Future Considerations: Scouting reports on prospects from U18 tournament

Three games are in the books for teams at the men's U18 World Championship.

Team USA and Team Sweden are so far the class of the tournament as both countries sit atop their groups with identical 3-0 records. Team Canada has a 2-1 record heading into their final preliminary round game versus Team Czechia on Tuesday.

Over the next several days I will provide my observations on developing trends from Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland.

TEAM CANADA

The Canadians got off to a tough start, losing 8-0 to Team Sweden in their first game of the tournament. Since then, they have won games over Germany (8-0) and Slovakia (4-3). Here's some of what I've seen from them so far...

Carson Bjarnason, G, Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL

Bjarnason has had a tough tournament to date and the team will need better goaltending to have a chance at a medal. He’s making most routine stops, but too many Grade B pucks have been slipping past him. He’s a much better goalie than he has shown so I expect him to bounce back. My colleague, Sam Cosentino, interviewed Bjarnason at the CHL Top Prospects Game in January. He’s a quality kid with great character.

My biggest concern has been his inability to track, get set, and find pucks from mid-to-long distance.

Here's an example of a goal that needed to be stopped versus Slovakia:

It's concerning from a scouting perspective because as the play cycles behind his net and rotates to the top of the zone he doesn’t get set to see the puck clean from distance.

Bjarnason has the ability to steal a game. He's the top-ranked North American goalie for the draft and is a big body (6-foot-3, 181 pounds) who plays a combination of butterfly, positional, and hybrid style.

Lukas Dragicevic, D, Tri-City Americans, WHL

Dragicevic is ramping up his game as the tournament rolls along. Against Team Slovakia he played just shy of 25 minutes and was deployed in all situations. He’s looking more confident and playing to his identity as an aggressive playmaker who isn’t shy about leading the rush, pinching down to extend plays, or working off the high cycle in the offensive zone. Speaking to his aggressive style offensively, Dragicevic has attempted to direct 21 shots on goal in the first three games for Team Canada and has one goal and one assist so far in the tournament.

Dragicevic is ranked 18^th by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters.

Matthew Wood and Calum Ritchie

The power forward goal scorers for Team Canada have produced offensively (Wood has two goals and two assists, Ritchie has two goals and three assists), but both players can play the game quicker and faster than they have so far. In the trenches, and when shielding pucks, they give opponents all they can handle. They are very similar players, with Wood standing 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and Ritchie at 6-foot-2, 187 pounds. Both are right shots.

Wood is ranked fourth by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters and Ritchie is 13th.

Macklin Celebrini, FWD, Chicago Steel, USHL

This tournament is a showcase for players who are draft eligible this coming June. But there are some outstanding underage prospects showing very well in the tournament, too, and Macklin Celebrini is one of them.

Celebrini is a competitive, skilled, darting forward who wants the puck and usually produces results when he has it on his stick.

Celebrini is heading to Boston University in the fall, where we can expect to hear a lot about his progress. He will be one of the first names off the board in 2024.

In the following clip Celebrini (No. 17 in white jersey) retrieves a puck down low on the power play, takes a bump from an opponent, protects the puck, extends the play, and eventually ends up with the puck back on his stick. He takes the play to the net and buries his opportunity. I appreciate the skill, compete, and finish he shows in the sequence.

QUICK SCOUTING HITS

Some notes on other non-Canadian players at the U18s...

Michael Hrabel, G, Team Czechia

Hrabel will be the first goalie taken in the 2023 NHL Draft. In my opinion, he’s the best-looking goalie prospect at this event. He’s huge in the net (6-foot-6, 209 pounds), his crease composure has been spot on and he’s eating pucks, rarely giving up second chances via rebounds.

NHL Central Scouting has Hrabel ranked second among North American goalies. He plays in the USHL for the Omaha Lancers.

Dalibor Dvorsky, FWD, Team Slovakia

Team Slovakia are a competitive group that has to work exceptionally hard for results. They are an impressive team.

Dvorsky has had an up and down year. This is his last chance to make an impression on the scouting community and he was solid versus Canada.

Dvorsky played the middle and he had the puck on his stick more often than I’ve seen in the past. He played with pace and drive. I especially appreciated his battle to extend plays along the wall.

He is ranked No. 3 by NHL Central Scouting among the European skaters.

Here’s an example of what impressed me with his game. In this sequence Dvorsky extends the play by shielding the puck and keeping his check on his back pocket. After the play breaks down, he tracks down low, gets under the Canadian defender and works the play up top again before the puck ends up on his stick. It’s then that his skill takes over. Dvorsky moves off the half wall, provides some deception in the middle of the ice, and snaps the puck home.

Will Smith, FWD, Team USA

Smith is tied for the tournament scoring lead with teammate Gabe Perreault. Both players have 11 points in their first three games. Smith has scored four goals and seven assists, and only one of those goals has come on the power play.

Smith is fun to watch. He has video game-like puck skill, but scouts will be concerned about his three-zone detail and effort on the back check. I recall a player named Patrick Kane (you might have heard of him?) in his draft year. Kane wasn’t allergic to the defensive side of the game, but let’s just say he wasn’t as engaged as he needed to be. The same can be said for Smith. You can’t teach what Smith has skill wise.

Smith is ranked No. 3 by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters.