, as well teams from Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia will be on hand. Players from Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Austria and China are also rostered amongst participating teams.
Over the course of the next three days, teams will compete in five pool-play games. From there, 16 teams will advance to the single-elimination playoffs, where a champion will be determined by Tuesday afternoon.
Maroon Hockey won the ‘07 tournament last spring, and the organization returns to defend its title. Blue Army won the inaugural ‘06 tournament in 2021, and they too, look to win a second WYC title as well. In that span, 54.1 percent of all games have been decided by two goals or fewer. The ’08 WYC is loaded with teams in an event that’s proven to be highly competitive. The next 90-plus games from the Voorhees Skate Zones are certain to be high level, and packed with late-game heroics.
Less than a week after playing in the 15U World Selects Invitational, Provorovs Selects remains states-side to compete in the ’08 WYC. The 800-mile trip from Nashville to Philadelphia this week was a quick jaunt compared to the 5,000-mile transcontinental flight from Yaroslavl, Russia.
Provorovs Selects went 3-2-0 in pool play at the WSI, and was knocked out in the first round of playoffs. Aleksandr Shalabanov, Dmitrii Drobyshevskii and Vladimir Provorov will be hoping for better results this week in Philly.
Shalabanov led the team in scoring with eight points, factoring in on the offense in all six tournament games. He’ll need to continue that production at the ’08 WYC for Provorovs to have success.
Provorovs Selects won’t be the only organization to compete at both events back-to-back. Boston Hockey Club, DevCo Hockey, DraftDay and National Hockey Prospects will all migrate from Nashville to Philly for this weekend’s event.
Alex McLean is coming off of a record-breaking performance at last week’s WSI. He’ll look to continue his dominance over the ‘08 birth year while skating for Everest Academy this Friday. McLean will once again be joined by Kent Greer. The tandem played together this season for No. 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. They also helped CCM All Out win the WSI championship last week. Can McLean and Greer help carry another team to a championship this week in Philadelphia?
Rudolfs Berzkalns and Max Crete — CCM All Out teammates of McLean and Greer’s — will now become foes at the World Youth Championships. They worked together to win the ‘08 WSI championship on Sunday and will now compete against one another to win a WYC.
Berzkalns scored nine goals and 25 points last week. He joins an Evolve Hockey team loaded with players from Pens Elite and Bishop Kearney Selects.
Maroon Hockey looks to defend its title as 15U WYC champs with a bevy of top Canadian prospects. Alessandro Di Iorio, Evan Hendrick and Andrew Robinson are among those suiting up for Maroon after playing this past season for No. 1 Vaughan Kings.
Top talent from the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) will suit up for WCAN Prime as well. Edge School’s Cruz Pavao and Landon DuPont, as well as Northern Alberta Xtreme’s Knox Bendera and Maddox Rose were standout performers in Western Canada’s top youth hockey league this past season.
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The championship game at the 2023 Future Legends Invitational was a matchup of best on best. Team Yzerman was the top team coming out of the Campbell Division with a 3-1-1 record. Their counterpart from the Wales Division, Team St. Louis, was 4-1-0. When the two 2011-born squads collided in Sunday’s championship game, it was full of drama. Ultimately, Easton Scott was the one with late-game heroics for Team St. Louis, winning the championship 6-5 in overtime.
Team 2011 St. Louis taking the ship at HHOF Future Legends yesterday! Congrats 🏆🎉 pic.twitter.com/wLBVOqLCbc
— PLAY Hockey (@playhockeyna) May 1, 2023
After eight minutes of sudden-death action, forward Jack Cross corralled the puck behind Team Yzerman’s net. He sent a centering pass into the slot to Brody Grant, who quickly fired a wrist shot on net. Owen Ryan made the initial save for Team Yzerman, but Scott lingering on the near post was able to chip in the rebound to win the game for Team St. Louis.
It was Scott’s seventh goal of the Future Legends Invitational. He finished second behind teammate and New Jersey Colonials forward Jack Cross, who led the tournament with 11 goals. The duo accounted for 18 of Team St. Louis’ 35 goals over the weekend.
In 33 games between 2011 born teams at the Future Legends Invitational, 16 of them were decided by two goals or fewer. Team St. Louis played in five of those games, victorious in four including the championship thriller.
The 192 individual participants were evenly divided into 12 teams for the weekend. Similarly, 160 players from the 2012 birth year were separated onto 10 competitive teams. The ‘12 age group played 28 games total, of which half were decided by two goals or fewer.
No team’s total goal differential exceeded plus-11, meaning that the highest average margin of victory by any team was just 1.57 goals.
Kale Nicol led all 2012s in scoring with 21 points, but eight other skaters finished the tournament averaging more than a point per game as well. Nicol picked up multiple points in every game he played in, including two outings with a hat trick. He also scored a goal and an assist in Team Howe’s championship loss to Team Lemieux.
Even as champion, Team Lemieux suffered an 8-3 loss at the hands of Team Lidstrom. The two teams would meet again in the semifinals, with Lemieux victorious in overtime after Samuel Douglas’ fourth goal of the tournament.
The leading scorer by a wide margin, Kale Nicol scored 14 goals — five more than any other skater — and 21 points. He opened the Future Legends Invitational with a three-point performance, including the game-tying goal to force a shootout. Nicol was also crucial in Team Howe’s playoff games, scoring four points in a 6-5 win over Team Yzerman. That advanced his team to the semifinals, where Nicol mounted another four-point game to push Team Howe past Team St. Louis, 7-4.
The championship was all Ryan Graves, though. The Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers forward put together his best performance of the tournament in the final game. He scored the opening goal 4:35 into the first period. Graves followed that up three more goals and an assist, as he tied the game early in the third, and gave Team Lemieux the 6-5 lead late in the period as well.
Graves finished third in the tournament in scoring with 15 points, topped only by Nicol and his Future Legends teammate Austin Jarvi who had 18.
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This week, eight teams from eight countries will lace up the skates at the 2011 Elite World Selects Invitational in Bolzano, Italy. The Czech Knights will have their sights set on repeating as 12U champions, as their 2010 squad won the championship last year. But they will not be the only ones with aspirations of adding to their trophy case. Pro Hockey, a collection of North American players, will be in search of its third championship. They won back-to-back in 2015 and 2016, and most recently 2019. Finland Selects, winners in 2013, will also be on the hunt to be the last team standing.
Making things interesting will be that all three teams will play one another during pool play. The Knights open their schedule against Finland before taking on Pro Hockey on Thursday. Finland will cash with Pro Hockey on Wednesday, which is the third game for each squad out of five pool play contests. Joining them will be Sweden Selects, Slovakia Selects, Südtirol, ALPS Selects and Latvia Selects. Following the opening round, all eight teams will be seeded 1-8 for the playoff rounds which begins on Friday. The semifinals and championship game will both take place on Saturday.
Pro Hockey will consist of some of the best 2011-born talent in Canada. Tyson Orr, defenseman for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and Rouhi Assal of the Vaughan Kings bring their talents to the team. Both the Jr. Canadiens and Kings are among the premier teams in the World Rankings.
Finland Selects roster will consist of numerous teammates from various Finnish programs. Defenseman Justus Liikanen, forward Viljam Huuskonen and goaltender Alex Oliver Maslov all hail from KJT Hockey. Manu Vähäsöyrinki and Richard WEI, a pair of forwards from Kiekko-Espoo Blues, will bolster scoring depth. Joining them will be K-Espoo Blues teammate Eemeli Salminen, whose task it will be to help patrol the blue line.
The Czechs have two pairs of players from the same team. Goaltender Nikita Kuzin and defenseman Kirill Rudenko from Slavia Praha. Coming from BK Mlada Boleslav are defenseman David Skořepa and goaltender Milan Kobrle. Viggbyholms IK and Värmdö will have multiple representatives on Sweden. Latvia’s roster will largely be made up of players from HS Riga and Prizma. These are collectively the skaters on each team with experience playing with each other in competitive action. Chemistry that should lead to thrilling plays and exciting matchups throughout the duration of the showcase.
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