The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships are underway this week in Edmonton. With the NHL start date altered due to the pandemic, the spotlight is brighter than it has ever been on the WJC, and all eyes are on the U20 tournament.
An event that regularly features the best 18- and 19-year-olds on the planet, dominated by recently drafted or future NHL Draft picks, the U20 World Juniors is the undisputed main stage for up-and-coming prospects in the game. We typically wouldn’t expect to see many players from the 2004-birth year until next year, and the age group will certainly dominate the conversation in 2023 and 2024. However, four standout ‘04s have fast-tracked their path to World Juniors, and are mixing it up with competition two and three years their senior.
A trio in Simon Nemec, Filip Mesar and Juraj Slafkovsky have suited up for Team Slovakia. That youth has paid off a bit early on in the tourney as well, with Nemec contributing to the offense with an assist on two of Slovakia’s first three goals in round-robin action.
After shutting out Switzerland 1-0 in its first game, Slovakia skated to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of tournament front-runner Canada. In those games, Slafkovsky has logged the second-most minutes among forwards while Mesar has contributed from a more limited role.
Slovakia’s trio of forwards weren’t the only ‘04s on the ice on opening day, however. Austrian Marco Kasper suited up as well, and will look to provide an offensive boost to his team after they were shut out in their first game.
It’s also worth noting that arguably the best player from the 2004-birth year is absent from this year’s WJC. Projected first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and CHL Rookie of the Year Shane Wright was one of the last cuts made by Team Canada prior to the tournament.
Get the latest news regarding youth hockey and top prospects HERE.
The latest World Hockey Hub rankings were released on Monday, accounting for game action through the month of December. With that, we saw some pretty impressive jumps throughout the 2004 rankings, headlined by three U.S. teams.
Led by Nick Moldenhauer and Chase Pirtle, the North Jersey Avalanche are 11-0-1 since September 26th. During that stretch, the Avs squared off against in-state rival New Jersey Rockets in the NJ Challenge, where the top-ranked Avalanche took a 4-1 series win. On an impressive heater right now, the Avs have jumped from No. 7 all the way up to No. 2, behind top-ranked Shattuck St. Mary’s.
Speaking of the Rockets, they’ve elevated into the Top 10 as well. The end result of the NJ Challenge appears one-sided on the surface, but all five games were decided in overtime or a shootout. One or two bounces the other way could have very easily tipped the scales in the Rockets’ favor. They haven’t lost a game in regulation since mid-October, and strong showings against the No. 2-ranked Avs have helped propel the Rockets from 11th overall to sixth.
Previously ranked 16th, the Seacoast Spartans shot up to No. 8 overall, thanks in part to a thrilling 2-1 upset of No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. The two teams played a back-to-back during the first week of December, skating to two one-goal games. The finale proved to be a thriller, as Seacoast’s Paul Tollet and Kyle Smyth scored just 30 seconds apart to pull off the come-from-behind upset in the final moments of regulation.
Want to see more from our latest rankings? Check out the global Top 25 for 2004, 2005 and 2006-birth year teams HERE.
Every time I see it, I’m left in disbelief.
Mike Legg was the first person, at least that I know of, to successfully execute the lacrosse-style goal in a competitive hockey game. That moment in 1996 lived in hockey history as one of the most spectacular goals to ever find the back of the net for its creativity and uniqueness. Over the next few decades, it seemed like the only place a hockey fan ever saw this move attempted was during downtime at practice or in the middle of pre-game warm-ups.
Maybe it’s the surge in social media or the general filming of games compared to where the hockey world was at 20-plus years ago? Or maybe a move that used to be a once-in-a-lifetime, stars-aligned-just-right type of goal has just become far more commonplace in today’s game?
There’s no level of hockey — and I mean none — that is immune to this fancy wrap-around. Andrei Svechnikov became the first player in the NHL to flash the move last October… and then he did it again less than two months later. That really put it back on the map, so much so that with the right button combination on a PlayStation controller, you can execute the move yourself in EA Sports’ NHL 21.
Truth is though, that the “Svechnikov” is now happening in international leagues, it’s happening in junior leagues, it’s happening in high school and travel leagues and it’s going down all the time now. Check your social media feed after a weekend of hockey, and you’re bound to find some grainy footage of a kid moving right to left behind the net and swatting the post before the goalie can get over to defend the sneaky move.
That’s exactly what I did on Monday, only to find Michael Kadlecik from No. 18-ranked ‘04 Bishop Kearney ruin my feed with a beauty against Little Caesars.
It didn’t stop there. Eleven-year-old Connor Brucz, a kid who can’t even see over the crossbar, gets a fortuitous bounce off the back boards and figures, “ah, what the Hell…” and boom!
An ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD. Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. Call the move whatever you want, at this point. I’ve seen it now hundreds of times from dozens of different players and skill levels, and it never gets old. Ever.
Graeme Clarke has done it so many times, I swear it’s just a replay. I almost expect him to do it. Doesn’t matter, I will watch every single time in near disbelief, as each time gets more bizarre than the last one.
I’ve got two questions in all of this…
From a defensive standpoint. Hugging that playside post, when does the defender commit to swatting at the stick attempt? Calgary’s Oliver Kylington tried to obstruct Svechnikov’s first attempt to no avail. From a goaltending standpoint. I can’t even pretend to know how some might approach it. Full disclosure: I’m not a goalie guy. However, even his second strike against Winnipeg, Connor Hellebuyck tried making his 6-foot-4 frame bigger by shrugging his shoulders and reaching for the crossbar, yet Svechnikov just goes low with it.
This isn’t a two-on-one line rush. It’s not an in-zone penalty kill. How do you teach kids how to defend this?
I really want to see some people fake it. I think it’s become so commonplace in today’s game now, that you don’t even have to fully execute the move to turn people’s heads. If I’m behind the net, and I can’t physically execute the move, maybe I dish the puck one way and swiftly move to the other post with an empty stick blade. If I can get the goalie or defender(s) to hesitate for even a moment, it could definitely set up a scoring opportunity for a teammate.
Variations? Set plays? Fakes? What’s next for “The Michigan.”
What do you think? Connect with @WorldHkyHub on Twitter and @worldhockeyhub on Instagram to share your thoughts and youth highlights.
When two of the top ’04 teams in the world take the ice, you expect to see a great game. Youth hockey fans were spoiled this weekend though, when the No. 2-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins Elite hosted the No. 16-ranked Seacoast Spartans in a two-game series that absolutely delivered on big plays, exciting moments and nail-biting drama.
Three times, a team took the lead in Game 1, and three times, the opponent tied it back up. Spartans got out to a 1-0 lead, which the Pens responded by matching and passing with a 2-1 lead of their own. Billy Sancibrian made it an even game again with Seacoast’s second goal of the game, 2-2 early in the second period. One more time, Pittsburgh would take the lead by way of an absolute bomb from Penn State commit Matthew DiMarsico. And, one more time, the Spartans knotted it up again.
With under five minutes to play in regulation, PPE would finally find the strike that put the Spartans away, when DiMarsico struck for the second time in the game, a 4-3 final for the heavily favored home team.
And oh, btw. The rematch on Sunday was just as dramatic. Seacoast with some late-game heroics from Paul Tollet and Kyle Smyth 👀@SPAhockey2020: 2@PghPensElite: 1 pic.twitter.com/UvnKlu8GR4
— World Hockey Hub (@WorldHkyHub) December 7, 2020
In the rematch on Sunday morning, it’d be a much more defensive struggle than Game 1. Deep into the third period, the Pens maintained just a 1-0 lead. Then, with 1:27 left in regulation, the pesky Spartans pulled even for the fourth time over the weekend when Paul Tollet jumped on a loose puck in front to tie the game a 1-1. In the final moments and the clock ticking down, Kyle Smyth scored his 10th goal of the season with a wrist shot past Jeffrey Kreidler. The tally capped off an improbable comeback with just 11 ticks remaining on the clock, as the Spartans upset the top-ranked Penguins.
Follow us on social media @worldhockeyhub for more upcoming games of the week and DM us the big matchups coming up on your schedule.
The 16U Tier 1 teams from the North Jersey Avalanche and New Jersey Rockets squared off five times in nine days, concluding on Nov. 29th, in what has been dubbed the “New Jersey Challenge.” Both teams checked in among the Top 15 teams in the world at the 2004-birth year in our latest rankings, and this premier series matchup did not disappoint.
16’s win the NJ Challenge cup 4 games to 1 over NJ Rockets! #avsfamily pic.twitter.com/5ASbVPYBTW
— North Jersey Avs (@NJ_Avalanche) December 1, 2020
The first two games were an even split. The No. 7-ranked Avs took Game 1 at Bridgetown Sports Arena 4-3 in overtime. The following day, No. 11-ranked Rockets returned the favor in Game 2 by way of a 2-1 win via shootout.
After a four-day break over the Thanksgiving holiday, the teams picked up right where they left off, skating to not one, not two but three more games decided in overtime or shootout, all going in favor of the Avalanche.
This five-game series between two of the top ’04 teams on the planet did not disappoint. Every game decided by one goal, every game decided in overtime or a shootout. Be sure to check out both of these squads, and the rest of the Top 25 teams in the world HERE.
The latest World Hockey Hub Rankings were released on Monday. Top teams from the 2004, 2005 and 2006-birth years can be found HERE.
Lots of states in the U.S. have put a pause on youth sports and many countries in Europe have enforced similar delays, but we saw plenty of action during the month of November to merit some movement throughout the World Rankings. Shattuck St. Mary’s jumped up from 7th overall to take the top spot from previously No. 1-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. Shattuck went 4-0-0 in November with wins over the St. Louis AAA Blues, Team Wisconsin and Des Moines Buccaneers. The biggest winner from the latest rankings was Fox Motors. The 16U group out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, jumped from 22nd overall into the Top 10, claiming the 8th overall ranking after an 8-1-0 record in its last nine games.
Think your team has what it takes to rank among the best in the world? Call your shot HERE.
Patrik Laine. Mikko Rantanen. Rasmus Dahlin.
Miro Heiskanen. Andrei Svechnikov. Sebastian Aho.
Radek Faksa. Martin Necas. Pavel Zacha.
Ever wonder what a future NHL player looked like at 13-years-old? Some of the biggest names and rising stars in professional hockey share one thing in common stemming from their youth days. More than 500 draft picks have come through an illustrious global youth hockey tournament series called the World Selects Trophy (previously known as the World Selects Invitational).
It began nearly 17 years ago.
That’s when Sergei Zak, a native of Saint-Petersburg, Russia, who lived in Iceland at that time, and Travis Bezio, a lifelong New Englander from the United States, first crossed paths. They were just two spokes in the wheel of what would roll on to create the world’s most prestigious youth hockey tournament.
Zak was in his third year working for the Icelandic Ice Hockey Federation and Bjorninn Hockey Club. Bezio was part of a group based out of the United States that identified the top youth hockey players in North America, and challenged them to compete against other top players from around the globe.
“He mentioned that they were [building] teams to go over to Sweden and Finland for a couple tournaments in the spring and invited me to come along as coach,” Zak said of his early interactions with Bezio.
From there, an annual event spawned, where the top teams and players from the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland and Russia began commingling in exotic destinations throughout Europe in cities like Stockholm, Moscow, Prague, Riga, Bolzano and Chamonix among others.
It began in 2007, and now the World Selects Trophy has become a traditional breeding ground for the top players in youth hockey; a place where scouts come to get their first look at the next wave of talent coming down the pipeline. The tournament series expanded from one event for a single birth year, to now 10 different events at two different competition levels for 12U, 13U, 14U and 15U for boys, and U15, U16 and U19 for girls.
This spring, the 2009-birth year will be the youngest age group for boys, taking place in Bolzano Italy. The 2008-birth year will also take place in Bolzano on the following weekend while the 2007s square off in Chamonix, France. The oldest age group, the 2006s, will compete in Nashville, Tennessee in front of major junior, college and professional scouts.
It is the perfect combination of elite-level hockey and first-class travel. No other youth hockey tournament in history has provided a more diverse representation of styles, strategies and skills from its participants. North Americans are big and strong. Scandinavians are skilled and efficient skaters. Russians function with such great teamwork and playmaking.
So many top players and teams have navigated through the tournament over the past decade, that the World Selects Trophy serves as the defacto World Cup for teenagers. NHL Central Scouting named 388 players to its early watch list for the 2021 entry draft next summer. Nearly half had competed in a WST between the 2014 and 2018 events.
“We have had some amazing teams participate over the years,” said Zak. “The ‘03 RUSS team won two events in a row in Helsinki and Chamonix, and then lost in overtime at the 15U North America tournament. Sweden Selects 2000s were another team that proved to be loaded with NHL talent.”
Fourteen players off that ‘03 RUSS squad were named to the NHL’s watch list last month, including Nikita Chibrikov, Ilya Ivantsov and Matvei Petrov. The 2000-born Sweden Selects roster had seven future draft picks, three of which went in the first round, including 2018 first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin.
Shane Wright. Connor Bedard. Ivan Miroshnichenko. Rutger McGroarty.
Don’t recognize the names yet? You will.
Wright was the 2020 CHL Rookie of the Year. Bedard became the first player in WHL history to be granted exceptional status for early entry into the league. Miroshnichenko is one of the top prospects rising out of Russia. McGroarty currently leads the U.S. National Team Development Program U-17 squad in scoring. All of them fresh off of World Selects Trophy tournaments in 2017, 2018 and 2019. All of them highly-touted prospects by NHL scouts.
“I enjoy seeing the boys compete at a high level and develop a very competitive atmosphere,” said Zak. “We are very proud when these boys reach their goals in life and that our event could help them to reach those goals. That might not always be hockey, but being disciplined, being respectful to others. That is what the World Selects Trophy is all about. It helps develop them into young men and positively impacts people around the world.”
For more information on the World Selects Trophy and how you can apply for an upcoming event, click HERE.
More than 250 teams are set to converge on metro Detroit for the 2020 CCM World Invite Motown, with tons of top-tier talent and big-time matchups. There are plenty of primetime matchups between Top-10 teams scheduled during the first two days of the tournament, and we’ve spotlighted the four biggest ones. Preview this weekend’s games and get our picks for who wins in Detroit.
The ’09s headline the biggest matchups of the tournament, beginning with No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite versus No. 7 Chicago Young Americans. CYA took the first meeting 3-1 few weeks back, but I think PPE gets some redemption here, with a power-play goal or two and this feels like a 4-2 final to me in favor of Pittsburgh.
Another big matchup in that division is No. 3 Highland Park against No. 5 Little Caesars on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
This is another rematch here, H.P. outscored Caesars 6-4 back in September and I think it’s going to be high scoring again. I don’t know that the Falcons can beat Caesars a second time though, so we’ll take the hometown team to even the season series.
One more ’09 matchup, this one on Saturday morning between No. 8 Jr. Flyers and last year’s No. 5 Chicago Mission. Two relative unknowns so far in 2020; Mission hasn’t seen much action at all and the Jr. Flyers haven’t faced real tough competition yet. We’ll roll the dice a bit with Chicago 4-1 in this one.
The 2007 Division has a monster matchup between top-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins Elite and No. 5 Little Caesars on Saturday morning. These two teams played a three-game series at the beginning of this month in Ohio, where PPE scored a total of 18 goals in those contests. I think Caesars keeps it closer, but the Pens are just too much at the end of the day. I’ll take Pittsburgh 5-2 over LC.
In addition to that, we’ve got predictions for Sunday and who wins the championship across all nine elite divisions:
2011: HoneyBaked
2010: Chicago Mission
2009: Little Caesars
2008: Chicago Fury
2007: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
2006: Compuware
2005: Little Caesars
2004: Chicago Mission
02-03: Belle Tire
Who do you got? Make your picks and tell us who’s gonna win on Twitter.
Some of the top players in North America raced to make their verbal commitments on August 1st — when 2004-birth year players can first engage in open communication with Division-I coaches. However, there’s still a ton of high-profile names available after the initial wave of commits last month. Here is the World Hockey Hub Top 10 available ’04s remaining…
Goalie, 6-foot-3, 194 lbs, Farmington, Connecticut
9. Anthony Kahl, Little Caesars
Forward, 5-foot-6, 154 lbs, Naples, Florida
8. Aiden Dubinsky, Omaha Lancers
Defenseman, 5-foot-11, 161 lbs, Highland Park, Illinois
7. Landen Gunderson, Maple Grove High
Forward, 5-foot-11, 161 lbs, Plymouth, Minnesota
6. Jimmy Clark, Edina High
Forward, 5-foot-11, 161 lbs, Edina, Minnesota
5. Nathan Lewis, North Jersey Avalanche
Forward, 6-foot-4, 195 lbs, Chicago, Illinois
4. Jackson Dorrington, Cushing Academy
Defenseman, 6-foot-1, 185 lbs, North Reading, Massachusetts
3. Jimmy Snuggerud, U.S. National Team Development Program
Forward, 6-foot-1, 174 lbs, Chaska, Minnesota
2. Gavin Brindley, U.S. National Team Development Program
Forward, 5-foot-8, 150 lbs, Estero, Florida
1. Charlie Stramel, U.S. National Team Development Program
Forward, 6-foot-4, 205 lbs, Rosemount, Minnesota
Each week, we’ll feature some of the top matchups at the ’04, ’05 and ’06 age levels across youth hockey. Follow @WorldHkyHub on Twitter and @worldhockeyhub on Instagram to track all the action and join in the conversation in real-time, as we do a deep dive into games every week.
Getting us started on Friday afternoon is a neutral site matchup between the 15O teams, as the Dallas Stars Elite take on the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers in Nashville. Both were MyHockeyRankings Top 40 teams a season ago, as the Stars ranked 18th with a 40-16-1 record and the Jr. Flyers checked in at 34th with a 22-34-10 record.
These two teams haven’t met since December of 2018 (according to MyHockeyRankings), where the Jr. Flyers took a 2-0 decision at home. As they renew this series on Friday, we’ll tip the scales in DSE’s favor just slightly in a close one where the Stars lead wire-to-wire.
| Dallas Stars Elite | 4 |
| Philadelphia Jr. Flyers | 3 |
Saturday keeps the action rolling early and often as the NJ Avalanche and Seacoast Performance Academy clash at 11 a.m. in a battle of two of the top American 16U teams.
Chase Pirtle and the Avs have started the season white hot with a 6-0-1 record, but the Spartans are no pushover with a 9-1-2 record of their own. SPA also finished the 2019-20 season among the Top 15 teams in the U.S., and is primed to climb the rankings again.
Between Pirtle, Quentin Musty and Nathan Lewis, the Avs might have too much firepower for the Spartans to handle. It’s close early but watch NJ pull away as the game drags on.
| Seacoast Performance Academy | 2 |
| North Jersey Avalanche | 5 |
Concluding our Games of the Week will be the Boston Jr. Eagles and New Jersey Colonials in a 1:20 p.m. matinee. These two teams finished first and second in the national rankings just a season ago, and both are capable of returning to the top of MyHockeyRankings as the season gets underway.
These two teams met five times in 2019-20, with a 2-2-1 evenly-matched season series record. Two of those games went to overtime and all five were decided by two goals or less.
We fully expect it to be just as highly competitive this weekend and overtime is never out of the question with these two. Give us the Junior Eagles in an exciting, back-and-forth tilt.
| Boston Junior Eagles | 3 |
| New Jersey Colonials | 2 |
What do you think? Share your picks with us on social media, set reminders on your phone and join in the conversation as the games are happening this weekend.