Scouting the U-18 Five Nations Tournament, Plymouth, Michigan

Five Nations USA 2018 Champions

I had the privilege last week to attend the final day of the Five Nations tournament located in Plymouth, Michigan, home of the USNTDP. The tournament, won by the host nation, featured national U18 teams from Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the Czech Republic, including the American side.

While this event does not have quite the scouting cache of the year-ending World U18 championships, or the season opening Ivan Hlinka, it does serve as a useful benchmark for some of the talent, and the arena was generally full of scouts and hockey executives, including more than a few General Managers.

Noting that many of the scouts in attendance were European ones, I got to thinking that the tournament was a good opportunity for those in attendance to cross check their viewings with those from their organizational compatriots scouting in different lands. A way for the Moscow-based scout to compare notes with his colleague from Prague, and Helsinki and Minneapolis. Helping them all to see how the talent they have been watching regularly all season stacks up against the talent in other nations, giving them a way of comparing draft boards before the big team meetings in the spring.

During intermissions, I made it a point to ask a few in attendance what benefit they saw from packing their bags to cross an ocean and spend a week in Michigan in February. One North American-based scout essentially supported my hypothesis, noting it as an opportunity to watch players that he was not able to see with any regularity while also comparing notes with others from his organization. Another scout basically shrugged at the question, grinned and noted that there was not that much point really. As travel from one European nation to another is not as difficult as it may sometime seem from North America, he had already seen many of the players live on trips to the other nations, but conceded that it was a good opportunity to talk to others from his organization with more time on their hands.

The most interesting feedback I received was from an NHL General Manager, who, after noting that his scouts had already done plenty of cross checking throughout the first two-thirds of the season, particularly for the higher-rated players, there was value in the international events in weeding through the second and third tier of draft eligible prospects to see which ones were worth using a middle or late-round pick on. Without revealing an identity, this GM presides over a notedly deep system, which allowed me to take his comment at face-value (you may be surprised to found out how little face value one should usually give to scouts and executives when it comes to amateur player valuations). This is a GM who has practiced what he was now preaching.

He emphasized his comment by noting that talent is not only available at the top of the draft and that plenty of high end NHL players come from the tail ends of the draft, long after the TV crews had vacated the premises. This all made sense. It is not hard to watch these games and see how a pair of likely top 10 picks like Andrei Svechnikov (Rus) and Oliver Wahlstrom (USA) tied for the tournament lead in scoring with eight points in four games each. Fellow likely first rounders Bode Wilde (USA) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Fin) also featured prominently in the scoring charts, as did the likely front-runner for the 2019 draft in American phenom Jack Hughes.

In that light, the best way to review this tournament is to look at each of the five teams and mention a few of the lesser heralded players who may have helped push their names into an area where they now look draft worthy.

Czech Republic

The Czechs managed to upset the Americans by a 5-2 score in front of their backup netminder, but were otherwise clearly outmanned over the remainder of the event, especially in a 9-2 drubbing at the hands of Russia. Their star of the Five Nations was clearly Matej Blumel, who regularly plays for Waterloo of the USHL. He was unstoppable in the US game, scoring an incredible four times. Not a one-hit wonder, he added three assists over the other three games. Considering that he has only 12 points in 39 USHL games, needless to say that this output was unexpected. Fellow USHL player Matej Pekar, who is producing in league play, was less impressive, with only two assists on the week.

While not as impactful as Blumel, forwards Adam Gajarsky and Michal Kvasnicka represented themselves ably. Although none of the Czech blueliners particularly helped their stock, it was interesting to see their second string goalie, Daniel Dvorak, stop 44 of 46 shots taken by the US, while the presumptive starter, Lukas Dostal had an .846 save percentage over the other three games.

Russia

Team Russia was expected to be led by their first line, starring Andrei Svechnikov, ranked third in the McKeens Midseason Draft list, and ably supported by Grigori Denisenko (ranked 15^th) and Alexander Khovanov (ranked 64^th). The first two obliged, with four and three goals, respectively, but Khovanov, still recovering from the illness which kept him off the ice for much of the first half of the season, could only contribute a pair of assists. His play at the WU18 will carry more weight for him than for most.

The player who did the most to boost his draft stock was defender Danila Zhuravlev. Forget for a moment the four points at the event. Zhuravlev was just as strong in his own zone. A very good skater with strong edges and plus transitional ability, he played with poise, patience and advanced positioning. Linemates Ivan Morozov and Kirill Marchenko both stood out as well. Morozov, the center, scored four times, on the back of an impressive puck game and a hard, accurate wrist shot. Marchenko has more pace to his game, but probably also more puck handling skill. His 12 shots on goal on the week were second only to Svechnikov on the team.

Finland

Although they beat both the Czech Republic and Sweden, Finland was toothless in the games against Russia and the US. Justus Annunen, one of the top ranked European goaltenders, was a disappointment with a .883 save percentage in three games. While he reads the puck handler well, the rest of his game was rather raw. Without Rasmus Kupari on the roster, the star was expected to be Jesperi Kotkaniemi (ranked 21^st) and he tied for the team lead with four points. USHL sniper Sampo Ranta (ranked 50^th) was expected to supplement with Finnish attack, but despite being one of the team leaders in shots, he managed only two assists, although showed that he could be used to kill penalties.

One of the pleasant surprises for the Finns was left winger Niklas Nordgren (ranked 49^th), who barely qualifies as a surprise. A very good skater with plus skills, he is undersized but his playmaker game does not rely on physicality. Lenni Killinen (ranked 80^th) did not have any one carrying trait, but showed a little bit of everything. He plays with promising pace, sees the ice well and makes generally good decision. Another player who stood out was Ville Petman, whose younger brother Mikko will be one to watch next year. The elder Petman played a persistent game with good hands and skating that suggest a future bottom six two way forward. Linemate Arttu Nevasaari was similarly trustworthy in all situations, with maybe a touch more offensive upside than Petman.

Sweden

This year’s Swedish crop is deep and wide. Two of the three Swedish based Swedish nations in McKeens top 31 (Adam Boqvist – 5^th, and Jacob Olofsson – 24^th were in attendance. While neither dominated in Plymouth, both flashed their high end potential. Boqvist is an elite skater with a very mature game and high end puckhandling ability, while Olofsson is a prototype middle six, 200 foot forward. Swedish netminding was a bit hit and miss, with both Olof Lindblom and Jesper Eliasson, who split the tournament evenly, showing flashes of potential, even as their numbers underwhelmed.

The Swedish player who likely did the most to help his draft stock was right winger Jonathan Berggren (ranked 52^nd), who showed plus skating, along with fine puck skills and advanced hockey IQ. He is the type of player who can amass an impressive highlight reel clip. Undersized left winger Lukas Wernblom showed both creativity and responsibility. Blueliner Adam Ginning (ranked 42^nd) has a solid point shot and has a good stick game, making him tough to attack against. Adding to a solid blueline crew Nils Lundqvist and Filip Johnasson (ranked 66^th). Johansson was the stronger skater of the two, while Lundqvist experienced more success on the scoresheet and plays a more physical brand of hockey.

USA

The host American squad has as many as five first rounders, incuding the aforementioned Wahlstrom (ranked 6^th), Joel Farabee (12^th), Bode Wilde (13^th), K’Andre Miller (16^th) and Matthias Samuelsson (29^th). In all honestly, coming into this tournament, there were only one or two skaters who I did not think were worth at least a late-round draft pick. The goaltending is another matter, as Jonathan Mor has trouble stopping pucks while Drew DeRidder is very small and does not stop enough pucks to help me overlook that.

Among skaters who stood out aside from the Fab Five, Jake Wise (ranked 75^th) had a strong tournament, continuing a comeback from a lot of missed time over the first half. He is a gifted puckhandler who excels at setting up teammates. Tyler Weiss (Honorable Mention) also showed that he was a cut above in most aspect, getting to top speed very quickly, and showcasing some offensive dynamism. Although very small, he is willing to take a hit to make a play. Jacob Pivonka also showed more skating ability and physicality than I had previously seen from him. Patrick Giles (74^th) continued to show very good skating for a big man, able to create chances regularly, but lacks the creativity or puck skills to finish too many of them.