This week, eight teams will travel to Stockholm, Sweden for the 15U AAA World Selects Trophy. The annual tournament is an opportunity for teams to compete nationally among fellow players of their birth year. Czech Knights, Astana HC, Slovenia Selects, TPH Selects, DevCo Hockey, Finland SHD, Sweden SHD Yellow and Sweden SHD Blue will be the participating clubs. The top six squads will qualify for the playoff round, with the top two seeds securing automatic spots in the semifinals.
Of the players making up the rosters of Sweden SHD Blue and Yellow, five of the top Swedish ‘08 WHH-ranked programs will have numerous players represented. Nacka HK and Södertälje SK will have the most representatives with five each. Mikail Kim was a standout winger at the Uplandia Trophy back in April for Nacka. He will suit up for SHD Blue. Defenseman Arvid Ermeskog will join him as a crucial part of the team’s defensive unit. All five skaters from Södertälje will be on SHD Blue as well. Christian Furuvik’s heroics at the Folke Filbyter Cup helped Södertälje win gold. The team hopes he still has some of that magic left for this run.
Four players from Boo HC will lace up the skates for SHD Yellow. The trio of Viggo Fors, Lukas Svensson and Alexander Engman will be a hassle for any opponent. All three lit up the scoresheet at the Folke Lindström Cup, helping Boo to a championship. Defender Gustav Révay will be the fourth player from their group. Some of AIK Hockey’s top producers will be joining SHD Yellow as well. Defensemen Henry Nicolaysen and Sixten Zakrisson will bolster the blue line. Viggo Låhdö’s offensive skill will be a big boost to the roster’s forward selections. Låhdö and Nicolaysen finished as the top two point scorers for AIK at the Folke Lindström Cup and helped the team nab a second-place finish. Flemingsbergs IK rounds out the world-ranked portion of players with the addition of Salim Ismailov to SHD Yellow.
Given the immense talent divided among both Sweden teams, it would not be surprising to find one of them as the last team standing once the dust settles. Their preliminary round schedules are fairly similar and each has a matchup with the Czech Knights. The Knights went unbeaten in pool play last year and have already won championships at other World Selects events this year. They are a program that knows how to produce talent to win at these types of showcases. The Knights stand as the biggest obstacle in the way of any Sweden success. Time will tell if they will face off against one another in the playoffs. Should that happen, it will be a thrilling 40 minutes of hockey.
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The 2009 and 2010-born teams for the Czech Knights accomplished what no other program has been able to do in more than a decade. Both squads secured championships at the 14U and 13U World Selects Invitationals over the weekend. The last organization to do so was CSKA Moscow in 2011, who won the 15U, 13U and 12U tournaments in the same season.
For the ‘09 Knights, it was the first WSI title for the program at the 14U age level. The ‘10s won the club’s second 13U championship..
Simon Pešout and Tomáš Uhel were sensational between the pipes for the Knights. Each goaltender saw action in three playoff contests, with Uhel getting the start twice. In the team’s first matchup against Barys, Uhel turned aside all 14 shots he faced. Defenseman Lukáš Kachlíř, who emerged as a dependable source of production, opened the scoring in the first period. He later added a power-play goal in the second period en route to a 4-0 win. Next up was Pešout’s turn in net, where he also recorded a 14-save shutout of the Eastern U.S. Selects. Kachlíř once again struck on the power play, recording his third and final goal of the playoffs. Pro Hockey’s Noah Laus and Eloan le Gallic would finish tied for first with Kachlíř in playoff goal scoring with three each. The stage was set for a championship matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
In the rematch against Pro Hockey, Uhel was back in the crease. It would be his busiest game of the playoff round, as Pro Hockey put 33 shots on goal. After a scoreless opening frame where Pro Hockey outshot the Knights 18-13, both sides broke through in the second. le Gallic helped Pro Hockey build a 2-0 lead just under three minutes into the period when he scored the first goal and assisted on another. However, like in its preliminary-round loss to the Knights, Pro Hockey was unable to hold onto the lead. In a span of about 11 minutes, the Czechs scored four times to lock down the win.
Jonáš Vaníček got on the board for the Knights shortly after the club went down 2-0. Oliver Ozogany then tied things up with a penalty shot goal. Eliáš Matoušek joined in the action with two goals in 1:34, including an empty-net goal to finish the game. Uhel made 15 saves in the second period, finishing with 31. Throughout all appearances, he recorded a 0.89 goals-against average and .959 save percentage. Pešout skated to a 2.29 goals-against average and .884 save percentage.
The Knights kicked off their playoff run with a 8-0 statement win against DraftDay. The offense was spread throughout the lineup, as six players recorded two or more points. They also cashed in on three out of four power-play opportunities. Nicolas Novak scored a goal and assist for his first points of the playoffs. Novak was back at it in the second game, this time against Eastern U.S. Selects. The Czechs faced a 1-0 deficit after the first period, but Novak would swing momentum back in their favor early in the second. After Novak’s tying goal just 47 seconds into the period, the Knights went on to score four more unanswered goals. After the 5-1 win, awaiting the Knights were Slovakia Selects with the WSI championship on the line.
It was a quick start for the Knights when they built up a 4-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Novak once again got the scoring started and Denis Dobiáš tallied the final two goals of the period. Novak continued the offensive outburst when he wired home his fourth goal and final point of the playoffs early in the final period. In total, Novak scored four goals and two assists in the playoff run. Coupled with his preliminary-round performance, Novak ended with seven goals and 12 points across all contests.
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The Western Hockey League (WHL) conducted its annual 2023 Prospect and Priority Selections this week. Member clubs selected youth hockey prospects from the 2008 birth year through the league’s draft process. Players eligible to be selected in the U.S. Priority Draft must be American-born and reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Those eligible for the Prospect draft must be Canadian-born and live in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon or the above listed American states.
The WHL is the only junior league in North America to conduct its draft proceedings prior to the player’s U16 youth hockey season. Prospects selected in the WHL Draft are eligible to play 10 regular-season games the following Fall, but will return to their respective youth hockey clubs for the rest of their upcoming U16 season. In short, even after being selected in the WHL Draft, players are still roughly 16 months away from being a full-time, rostered player in the junior league.
Defenseman Daxon Rudolph’s year to remember continued when the Prince Albert Raiders chose him with the first overall pick in the Prospect Draft. The Lacombe, Alberta, native turned heads this season with 50 points in 30 games. He helped lead No. 4 Northern Alberta Xtreme to the U15 Prep Division Championship when he tallied the overtime winner. Rudolph was also honored as the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) U15 Defenseman of the Year. Joining him were 10 other players from NAX, including five selections in the first 39 picks.
🗣️ Hear from Daxon Rudolph, the first-overall selection of @PARaidersHockey in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. #WHLDraft pic.twitter.com/WFaLw6wHww
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 12, 2023
After Rudolph, the Raiders shored up the front end of their lineup with two other selections in the Top 10. They chose center Riley Boychuck from Airdrie Xtreme at No. 2 and winger Ty Meunier from the St. Albert Sabres with the seventh overall pick. Darius Hordal joined his Xtreme teammates when the Raiders selected him in the eighth round.
No. 15 RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna had three players taken in the first 20 spots. Keaton Verhoff was the second defenseman taken when the Victoria Royals selected him fourth overall. Joe Iginla went to the Edmonton Oil Kings at No. 12, and Giorgos Panteras at No. 19 to the Brandon Wheat Kings. Kelowna went on to have seven other skaters taken throughout the remaining rounds.
As the Prospects Draft went on, more and more players hailing from CSSHL clubs continued to have their names called. Cruz Pavao was the first of nine players from No. 23 Edge School to find spots in the draft. The dynamic scoring winger was chosen by the Tri-City Americans at 13th overall. Okanagan Hockey Academy’s Mathis Preston was selected No. 3 to the Spokane Chiefs. Forward Liam Ruck went No. 9 to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Okanagan, Northern Alberta and the Sabres were the only three teams with multiple players taken in the first 10 picks.
The first three rounds of the draft featured 30 players selected from the CSSHL. In all, 85 players from the CSSHL were chosen. Alberta led all provinces with 93 players selected. A total of 50 players from British Columbia were chosen, with another 44 players coming from Saskatchewan. Manitoba saw 38 players selected.
The WHL also held its Priority Draft this week, which consisted of two rounds and 44 selections.. Forty-one of the 44 players taken came from U.S.-based programs.
Selected first overall by the Spokane Chiefs was Brody Gillespie from RHA Kelowna. In 28 games this season, Gillespie tallied 26 goals and 54 points. Kelowna had a second forward taken at No. 2 when Cruz Waltze went to the Victoria Royals.
Four American programs from the WHH Rankings had multiple players taken across the board. No. 25 Los Angeles Jr. Kings led the way with eight, followed by six from No. 18 Dallas Stars Elite. No. 3 Shattuck-St. Mary’s had four players taken, and two from No. 12 Chicago Mission. Multiple players from these teams were standouts at USA Hockey Nationals earlier this year. Strong performances for Chicago’s Kalder Varga and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll no doubt helped boost their profile and aided in their selections at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively.
The Kamloops Blazers took Dallas’ J.P. Hurlburt towards the end of the first round at No. 20. After waiting patiently, the Lethbridge Hurricanes snagged Jr. Kings forward Logan Stuart with the 36th pick. Parker Trottier was the highest Shattuck player chosen at No. 12 by the Regina Pats.
A total of 28 forwards, 12 defensemen and four goaltenders were selected in the Priority Draft. Players from 12 different states were chosen, with California leading the way with 10. Minnesota followed closely behind with nine and Texas with eight.
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