Originating in 2019, the “Sixty Camp” has put a main focus on creating an environment for players to test their skills among the best of their peers. The main focus of that first camp was the 2006 birth year. Since then, the event has grown exponentially to include multiple birth years. Players from the 2007-2011 age range will participate in this weekend’s showcase. Participants can expect a four-day event filled with on-ice drills, skills and competition. Between sessions, players are exposed to off-ice training and treated to informational presentations regarding college hockey, academics and nutrition, among other topics.
The camp’s professional coaching staff has included names in the past such as:
Jerry Keefe – Northeastern University
Paul Pearl – Cushing Academy
Mike Souza – University of New Hampshire
Adam Nicholas – Director of Hockey Development, Montreal Canadiens
Rod Braceful – Amateur Scout, Chicago Blackhawks
These esteemed coaches will be behind the benches, running practices, and conducting seminars for players and families. There will be no shortage of talent at this year’s camp. Some of the best youth players from this season include:
Van Martin – Lovell Academy
Hugo Daniel – North Yarmouth Academy
Tyler Clouthier – Ice Mavericks Hockey
Jason Millet – South Kent Selects
Garret Glaser – Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Glaser was a consistent source of strong goaltending in net for Shattuck this past season. He went 20-10-2 while compiling a 2.52 goals-against average and .913 save percentage with three shutouts. His knack to come up in big games backstopped his club to a championship appearance at USA Hockey Nationals in April. Millet built up on a strong first season with the Selects by upping his point total from 28 to 43. The solid 5-foot-10 defenseman knows how to add offense from the blue line. With an imposing 170 lbs. frame as well, opponents have a tough task of finding any space on the ice against him.
Danick St. Pierre – Seacoast Performance Academy
Blake Cash – Seacoast Performance Academy
Nick Sumner – Brooks School
Ryan Poirier – New Hampshire Avalanche
Sully Wilmont – Idaho Junior Steelheads
Parker Sockseth – Seacoast Performance Academy
St. Pierre finished the season second overall on SPA in total points with 86 (29G, 57A). Cash compiled seven goals and 21 points as well for the team.
Richie Janniello – Long Island Gulls
Brice Glanz – Windy City Storm
Connor Wright – Middlesex School
Dante Kader – Islanders Hockey Club
James Cappozi – New Jersey Rockets
Enzo Levy – Seigneurs des Mille-Îles
Blake Ward – Boston Jr. Eagles
Mason Proulx – Seacoast Performance Academy
Roan Wilson – Top Gun
Levy and Proulx both put up solid showings at the U13 World Selects Invitational in Chamonix, France. Levy recorded three goals and seven points for the Eastern U.S. Selects squad. He also averaged close to two points per game for Seigneurs des Mille-Îles, where he finished with 27 goals and 58 points in 30 games. Proulx joined Levy as a member of the Selects squad at the WSI, where he nabbed three goals and six points.
Want more information on upcoming camps and showcases this summer? Follow WHH on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube for the latest news, updates and more!
Some of the best 2008 and 2009-born youth hockey players will travel to Ontario this week for Play Hockey’s All-Star Prospects Showcase. Each birth year will consist of 10 teams, with participants taking part in on and off-ice combine testing as well as competitive games. Of the 300-plus players that will be attending, 114 played on world-ranked teams during the 2022-23 season. The exclusive, invite-only event is a perfect opportunity for players to test their skills against the best of their peers.
Among the ‘08s will be 10 players from No. 9 Soo. Jr. Greyhounds, who make up a large portion of Team Northern Ontario. That includes top scorer Nik Rossetto, who finished the ‘22-23 season with 88 points for the Jr. Greyhounds. Several players from the No. 8 Peterborough Petes will be split between Prospects ETA and Prospects East. Teammates during the regular season, Colin Fitzgerald, Ryan Chamberlain, Matt Souter and Kale Mace will look to score on their fellow Petes goaltender Morgan Hyndman. They won’t be the only teammates competing against one another. Five players from the No. 1 Vaughan Kings will be split between Prospects GTA and Prospects East. That includes the team’s most prolific offensive talent Ben Bowen on one end, going against Kings goaltender Joseph D’Angelo.
Three of the five skaters from No. 4 York Simcoe Express are set to fill out the roster for Prospects East. Two others were placed on Prospects ETA. Ten attendees from No. 5 Oakville Rangers will be split among the 10 showcase teams. Six of them have been placed onto Team SCTA. A pair of top players from the No. 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite will skate for The Ottawa District. Canadians Kent Greer and Alexander McLean look to continue strong off-season campaigns.
No. 1 Toronto Jr. Canadiens will have nine representatives among the ‘09 group of players. Four of them will play for Prospects ETA, including Jax Pereira and Keaton Ardagh. That tandem topped the list of performers at the U14 OHL Cup two months ago. Four of Prospect East’s roster spots were given to invitees from No. 8 Toronto Marlboros. In total, 10 players from the Marlboros will compete in the ‘09 group. Seven skaters from No. 9 Huron-Perth Lakers will be divided among Prospects East and Prospects West.
Fellow Toronto-based No. 4 Titans and No. 7 Red Wings will also have representation. Five players from No. 2 Don Mills Flyers were divided across four different teams. No. 5 Sun County Panthers and its nine invitees were placed on two teams. Seven of them found will play for Prospects West. Five of six participants from No. 10 Ottawa Myers Automotive will play for the Ottawa District.
Since 2018, the All-Star Prospects Showcase has included one team of players from the United States. This year’s prospects include top talent from some of the best programs south of the border. Dominic Pajkic of No. 1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s will patrol the blue line for Prospects USA. The No. 6 Los Angeles Jr. Kings will be represented by two players in Ontario as well. No. 1 Chicago Reapers and No. 5 Chicago Mission will bring three and two skaters, respectively, for the ‘09s. No. 4 Pens Elite’s Nolan Snyder will join them. High-profile forward Trevor Daley from Florida Alliance earned an invite as well.
Want more coverage of the top youth hockey players and teams around the world? Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube!
For the last 36 weeks, the most elite teams in AAA hockey have bolstered their resumes, won tournaments, league championships and national titles. The results are in, schedules completed and the World Rankings, presented by World Hockey Hub, have been finalized.
As the 2022-23 season comes to a close, we crown the No. 1 teams across six different age groups to finish as the best in the youth hockey landscape:
Ending the ‘22-23 campaign as National Champions among 2006-born U.S. teams, the Long Island Gulls cemented their status as the best program in that birth year. A 17-game unbeaten streak to start the season would only be a sign of further things to come for this squad. They secured a district title at the New York State Amateur Hockey Association (NYSAHA) with a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. That victory earned them a spot at USA Hockey Nationals, where the team skated to a 5-1-0 record. Long Island deservedly won the championship by shutting out Little Caesars 2-0 in the title matchup. In 15 of the 17 World Rankings updates this season, the Gulls were the No. 1 team.
Forward Jesse Orlowsky and defenseman Donato Bracco were invited to the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program’s (USNTDP) annual U17 Evaluation Camp. Bracco was later announced as having earned a spot on the team. Earlier this month, five Gulls were selected in the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Phase-I Draft. Orlowsky, Ethan Wyttenbach, Malachi McKinnon, Nicholas Sykora and Brendan DeFeo all had their names called.
You would be hard pressed to find another youth hockey team this season that won as much as ‘07 Little Caesars. After alternating wins and losses in the first four games of the year, the team hit its stride with a 46-game unbeaten streak. Along the way, Caesars nabbed titles at the CCM World Invite and USHL Youth Fall Classic. At USA Hockey Nationals, the skilled group was positioned as favorites to win the tournament. That was, until they fell in the semifinal round in overtime to Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
Despite a tough ending to an almost storybook season, players from Caesars were among some of the most popular this offseason. Goaltender Joey Slavick, defenseman Charlie Thretheway and forward Will Horcoff were named to the USNTDP U17 roster. Additionally, seven players — including Horcoff and Tretheway — were also chosen in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft. Six others were also selected in the USHL’s Phase-I Draft as well.
The Vaughan Kings have held down the No. 1 spot in the ‘09 World Rankings for 24 consecutive weeks. They made their first big splash of the season by going undefeated at the Little Caesars Invitational. The team continued to roll along into the Vaughan Kings Classic, where they defeated York Simcoe Express in the final. The New Year began with another tournament win, this time by emerging as champions at the International Silver Stick. It was the second year in a row that the Kings were the last team standing at the major event. Next up was the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) Championships. It was here that Vaughan bested the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in a tough five-game series. The Kings wrapped up the campaign with an appearance at the U15 All-Ontario Championships. In the title game, they shut out the Soo Jr. Greyhounds 4-0.
The ‘09 Toronto Jr. Canadiens had a strong finish to their ‘22-23 schedule. This allowed them to hold onto the No. 1 World Rankings spot since May 7th. Since that date, JRC were winners in 10 of its final 13 contests. The pinnacle of their season was a 5-0-0 run at the U14 OHL Cup. Included in that performance were victories over fellow World-ranked teams Don Mills Flyers and Sun County Panthers. The club was undefeated in three different stretches of at least eight games. One of the most offensively gifted rosters in the world, the Jr. Canadiens finished with an incredible goal differential of plus-199.
What else can be said about 2011-born CSKA Moscow that hasn’t been written already? The team opened their schedule with one of the best winning streaks in recent memory. Winding up in the win column in the first 36 games of a season is nothing short of spectacular. And when adversity finally did hit, they rebounded in full. After they suffered their only loss of the season — in overtime to Spartak — . The major players who helped CSKA’s incredible performance were the dynamic duo of Nikita Siniken and Roman Andreev. Siniken used stellar hockey sense and puck-handling skills en route to putting up 76 goals and 169 points. Andreev managed to record 98 goals and 165 points. Odds were one of these two were tasked with getting the job done if a big play was needed.
One of two teams from the Jr. Canadiens program to finish atop the World Rankings, the ‘11 squad for Toronto hit the ground running this season. Thrown into heavy competition early at the Toronto Marlboros Friendship, JRC collected its first trophy of the season with a tournament win. Shortly after, a perfect 6-0-0 weekend saw Toronto take gold at the CCM Motown. The team once more made it to another tournament final, this time at the International Silver Stick tournament. However, a solid run of championship success ended when they became runners up after a 4-2 loss to the Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers. The club added to their trophy case when they nabbed a title at the Vaughan Kings Classic by defeating Little Caesars 6-2.
Be sure to check out the complete world rankings, including Top 10s by country and World Top 25s for each of the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 birth years.
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.
Want more coverage of the 2023 World Selects Invitationals? Visit our WSI Hub or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube for the latest WSI news and announcements!
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.
Want more coverage of junior hockey drafts this off-season? Be sure to follow WHH on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube!
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
Want more coverage of the ‘08 World Youth Championships and other major events in youth hockey? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube for the latest news, events and more!
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.
Want more from the World Youth Championships? WHH will have exclusive coverage of the 15U tournament in Philadelphia all week long. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube for more!
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.
Want more from the World Youth Championships? WHH will have exclusive coverage of the 15U tournament in Philadelphia all week long. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube for more!
At last year’s 15U World Selects Invitational (WSI), Ryan Roobroeck broke the all-time tournament record for points. A mark that stood for 10 years, Roobroeck scored 28 points for Pro Hockey to help break the record and win the 2022 WSI. That mark stood for just 350 days, as Alex McLean would one-up Roobroeck’s mark this past weekend in Nashville.
McLean — a Canadian-born forward who played for No. 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite this season — scored an empty-net goal with 17 seconds left in the tournament to put the championship game away, 4-1 over DraftDay-Black. That goal broke the scoring record and set a new mark of 29 points in a single tournament. Additionally, the final goal of the ‘08 WSI earned CCM All Out the gold medal, and title as 15U world champions of youth hockey.
The team’s 9-0-0 record in the Music City, and an astounding plus-62 goal differential is one of the most dominant performances in WSI history. Especially considering that the tournament featured 51 games decided by two goals or fewer, CCM All Out stood out from the crowd in a very competitive field of teams. Eighteen games were decided by a shootout, but not when it came to CCM. They defeated opponents by an average margin of victory of nearly seven goals per game.
McLean, Rudlfs Berzkalns, Maximus Crete and Kent Greer were some of the biggest performers for CCM — and the entire tournament — on their path to a 15U world championship.
Alex McLean began the tournament with a six-point performance against Toronto Elite Hockey on Wednesday. The following day, McLean recorded back-to-back multi-point performances against ALPS Selects and NorthStar Elite Green. The 5-foot-9 forward finished pool play with 20 points, as CCM All Out earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Teammates Rudolfs Berzkalns and Maximus Crete were major factors in the offense as well. Berzkahlns — a Lativa native who played last season for national champion Bishop Kearney Selects — factored in on 18 of McLean’s 29 points scored this week. He finished second with 20 total points, while Crete had 19.
Additionally impressive was the performance of McLean’s teammate Kent Greer. Both played for Pens Elite this past season, both played for CCM All Out this weekend, and both led their respective positions in scoring. Greer is a 5-foot-9 defenseman who is one of the best at the position in North America. He led all defensemen with 18 points; 10 more than any other D-man.
In the elimination rounds, McLean scored four goals and nine points. That was nearly half of his team’s offense in the playoffs, with 7-1, 6-0, 3-0 and 4-1 wins en route to a championship. In 360 minutes of game action, CCM All Out never trailed.
The ‘08 WSI in Nashville was just one of 12 World Selects events scheduled for this spring and summer. Team Minnesota was victorious at the ‘07 WSI this weekend as well, after defeating Performance Hockey 4-1 in the championship. North American Prospects won the first girls’ tournament of the season, taking the U14 title over Sweden Selects. On top of that, Toronto Elite won the 12U AAA tournament in Bolzano, Italy, as well.
Three more World Selects tournaments are slated for this week. The 2011 Boys Elite square off in Italy as well. ‘09 AAA and ‘10 AAA tournaments take place in Prague, Czech Republic and Chamonix, France on Wednesday.
Want more coverage of the 2023 World Selects tournament series? WHH is the exclusive media provider of the WSI and will have wall-to-wall coverage of all 12 of its events! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube!
Pool play is over at the ‘08 World Selects Invitational from Nashville. A field that started with 34 teams has been cut down to 24 left in the hunt for youth hockey’s world championship. Eighty-five games featuring some of the best 2008-born youth hockey players has seen 44 of those contests decided by two goals or fewer. It’s been a tightly contested tournament thus far, and playoff hockey moving forward should only continue that trend.
Elimination rounds begin on Friday afternoon with eight play-in games. Winners of those matchups will advance to face the top eight seeds in the round of 16.
Here’s how I see the playoffs unfolding in the Music City:
Chaos in the early rounds could lead to chalk in the later rounds. I like Team Minnesota — the last team to qualify for the playoffs as the 24-seed — to pull off not one, but two upsets. Andrew Clark, Danny Peate and Ryder Siedow have shown to be offensive threats. Plus, I feel like Kazakhstan Selects may have benefitted from a weaker schedule in pool play. Obviously, not something they could control but all three of their wins came against teams that have already been eliminated from the tournament. I like Team MN to be victorious, but really whoever wins that 9-v-24 matchup should make it to the quarterfinals.
I like another Minnesota-based team to pull off a stunner in the opening round as well. Hard not to, I mean there’s six playoff teams that call the State of Hockey home. Similar to Kazakhstan, I think Swiss Selects benefitted from a 3-0-0 start against opponents that failed to qualify for the playoffs. Minnesota Generals, on the other hand, have played everyone tough, even in defeat. They win on Friday and set the stage for a Generals-vs-SKA Yunost rematch from Thursday — SKA defeated the Generals 4-1 and out-shot them 30-19 in the process.
CCM Selects and Finland Selects have set themselves apart from the group in a big way. I like the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to cruise to the semifinals, but only have one of them making it to the championship.
Should ID Selects and CCM clash in one half of the bracket, it’ll be the greatest collection of ‘08-born North American talent you’ll find in one place all year. J.P. Hurlbert, Michael Berchild, Cam Nimmer, Lukas Zajic on one side for ID. Alex McLean, Kent Greer, Maximus Crete, Avry Antsis on the other for CCM. It has the makings for an offensive track meet; a 6-4 type final. If you win that game, you win the tournament.
Finland Selects’ top players are something special. We’ve talked about players like Oliver Torkki and Viljo Kahkonen for about six months now. The team’s offense is dynamic, but in the playoffs of these elite tournaments, I think Finland may struggle to score. Teams tighten up defensively when it’s best on best. I just don’t see those top players having enough time and space to continue producing against Minnesota Blades, ID Selects and CCM. I’ll take Finland to squeak by the Blades, but come up just short in the title game.
Want to follow along with the action? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube for more!