Future Considerations: Draft prospects shining at the U18 tournament

01/05/2024

HELSINKI, Finland — Making a stop in here is a rite of passage for NHL scouts. Whether we are watching players developing in Finland’s top pro league (Liiga) or monitoring developing prospects at the junior level, Helsinki is a favourite stop on “the tour.”

It’s especially gratifying at this time of the year. The darkness that occurs during winter, when there are sometimes only five hours of daylight in December, is now replaced by the brighter spring and summer seasons. Today, the sun rose in Helsinki at 5:21 a.m. and it won’t set until 9:15 p.m. Members of my golf group back home would easily play 36 holes on a day like today!

But I’m not here on a golfing trip. I’m here on a scouting trip to take in the men’s U18 World Hockey Championship, which is rolling along and producing some surprise performances from draft eligible prospects auditioning in front of NHL GMs and their scouting staffs ahead of the draft in June.

future considerations: draft prospects shining at the u18 tournament

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Broadcast schedule

Here are some updates on what I’ve been viewing in the Helsinki suburb towns Vantaa and Espoo:

TEAM FINLAND SEQUENCE

Team Finland has three prospects who could end up being selected in the first-round of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Konsta Helenius is a play driving forward who brings a combination of pace, skill, compete, and offence. He’s always involved, around the play, in all three zones.

Emil Hemming is a shooter who does his best work from the hash marks down in the offensive zone and rips pucks from the flank on the power play. Hemming isn’t a burner in open ice, but he’s heavy set along the wall and protects pucks to extend plays.

And Aron Kiviharju, who missed almost the entire season due to injury, is a transitional defenceman who quarterbacks the power play. Kiviharju leans distributor, but he can also be elusive and walks the blue line to open up shooting lanes and direct pucks on net from range accurately.

Here’s an intriguing sequence that occurred in Finland’s game versus Norway. All three of the prospects I describe above are involved in the play, displaying their strengths, playing to their identity:

Helenius wins the faceoff and bumps the puck to Kiviharju on the blue line. The play moves to Helenius on the flank, who then moves the play down low which attracts Norway checkers in the process. He then goes low/high to Kiviharju who receives the pass with a ton of ice in front of him and several options. The entire time, Hemming is locked and loaded on the flank waiting for an opportunity to one time a puck from his most comfortable spot on the ice.

The result speaks for itself. Rarely do scouts have an opportunity to cut a clip showing exactly how they describe multiple players in their game reports playing to their identities and strengths. This was a fun sequence to view.

RYDER RITCHIE

Winning faceoffs in all three zones has become more of a strategic science than it was in the past. All five skaters have to be on the same page in order to execute a plan to its fullest. In the following clip all five Team Canada players have a role in the offensive zone and end up touching the puck in the sequence.

It starts with Cole Beaudoin winning the faceoff. By the time the puck ends up on Jett Luchanko’s stick on the far side, Ryder Ritchie spins around to face the play. Ritchie is locked and loaded for a one-timer from the middle of the ice.

Ritchie is an interesting prospect for me and he is slowly building momentum at the U18 worlds. What I like about Ryder is the fact he projects as a player who can be used in a variety of roles and contribute to team success.

Here’s my scouting report on likely first-round prospect Ryder Ritchie:

• Playing to his identity with Team Canada at the U18 Worlds in Finland.

• Competes the entire 200 feet with good jump and pace up and down the ice.

• Showing off his ability to one-time pucks from high danger areas in the offensive zone.

• When he isn’t producing offence, he makes sure he’s on the right side of the play defensively and pushes back physically.

• Young for this draft class (Aug. 3, 2006 birthdate). Significant upside. Ability to be deployed, and trusted, in a variety of roles.

TOP OF THE DRAFT IN 2025 AND 2026

There are several underage prospects at the worlds this year, but the two forwards who are standing out the most are James Hagens from Team USA and Gavin McKenna from Team Canada.

Hagens could be the first player selected in 2025. He’s an electric offensive talent who is currently leading the tournament with four goals and six assists in only three games played.

Some scorers make the game look like it’s moving in slow motion. Their spatial awareness leads to playmaking that brings their opponents to their knees defensively. Here’s a sample of what Hagens brings to the table offensively:

Not to outdone, here’s a creative highlight of McKenna in transition. After catching an edge on the offensive blue line, McKenna keeps with the play, adjusts and dishes to Team Canada captain Porter Martone coming late through the high slot for the tuck.

McKenna is currently tied for second in tournament scoring with Team USA’s Cole Eiserman. And he’s not eligible for the NHL draft until 2026!

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