Danjo Leonhardt – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: 2026 European Free Agent Frenzy – 47 Players you may see with an NHL franchise next season

Chapin Landvogt — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:17:08 +0000

There was a time when almost every spring brought with it a free agent name or two out of Europe that created a bit of a bidding war among interested NHL teams. This aspect of springtime business has calmed down in recent years as the rate of regular NHLers to be found has also cooled down, perhaps considerably. The Panarins of the world have been few and far between, even if KHLers usually head the list of desirables. The New York Islanders gobbled up two respective top names coming out of that league in the offseasons of 2024 and 2025, with the results having been less than satisfactory to date.

2024 target Maxim Tsyplakov put in a fairly solid 10-25-35 statline in his first NHL season but had just one point in 25 outings for the Islanders this season before being unceremoniously traded to the New Jersey Devils in what was part of an Ondrej Palat salary dump, only to find himself waived by the Devils about a dozen games later. An undersized Maxim Shabanov was the most heavily targeted prize last spring and ultimately made his way to Long Island but has found himself scratched of late more often than not, even if his 4-12-16 statline over 42 games did include some plays of brilliance that indicated there’s probably more in the tank.

Interestingly, the Tampa Bay Lightning went free agent hunting in Europe last spring and made several signings, with current defenseman Charle-Édouard D’Astous having become the most successful of last year’s crop. He not only has 27 points this season but has regularly chalked up over 18 minutes of TOI throughout the season, serving as the prime example of what teams hope to get when they go this route. Two years ago, the Dallas Stars added 22-year old forward Arttu Hyry to their program, who went on to have a 49-point rookie AHL season and has gotten into 13 NHL games this season as lower line depth.

Each are an attest to what many teams hope to find when they chance it on a low-key signing of a player enjoying success in Europe’s top leagues.

What we’re seeing this spring is that the various European leagues are lacking in big must-have free agent names but are well represented in providing players whom a number of teams would appear interested in adding to their farm systems. Furthermore, a number of available KHL players are not only in their mid-20s but just happen to be free agents in Russia as well, a concern that always precludes some of the statistically most successful players from being market grabs each spring. No less than five forwards have excelled this season and find themselves open to go to whoever they see the best opportunity with, be it in North America or the KHL.

Likewise, leagues such as the SHL, Liiga, NL, and DEL just happen to have the odd U25 player or two available who very much look like worthy ELC candidates, even if none appears close to being an immediate homerun swing of any sort.

With this in mind, we have little doubt that a number of the following players - many of whom were draft topics at one point or have come out of nowhere in recent years - will land themselves a contract with an NHL team and their chances of doing so will be considerably better if they are open to multiyear two-way contracts for next season. As always, the NHL season is a long one with injuries always playing a role, so there’s plenty of reasons for players to pine for the kinds of opportunities that, for example, fell into Pavol Regenda’s lap this past season.

MOST LIKELY TO BE SIGNED THIS SPRING OR OFFSEASON

Vitali Pinchuk (BLR) - C - 24 - 6-foot-3, 203 pounds. - KHL

The well-built former Kingston Frontenac is the cream of the crop for this spring’s European free agents. There were things scouts liked back in the 19-20 season, but it never led to a drafting, and he was quick to return to Belarus (granted, it was the pandemic), where he got a lick of the KHL the next season. Now he’s wrapping up his fourth straight season of KHL play and what a season it’s been, seeing him finish sixth overall in league scoring (66 points) and third overall in goals scored (31). He also put up a +21 rating. Already last season, his 43 points raised a good number of eyebrows and had teams very curious about this season, knowing he was scheduled to become a free agent this spring. He’s in full playoff mode now with three points in an initial round sweep of Dynamo Moscow. It is felt that he should be NHL-ready right off the bat, capable of a heavy game and nifty stickwork. There was a bit more hoopla about Tsyplakov and Shabanov in recent years, but Pinchuk may have the kind of overall game that’ll make him a more versatile NHL option.

Danil Aimurzin (RUS) - C - 23 - 6-foot-0, 180 pounds. - KHL

Not the biggest, fastest, or slickest player out there, Aimurzin nonetheless is very solid on his skates, makes a husky impression, and, well, constantly brings the puck to the goal. And if he’s not doing it, he’s heading to the net to make himself a pass option or pounce on rebounds. There’s a solid offensive orientation to his game, featuring strong patience with the puck, and he plays in a manner that makes it feel like he doesn’t sense stress. Although very different in the highlights department from a player like Maxim Shabanov the year before, Aimurzin is still fairly young and has a puck-protection style that is easily imaginable on North American ice. Truth be told, he’s coming off his worst regular season (14-29-43 and -7) in several years but is only now truly a free agent topic due to his current contract concluding this spring. His 57 points last season (including 31 goals) would have made him a likely signing last summer, so teams that were interested then are surely going to continue being in the hunt. For what it’s worth, his Cherepovets team features two draft picks from both Carolina and Pittsburgh.

260108 Skellefteås Pontus Johansson under ishockeymatchen i SHL mellan Skellefteå och HV71 den 8 januari 2026 i Skellefteå.
Foto: Johan Löf / BILDBYRÅN / COP 230 / JH0083

Pontus Johansson (SWE) - LHD - 24 - 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. - SHL

A slick, mobile defenseman whose deep knee crouch and long, straight back are reminiscent of former Blackhawk and Coyote Niklas Hjalmarsson, Johansson is currently suiting up for playoff hockey in his fifth season of SHL hockey, having literally exploded onto the scene this season after four relatively anonymous seasons of SHL play. His six goals in 51 games are as many as the past four seasons combined while his 25 points and +15 far outweigh anything he’s done before. That he’s often chewed up over 20 minutes of TOI per game only goes to show how much his role has grown for an absolute championship contender this year, not surprising in light of Skelleftea’s regular ability to develop future NHL talent. Pontus’ age is just right to take the next step, and his all-round play should be making him an attractive target for teams looking for a wide variety of defensive depth options.

Nick Malik

Nick Malik (CZE) - G - 23 - 6-foot-2, 180 pounds. - CZE

It wasn’t too long ago that the US-born Czech goaltender was a Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick selected as a 20-year-old after a strong season as a starter for Kookoo of the Finnish Liiga. He continued to be a starter there in the years thereafter, but always with a losing record and numerical statistics that didn’t inspire Tampa to sign him on time to retain his rights. In the past two years, he’s taken his act back home to Plzen, where he’s served as the starter for a regular playoff contestant, putting up topflight stats in that league each year. At the moment, his team looks poised to easily get to the second round of the playoffs, naturally with Malik in net, so a signing will have to wait a few weeks. Alas, when a goaltender of this age in a pro league carries his team to the tune of a 25-14 record with six shutouts, a 1.65 GAA, and a .929 save percentage in a whopping 41 starts, he can become a hot topic for NHL teams seeking viable goaltending depth.

Daniil Gutik (RUS) - LW - 24 - 6-foot-3, 190 pounds. - KHL

Had Gutik been available last offseason, it’s hard to imagine that he’d not have been gobbled up. He was 23 and coming off a total of 28 goals and 57 points. He has size, can aptly get from point A to B, and has actually been more noticeable as a playmaker to that point, until he started putting pucks in the net with regularity. This season didn’t kick off as promising with an Admiral Vladivostok team that never really competed, but a midseason trade to Spartak Moscow saw him pick things up again, collecting 19 points in 21 games and now having scored two goals in three playoff games to date. All in all, he finished 20-27-47 in 65 games and has a total package that should lead to a couple of suitors, again fully aware of his current contractual status as an unrestricted KHL free agent. The assumption will be that he’d need some time in the AHL to gain his bearings in North America.

Skellefteås Rickard Hugg
Foto: Michael Erichsen / BILDBYRÅN

Rickard Hugg (SWE) - C/W - 27 - 5-foot-10, 190 pounds. - SHL

After captaining the Kitchener Rangers in the 18-19 season and scoring at over a PPG pace that year, some were surprised that Hugg didn’t latch on to an NHL organization. In light of his skating style and average size, it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. He then immediately headed back to his home region in Sweden and went pro with Skelleftea, playing two decent seasons on a lower line before becoming a top six mainstay. Over his last four seasons, he’s managed to put up between 40-50 points every year, playoffs included. However, as this year’s playoffs get underway, Hugg is coming off a career best 56 regular season points and a +13 rating, having established himself as a serious threat in every game and seen in the SHL as one of the top 5-10 forwards whatsoever. He’s simply hard to get the puck from and combines a hounding playing style with some very nifty mitts and a strong wrister. The feeling is that he can immediately jump onto an NHL roster and contend for a third line spot, especially in light of his cycling abilities and net-area instincts.

Simon Johansson (SWE) - RHD - 26 - 6-foot-2, 194 pounds. - Liiga

Johansson is a known commodity who, as a 2018 5th rounder, joined the Wild organization for two solid, but unspectacular AHL seasons not too long ago and actually has a contract for Kloten of the NL in the bag for next season. However, he’s coming off a monster season in the Finnish Liiga in which he accounted for 19-32-51 and a +16 over 58 games, regularly logging app. 20 minutes of ice time every night. This not only meant he was the league’s top scoring defenseman but 14th overall in league scoring. If there’s any hope on his behalf of giving the NHL another shot, now wouldn’t be the worst time. He has never been a defensive beast but has savvy transitional skills and comes with strong bloodlines (cousin to Alex Winnberg and brother to Anton and Victor, both drafted). Perhaps accompanying one of the pups to their respective AHL club next season would make for a good storyline.

SHOT IN NORTH AMERICA BECKONS!?

Matyas Filip (CZE) - 25 - C - 5-foot-11, 187 pounds. - CZE

Filip is just the type of unassuming player who could see himself in a Radek Faksa or Zemgus Girgensons role at the NHL level within a few years’ time if he plays his cards right. Having shown steady play as a lower line center for years now, Filip took a step towards being one of the Czech league’s most important two-way players. With 13 goals, 26 points, and a +11 in 46 regular season games as well as another 3 points and +4 in 7 playoff games, he’s assuming the middle six forward role to a tee for his Plzen club in this career year, but the stats only tell part of the story for a player who thinks team-first and is a go-to must when the defensive chips are on the line. Skating and average size is there for a player who could very well be a solid lower line option after a season of AHL preparation.

Tobias Normann (NOR) - 24 - G - 6-foot-1, 187 pounds. - SHL

Normann spent last season, his first in the SHL, as famed Frölunda’s 1B starter. This season, he made his way to being the team’s 1A. Ultimately, his season ended on April 2nd against Lulea with a 2-3 record and a sparkling 1.33 GAA and .921 save percentage, something his stacked club couldn’t make use of. Alas, Normann’s regular season saw a number of fantastic performances including three shutouts in 24 appearances. Furthermore, his 1.68 GAA and .923 save percentage led the entire SHL in both categories, even if his 14-10 record was good, but pedestrian for a club that had heavy title ambitions. Originally from Norway, Normann has extensive pro experience from teenage years back home and used a strong 23-24 season in the HockeyAllsvenskan to jump up to the SHL last year. He also stood in goal for Team Norway three times at the Men’s WC last spring, pitching a shutout and 2.63 GAA along the way. We expect him in net in Switzerland this spring as well, likely as his nation’s starter. The time is ripe for him to take a next step if he should have any NHL ambitions, even if Frölunda would love to see him finish off his contract there, which first expires after the 28/29 season.

Patrik Puistola (FIN) - 25 - RW/LW - 6-foot-0, 181 pounds. - SHL

It’s hard to say if the former Carolina Hurricanes draft pick could one day be a true NHL option, but it is clear that he’s not only overcome a few skating issues from his earlier years but has spent the past four seasons establishing himself as a top producer in both the SHL and Liiga, meaning there’s little doubt he’d at least contribute to an AHL line-up right off the bat. Anyone seeing him the past two seasons has noticed a player who is very keen on generating high octane opportunities and even found more of a playmaker gene than initially thought, seeing as how he was originally drafted as a gunner off the wing, thanks greatly to being a Mestis-league goalscorer in his draft year and then a bit of a sniper at ensuing U18 Worlds and WJC tournaments. Agile and slick with his turns in the corner, Puistola is not a speedster and certainly not one to be found deeply involved in rough stuff. It definitely feels like a team playing with house money would best be served by bringing him in and seeing how much of an option he turns himself into after he gets a bit of AHL play under his belt.

Theo Rochette (SUI/CAN) - 24 - C/LW - 5-foot-11, 172 pounds. - Swiss NL

A former Memorial Cup winner, Rochette first turned 24 in February and has taken his steady development to a new level this season, serving as perhaps the NL’s top U25 player whatsoever. After regular seasons of 30 and then 31 points the past two years, he jumped to 22 goals and 43 points this past season and just exited the playoffs in an exciting seven-game series, pitching in with seven points along the way. The author of 317 points in 271 career QMJHL games, it was felt Rochette may sign a contract last summer after a spring to remember featuring 11 goals and 17 points in 19 playoff games. When one combines his continued growth as a point collector with what’s been an uncanny ability to play meaningful hockey every spring - and constantly fantastic +/- stats to boot -, it should be a foregone conclusion that an NHL team will look to give him a shot as soon as this summer.

Sandro Schmid (SUI) - C/RW - 25 - 5-foot-11, 185 pounds. - Swiss NL

No relation to Swiss NHL goaltender Akira Schmid, the former Malmö Redhawk junior player is coming off his seventh straight NL season, and it has been his finest by a country mile, turning into a top league playmaker with a career year of 10-28-38 over 52 games. Actually, it’s been a longer stretch of fine play for Schmid who was not only a part of Switzerland’s silver-medal-winning WC squad last spring but contributed a 3-4-7 statline in the process. All this also led to him being at this winter’s Olympics where he provided a strong Swiss club with some feisty 3rd line play and intelligent corner work. And this is where it gets interesting because he’s always been capable of providing energy and conducting yeoman work but now it’s turning into more dangerous creation of offensive opportunities off the forecheck. This development would indicate there’s sound logic in believing he can step right onto an NHL checking line without missing a beat. Another strong WC performance this spring - a tournament taking place in his native Switzerland - might be all we need to see before he signs an ELC.

Axel Sundberg (SWE) - RW/LW - 27 - 6-foot-2, 215 pounds. - SHL

Last year, we identified Sundberg as a heavy-built winger who had come out of nowhere to put himself on the map of system depth options. With skating deficiencies that nonetheless look like they’d be little problem on smaller ice surfaces, Sundberg went from being a lower level nobody to a 2nd line SHLer last season. Now somewhat fully developed, he’s taken it all a bit further this spring, jumping from 25 to 34 points and engraving himself on the left face-off circle of the power play. There’s a physical dimension to his game and he uses his body adeptly to not only protect the puck, but ward off oncoming attackers. Sure, he’s come a long way in a short period of time while quickly heading towards his late 20s but it’s very easy to picture him wreaking some havoc on a North American ice surface. We’ll soon find out if an NHL team feels the same way.

JUST GETTING OUT OF THEIR DIAPERS

Hugo Fransson (SWE) - LHD - 21 - 6-foot-0, 176 pounds. - SHL

If he were one year younger, we’d have little doubt that Fransson would be an overage draftee this summer. Despite two straight seasons of SHL play with at least 27 contests per season, rounded out by some decent HockeyAllsvenskan play, no-one foresaw the kind of breakout season he enjoyed this year, albeit for an SHL team that needed to punch its SHL ticket for a 3rd straight year in the relegation round series. Finishing off with 11-16-27 numbers over 56 games, Fransson has been the discovery of the season in the SHL and everyone’s curious to see if that’ll pocket him an ELC, especially in light of how many smaller, mobile defensemen have made their way to the NHL in recent years. At his age, it would be akin to a team signing a draft pick.

Santeri Huovila (FIN) - LW - 21 - 6-foot-0, 172 pounds. - Liiga

After putting up a 9-33-42 statline in 49 games as a Liiga rookie last year, Huovila managed to tie that output this year with 5-37-42, yet he achieved that in all of 33 games! We understand if you need to blink twice seeing that stat. A 21-year-old undrafted player collecting more than one assist per game is something you quite frankly do not see in many established pro leagues, much less one featuring former NHLers and current NHL draftees. There is of course a reason for doubt, as he not only is a lightweight out on the ice but doesn’t have much of a second gear. However, there’s a radar in that head of his and if you’re open and in a scoring position, watch out! You will get the puck. He is incredibly adept at handling the biscuit and quickly distributing it. A team willing to invest in a physically underdeveloped player will add a skillset and player who has started looking underchallenged in the Finnish Liiga.

Adrian Klein (GER) - LHD - 22 - 6-foot-3, 212 pounds. - DEL

There was a time when Klein was just a 16-year-old gangly defenseman who managed to put up 11 points in Germany’s 3rd pro league circuit. It’s not something we see often, so the hope was that he’d make his way to being an NHL topic. Even though he progressed fairly evenly, bit by bit, getting 80 DEL games under his belt between the ages of 17-19, participating in a U18 Worlds and two WJCs, the size and experience combo just wasn’t enticing enough to overcome some mobility and hockey IQ issues and see him get drafted. What has happened since is that he’s become a DEL regular and after two seasons of being his team’s # 6/7 defenseman, he established himself as a clear-cut top four this past season, making incredible use of his size as a shot and pass blocker while regularly muscling out opponents along the boards and in front of the net. In addition, he put in a career year statistically with five goals, 16 points, and a+10 rating over 51 games heading into the playoffs. We’d love to see him play for Germany at the men’s WC and have to think there’s an NHL team out there that knows he’s ready for a bigger test - and may not want to wait to enter what would likely become a bidding war if he ups the ante once again next season.

Jere Lassila (FIN) - C - 22 - 5-foot-10, 176 pounds. - Liiga

There are those out there in the scouting community who wonder how players like Lassila slip through the cracks come draft day. Once the captain of Finland’s U18 entry (8 points in 6 games) and then two years later its WJC entry (8 points in 7 games), Lassila is basically a coach’s dream. He’s a hound out there who plays with intensity and simply understands where he needs to be and what he needs to be doing in situations in all three zones. He’s seen regular Liiga action for four straight years now, seeing his point production increase from 3 to 26 to 35 to now 58 points. Indeed, a 20-38-58 and +4 statline in 60 games for a non-playoff team is highly impressive for a player who just turned 22 at the end of March. Seeing as how his game is very much a two-way affair, it’s hard to imagine there won’t be an NHL team ready to bring him in and start shaping him for a future bottom nine role at the NHL level. There was a time when he was just felt to be downright small, but his actual size isn’t unheard of at the NHL level.

Vasili Machulin (RUS) - LHD - 23 - 6-foot-4, 201 pounds. - KHL

A no frills defenseman with great size, Machulin plays an unspectacular all-round game in which he has no hesitation to use his body in a variety of ways. Playing for a weaker Sochi team for several seasons now, Machulin racks up the TOI, often getting upwards of 21 minutes per contest, seeing use in just about every situation, save for the power play. There’s little risk in his game and yet it always looks like there’s a bit more that could be squeezed out under the right circumstances. He nonetheless has 19 and 14 points to show for himself the past two seasons. For teams that keep their eyes open for low-risk, physical additions such as an Artyom Zub or Ilya Lyubushkin, for example, Machulin could be right up their alley. He is well-schooled and now quite KHL-experienced for a player who hasn’t yet turned 24.

Janne Naukkarinen (FIN) - C/W - 22 - 6-foot-2, 192 pounds. - Liiga

The 23-24 season was Naukkarinen’s first full season of Liiga play (20 points) and also saw him get in some reps at the WJC where he collected two assists. This wasn’t enough to get drafted as an overager, but he continued to keep eyebrows raised with a decent 24-25 season that didn’t see any real progress pointwise (18 in total) yet a continued Liiga role as a third line center with five points over 21 playoff games to boot. This year saw him in a similar role but with a good bit more production, delivering 24 points and cutting down his penalty minutes. The skating is anything but polished yet he’s a big body with a solid slate of pro experience to date and an offensive game that keeps showing flashes of being deserving of more opportunity. Could that come in the AHL next year?

Nestor Noiva (FIN) - RW - 22 - 6-foot-0, 183 pounds. - Liiga

Despite strong U18 and U20 league stats, Noiva has only represented his nation in international friendly play and not at any of the major tournaments. However, he did work his way into a regular shift and 25 points last season as a Liiga rookie and there was no sophomore slump this year, as Noiva put up 12-24-36 and +5 regular season numbers, which he impressively improved on with 7 points in a 5-game first round playoff victory over Kiekoo-Espoo. His importance to his Assat team can’t be overstated as he regularly logs ca. 19 minutes of TOI per game and is coming off a recent 38-minute performance in a game that stretched over six periods. Should he get signed this offseason, we would say there’s good potential for Noiva to take the same kind of developmental path as recent Dallas Stars signing Arttu Hyry.

Veit Oswald (GER) - LW - 21 - 6-foot-2”, 179 pounds. - DEL

Where to start. After a quiet but interesting draft year with a sneaky good U18 Worlds performance, Oswald really made some noise in his DY+2 (both at the WJC and in DEL play) but didn’t get drafted and then fell off the planet a bit in conjunction with a disjointed Munich team in DY+3, despite having attended the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect camp the summer before. Still 21 right on up into August, Oswald has reset his clock this year, being the most effective U22 player in the DEL and serving as a multifaceted weapon for a Munich team with serious aspirations. Often playing with established ex-AHLers, Oswald has never looked out of place and set career highs of 12-14-26 and a +16 in 38 games before suffering an injury that has kept him out since mid-January. Chances are that his numbers would be even more appealing just now as his team found a bit of a groove right down the stretch. We’re convinced that a team ready to give him an ELC can throw him right into a top nine role in the AHL next season and think of him much like a drafted player with NHL upside moving forward.

Matvei Polyakov (RUS) - RW - 21 - 5-foot-10, 176 pounds. - KHL

Aside from strong MHL statistics the past two seasons for SKA St. Petersburg’s junior club, Polyakov hasn’t popped out as an overage Russian player you risk a pick on. That’s usually reserved for someone who is sticking out in the KHL. Now beyond draftability, the slightly undersized Polyakov decided to use the last year of his current contract to force his way onto St. Petersburg’s roster and simply become the veteran-laden squad’s sixth best scorer with a 16-13-29 statline. Likely a player St. Petersburg fully intends on retaining, signing him now would - age wise - be like investing in a recent European draft pick. Combine this season and the prior high-scoring junior years and well, Polyakov has clearly outplayed a number of Russian forwards who have been drafted this century.

Alexander Smolin (RUS) - G - 22 - 6-foot-2, 168 pounds. - KHL

One of the youngest goalies on the market, Smolin has seen an astronomic rise in his stock in a very short period of time. Only two seasons ago, he was splitting his time between the junior MHL, the second tier VHL, with a bit of KHL hockey sprinkled in between. Then he became a full-time back-up for Metallurg last season, generating all-round solid numbers and a 14-6-2 record. This season saw him split duties and take things to another level. A 23-8-2 record was accompanied by a 2.33 GAA and .915 save percentage, stats that are fine if not lights out in the KHL. He has kicked off the playoffs with three straight victories and a 1.00 GAA and .947 save percentage. There are Gagarin Cup ambitions here, so we’ll see where Smolin is at when all is said and done, but there’s no doubt the age/performance ratio is very enticing.

Jimi Suomi (FIN) - LHD - 23 - 5-foot-11, 174 pounds. - Liiga

Always known as a mobile and agile skater, Suomi was a known commodity (although a good bit smaller) in his draft year, when he put up four assists at the U18 Worlds. He followed that with 32 games and six points in Liiga play in his DY+1. Over the years, he kept gaining experience and after two straight seasons of regular deployment in Finland’s best pro league, he enjoyed a bit of a breakthrough this season with 11 goals, 31 points, and a +13 in 53 games. Suomi has a shot and has a real knack of avoiding the rough stuff when players come hunting for him. If he doesn’t make his way to North America, the feeling is we’ll see him in the SHL next season.

Jiri Tichacek (CZE) - LHD - 23 - 5-foot-9, 170 pounds. - Liiga

Yes, there’s a bit of a size issue here. We always knew that no matter what he achieved, that size wasn’t what you ideally want to use a draft pick on. He could be another Jared Spurgeon, but teams don’t make a habit of selecting that in advance. Still, Tichacek keeps arousing interest. He made the Czech Olympic team (alas, only getting ca. 10 minutes of ice time all tourney long) but more importantly, he took his gig to Finland after an impressive 24-25 season in the Czech Republic and actually took a little step in the process. Like in 24-25, he accumulated 31 points, doing so in two fewer games than the year before. He also improved by seven points in the +/- department. The question is if there’s a team out there who can hand him the power play blueliner job at the AHL level next season? If there is, there could be grounds for finding out if Tichacek could just be another Spurgeon.

Yegor Vinogradov (RUS) - C/RW - 22 - 6-foot-3, 203 pounds - KHL

The well-built forward who hasn’t exactly been fleet-of-foot in recent years took the next step in a major way this season. After three seasons of subtle KHL introduction to the tune of 17, 13, and 16 points, Yegor received a whole new role while suddenly displaying an almost newfound will to succeed, chiming in with 23-31-54 and +6 totals in 67 regular season games while having since chipped in 3 points in his team’s 4-1 first round playoff victory over Cherepovets. The author of a number of smooth moves and slick passes throughout the season, he did indicate a breakout might be coming when he played part of last season in Russia’s second tier pro league, the VHL, putting 23 points in 21 games and adding another 18 in 19 playoff games, 10 of which were goals. Whereas a team could worry about how much this season was a one-and-done productionwise, it was his 4th season of KHL play and a look at the production itself would indicate that he’s only just begun to realize what he’s capable of. Should his next contract be a KHL contract, rest assured that it’ll be a long one, so now would be the time to strike if you believe in his possibilities.

IS THE TIME FINALLY RIPE?

Boris Blank (GER) - LW/C - 24 - 6-foot-0, 187 pounds. - DEL

Already having completed six full seasons of DEL play, the former WJC participant was a draft topic for several years but simply didn’t display the overall speed to compensate for other holes in his game. This season, he has exploded onto the scene with 19-28-47 numbers in 52 games, becoming a clear-cut go-to offensive player. Plenty in the scene feel it’s time for him to get a WC call as well for Germany, but that is still up in the air. What is clear is that he has shown flashes for years now, but his skating has gotten to a point where it shouldn’t prohibit an international career. The question now is if a team sees him as a player who is simply a year of AHL play away from being an NHL option. His stats certainly trump other U25 players who’ve signed ELCs in recent years and he made a very mature impression this year, taking the bull by the horns for a club that needed him to score.

Max Franzreb (GER) - G - 29 - 6-foot-0, 198 pounds. - DEL

Actually smaller than he appears on the ice, Franzreb has been a goalie who has looked mentally stronger than most you’ll see around Europe for a number of years now, often scratching the surface of what seems to be untapped potential. This winter, he took over the reins as the 1A in net for yearly contender Adler Mannheim and has put in his best ever season, not only putting up a 23-11 record, but finishing third in GAA (2.04) and SV% (.921). He was also on the Olympic team and faced the US in a game where he put up a valiant effort for the first and final 20 minutes of play. He’s definitely a bit old to be an NHL option, but a strong playoff push (4-1 record in a first round victory) might be the cherry on top for a team looking to add a sneaky 3rd option for its goalie rotation next fall. His current coach and GM is former NHL official Dallas Eakins.

Leon Hüttl (GER) - RHD - 25 - 6-foot-0, 180 pounds. - DEL

Another player who has been seen at the men’s WC in recent years, Hüttl was a strong candidate for the Olympic team but the coaching staff went in another direction. His playoffs are about to begin and we’re thinking last spring’s decent WC performance should see him there again this year, but what we don’t have any doubt about is his mobility, hockey IQ, and overall understanding of how to push the game forward up the ice. He’s got another 25+ points (28 to date) but his +24 ties a career high and has him 7th overall in the league. He’s not the biggest player around and not a speed demon either, but he’s a Brian Rafalski of sorts by DEL standards and we’ve wondered what an NHL organization could make of him, considering he has a pure winner’s attitude and is a highly respected competitor in the DEL.

Yaroslav Likhachyov (RUS) - 24 - LW - 5-foot-11, 174 pounds. - KHL

He played three seasons of hockey in the QMJHL and was never drafted, with his final season coming during the pandemic. After two years of decent youngster production in the KHL, he kind of fell off the map last season with just 10 goals and 14 points. Little was expected this season, but in the final year of his KHL contract, he went out and blew away all previous highs with 22 goals and 39 points in 59 games. He was always a good player on the move with some solid hands and now it’s come to fruition. What is unclear is his exact contractual status as he played on loan with an option this season. If he feels he’s on the cusp of some big KHL numbers heading into next season, it may be worth it to ink a one-year KHL deal and see what next spring brings. But if Lokomotiv is his only option for next season should he stay in Russia, where he was stunted in the 24-25 season, he may feel the time is right to give North America another go.

Nick Olesen (DEN) - C/W - 30 - 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. - CZE

For sure, you’ll rarely see a player this old listed in this or any list of possible European free agents, but Olesen has something cooking recently that some team out there definitely has on its radar. Long a player who simply made noise in his native Denmark or in Sweden’s lower leagues, Olesen eventually made it to the SHL and played a minimal middle six role for 3 seasons, once even potting 13 goals. Then he took his act to the Czech Republic, where he had his best season as a pro and something went “click”. Last spring, a Team Denmark featuring Nikolaj Ehlers as its sole NHL player had a magical run in a tournament it hosted. A key in that run was Olesen, who whipped up 12 points in 10 games. He then blew all previous highs out of the water this season with 45 points in 51 regular season games for Ceske Budjevice, also participating in the Olympics along the way, where he led Denmark in scoring with 4-1-5 in four games. Quite clever around the net and in making use of time and space, while also fleet of foot, one has to wonder if he’s just the good old fashioned case of a very, very late bloomer. In any case, his most recent stats in conjunction with his above-average international performances have raised eyebrows and one should never underestimate how hungry a player from a smaller hockey nation like Denmark could be if the opportunity comes along.

Eugen Rabcan (SVK) - G - 24 - 6-foot-3, 196 pounds. - SVK

In his third season of regular top league play in Slovakia, Rabcan became an absolute minute-muncher for a run of the mill team that is in the midst of an interesting playoff battle at this time, one Rabcan has a 3-3 record in. All in all, Rabcan started 40 regular season games and put up a 20-20 record with a 2.52 GAA and strong .921 save percentage. There is talk of Rabcan having a good shot at being part of the country’s WC outfit (2-0 with a 1.49 GAA in several international outings this winter) and seeing as how he’s represented by an agency with a heavy emphasis on North America, Rabcan’s path to an NHL organization could be just a few contractual autographs away.

Colin Ugbekile (GER) - LHD - 26 - 6-foot-2, 198 pounds. - DEL

There were some who felt Ugbekile should have been on the Olympic team. It didn’t happen and we’ll be curious to see if he is one of the final cuts for the men’s WC or keeps strutting his stuff in Switzerland. Fact is, it’s likely now or never for the former USHLer who has clearly established himself as one of the top two-way defensemen and power play quarterbacks in the DEL, coming off a career season with nine goals, 43 points, and a +10 rating for a team that once again came up short of the playoffs. He’s got the size and wheels to give the AHL the good ol’ college try, and his game is definitely one that can thrive in a program that emphasizes the transition. But it’s easy to think that if an NHL contract isn’t offered this summer, that might be all she wrote for a player who’d spend the next 10 years likely being one of the DEL top five German defensemen on a yearly basis.

Libor Zabransky (CZE) - RHD - 25 - 6-foot-0, 203 pounds. - CZE

You look at Zabransky’s size and shot, and his plethora of WHL experience as well as his regular appearance for his native Czech Republic on the international stage (albeit, without any WC performances), and you have to wonder how come no-one has taken a flyer on him to see what he can do at the pro level in North America. Let there be no doubt that there have always been warts in his game, but he’s tickled scouts’ fancy here and there to keep his name in the notebooks. Now, after six seasons of pro play, with four of them having been in a bottom four role in the Finnish Liiga, Zabransky has cashed in his maturity cheque and set Czech league bluelines on fire to the tune of 18 goals this season. Considering he had never had more than seven in any given season, and that was five years ago, teams will have to determine if it’s just one-off or if Zabransky has reached the potential he once long hinted at.

YOU DON’T KNOW HIM, BUT DON’T BE SURPRISED IF HE GETS SIGNED

Ruslan Abrosimov (RUS) - C - 24 - 5-foot-10, 181 pounds. - KHL

A former MHL captain and top scorer, Abrosimov put in three straight seasons of KHL play and improvement before exploding this season to the tune of 24 goals, 48 points, and a +15 in 62 games, wearing an “A” on his chest while at it. If there are any NHL aspirations, the timing is just right for a player whose game is all about production. Slightly below average size doesn’t have to be an issue here as Abrosimov is adept at avoiding physical contact.

Vasily Atanosov (RUS) - RW/C - 23 - 5-foot-11, 160 pounds. - KHL

A strong identifier of opportunities and a player who knows how to read the room on the rush, Atanosov has done nothing but produce in recent years. Although he came in shy of the 40 points he had for Torpedo in their strong 23-24 season, Atanosov has deposited 21 shots in the net this year (36 points) and is finally a contractual free agent. There’s skill and vision here, and you never know how long the next KHL contract will be. He has consistently scored in the KHL for three straight seasons, so teams know what he is, but also that he’s quite a lightweight.

Tim Barkemo (SWE) - LHD - 21 - 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. - HockeyAllsvenskan

We’ll preface this by mentioning that you rarely see a Swedish UFA sign an ELC coming out of the second tier HockeyAllsvenskan. Then again, Barkemo had several solid U20 league seasons in the Skelleftea organization, even suiting up 13 times for the regular SHL contender. Last season was then his first full introduction to pro play, and he turned himself into a regular. This season, he turned himself into a top two defenseman who a number of SHL clubs are on the hunt for, with Skelleftea likely having the best cards. His 5-17-22 and +21 statline over 50 games is quite impressive for a player his age in a conservative league (scoring wise), but he put up six points in his team’s first round playoff sweep. Most importantly, he regularly sees upwards of 22 minutes of TOI per game. In his most recent playoff contest, he gobbled up 31:13 of ice time. We’re talking about a player that an NHL franchise could really mold quite directly as of next season. Otherwise, he’s clearly SHL-bound.

Maxim Fedotov (RUS) - RHD - 24 - 5-foot-10, 172 pounds. - KHL

That last name should ring a bell because Maxim is indeed Red Wings legend Sergei’s eldest son. The undersized righty shot defender actually had his best KHL season for Torpedo back in the 22-23 season, capped off by seven points in 10 playoff games. After finding lower line roles in the KHL in recent years, he was back in a top four role again this year, which he capped off with 24 points in 52 games, serving as his team’s best all-round defender after Artyom Serikov, who will hit the UFA market next summer. Fedotov now has loads of KHL experience, mostly with bottom-feeders, but without a KHL contract under his belt, the option is there to test his luck in North America and a certain someone may even be able to open a door or two to that opportunity.

Anton Kosolapov (RUS) - LW - 24 - 6-foot-1, 190 pounds. - KHL

Once a player with some good junior numbers, Kosolapov stood out mostly as a bit of a tenacious forechecker who liked to bang bodies. His VHL stats in recent years never really popped and until this season, it looked like he might just end up a minor leaguer in Russia for the long run. Then he got a shot with a new organization (Sibir Novosibirsk) and proceeded to go 17-21-38 and + 7 in 38 games. He’s still playing playoff hockey right now, but he’ll be a KHL free agent this offseason. It won’t be for long though as he’ll have a number of suitors and heck, he might be best served sticking with Sibir. But if an NHL team has seen something it likes, and Kosolapov put some wares on display, now is the time to bring him in, even if the plan would be to give him a year of AHL hockey and hope for the best.

Lucas Lagerberg Hoen (SWE) - LHD - 21 - 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. - SHL

For the draft gurus among us, you’ll recognize this last name and wonder what’s going on. No worries though, Lucas is just the older brother of Jonas, who is draft eligible this summer. But while Jonas unfortunately missed much of his draft season, Lucas was able to use this season to officially put his name on the map. It wasn’t a fairy tale ride though as Lagerberg Hoen spent some nights getting just 1-2 minutes of ice time and others with 19+, so there was a good bit of up and down in his role. But when all was said and done, he had eight points in 43 games and established himself as a physically adept youngster who skated and competed like an older player. This season came on the heels of two prior years in the HockeyAllsvenskan where he was often entrusted with a healthy dose of ice time. There’s a package here to build on and Lagerberg Hoen looks like the kind of player teams that haven’t drafted much in recent years would be interested in.

Danjo Leonhardt - LW - 23 - 5-foot-11, 185 pounds. - DEL

The stats won’t blow anyone away although his 29 points and +13 in 45 regular season games are career highs for a player who looks to explode in the DEL in coming years, but Leonhardt has long been on our watchlist and checks a number of boxes for teams that appreciate what the Ondrej Palats of the world can offer to an organization. He gets his nose dirty and does a lot of the little things right, making high value decisions all over the ice and being particularly effective around the opponent’s net. He’s been incrementally earning himself a closer look in recent years and it feels bound to come, next summer if not this one.

Aleksi Matinmikko (FIN) - RHD - 26 - 5-foot-11, 181 pounds. - Liiga

Some players just take a bit of time and Matinmikko is now one of those mid-20s European pros who is what he is, and you’ve got to wonder what a shot in North America might lead to. Having never played outside his native Finland, Matinmikko has been tasting Liiga waters since the 19-20 season, but it took a whopping 21-goal, 65-point season in the second tier Mestis to finally get the type of role he’s been auditioning for. Now he’s wrapping up his third year of full-time Liiga play and his 9-25-34 and +30 was clearly his best to date. His size is average and he isn’t the most mobile player around, but he has a bullet of a shot and has gotten incrementally better year after year for four seasons now.

Oleksii Myklukha (UKR) - C - 23 - 5-foot-10”, 176 pounds. - SVK

The former QMJHLer has never really given the scouting community the belief that he, at his size, had enough jam and enough tricks in the bag to become an NHL option. But in addition to last year’s playoffs, the agile Myklukha has exploded offensively in Slovakia’s top league. There’s a player here who creates time and space, then sets up the open players who can benefit from the newfound areas Myklukha has created, ringing up 18 goals and 55 points in 51 games this season. It’s clear that he’s ready to be playing in a higher profile league next season. Does an NHL team think that league should be the AHL?

Mikkel Oby-Olsen (NOR) - RW - 23 - 5-foot-11, 185 pounds. - HockeyAllsvenskan

Without a doubt, one of the slyest possibilities you’ll read about today. Despite playing almost a full season of HockeyAllsvenskan contests in the 22-23 season, he fell off a bit until latching on again last season to the tune of 25 points. That he’d push that production to 30 goals and 50 points in 54 games this season couldn’t have been expected. But it wasn’t just the numbers that made things special. It was the how. He’s been effective everywhere, controlling play as a puck-carrying trickster, making wonderful passes, and sniping from many spots, often on the power play. He was Almtuna’s all-purpose weapon and raised plenty of eyebrows this winter. The assist totals would have surely been more impressive if he had more talent to work with. We not only expect an SHL contact to be in the bag, but a spot on Norway’s next WC squad seems to be a given at this point. The question is if a team thinks it could find some unexpected gold by bringing over the Oby-Olsen train?

Jasper Patrikainen (FIN) - G - 25 - 6-foot-1, 176 pounds. - SVK

The smaller built battler had an eye-opening 22-23 season, when he pounced on an opportunity and put up a number of wins and some decent stats, but fell right back into more of a back-up role with time missed in each of the last two seasons of Liiga play. In fact, he was so disenchanted with where he was career wise, he jumped to Stavanger of the Norwegian league last season and went on an 8-1 tear in the playoffs. That landed him a gig in Slovakia and he’s been lights out this season, going 22-8 in the regular season with six shutouts. The 2.02 GAA and .930 save percentage haven’t been shabby either. In the middle of the playoffs, the question is if the size isn’t a deterrent, is he the dominating goalie we’ve seen in weaker leagues in Norway and Slovakia, or the player degraded after a strong season in the Finnish Liiga? Will an NHL team look to find out?

Eetu Randelin (FIN) - G - 24 - 5-foot-11, 187 pounds. - Liiga

Yet another smaller Finnish goalie, judging on size alone, you wouldn’t expect Randelin to be an NHL topic. But there’s a little engine that could aspect to his story, as he continues to beat the odds and work his way up the totem pole. Now he’s coming off his first season as a starter in Liiga action in which he put up a 21-9-6 record, steering his KooKoo club into the playoffs. He’s quick and agile, but most importantly, determined.

YEARLY SIDENOTE

As always, it bears mentioning every year that above and beyond the players listed above, the Swiss NL, SHL, and KHL - among others - are chock full of former NHLers, NHL draft picks, AHLers, Canadian juniors, and college hockey players, not to mention former European free agent signings of NHL teams that have since returned to Europe. These leagues also employ a large number of established pros who you’ll see dressing for their respective national teams. A prime example this year would be former Ranger and Golden Knight forward Oscar Lindberg, who exploded for 30 goals and 67 points in 52 regular season SHL games this season. Thus, these leagues also feature many players who were in the NHL in recent years or on the bubble to the NHL, usually as highly effective AHLers and as such, any number of these players could of course still be in the sightlines of NHL teams or maintain the connections that would see them return to a franchise in the coming months.

GERMANY: 2024-25 Hockey season kicks off!

Chapin Landvogt — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:30:36 +0000

Veit Oswald of Germany during the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Photo: Michael Erichsen / BILDBYRÅN / COP 89 / MI0591

The 24-25 season has been starting up across pro and junior leagues throughout Germany this past week. And we’re as excited as can be about some of the stories that should be unfolding on the prospect scene throughout the season.

One of key stories we’ll be following this season revolves around the DEL’s most successful clubs the past decade, the Munich Red Bulls. Aside from opening up a new arena, which will be the most modern in all of Europe, the team was one of the least active on the international market despite acquiring recent AHLer Adam Brooks and former NHLer - and cog in the German ice hockey scene - Tobias Rieder, who’ll be making his DEL debut. The underlying story is that the team appears to ready to double down on its intentions of bringing along internally developed U23 players such as goaltender Simon Wolf (20), defensemen Sten Fischer (21) and Jakob Weber (20), and forwards Filip Varejcka (23), Quirin Bader, Nikolaus Heigl (both 21), and Veit Oswald (20), who was the DEL’s shooting star last winter.

Oswald also proved to be a bit of a surprise seeing as how season’s such as the one he had have often led to getting drafted. It didn’t, but it did ultimately lead to him being invited to Toronto’s summer development camp. With a set role in a team filled with renewed championship ambitions, it still needs to be denoted that Oswald won’t turn 21 until August of 2025, so his draft eligibility is not yet a thing of the past.

And when one considers how similar his season was last year to the final season JJ Peterka had for the same club before jumping to the AHL, there’s probably no-one in the organization who’ll be more excited about the new arena’s opening night festivities, which will feature a match-up against Peterka’s Buffalo Sabres.

This all said, we’ve viewed goaltender Wolf as one of the most hidden goaltending talents in Europe in recent years and as things are now, he has a very good shot of sliding in as the team’s back-up goaltender, a move his pro play in the AlpsHL to date has supported. Could he become the next Arno Tiefensee?

Draftees

Speaking of which, naturally piquing our interest is what the season has in store for draft picks Kevin Bicker (DET), Hakan Hänelt (WAS), Nikita Quapp (CAR), and yes, Tiefensee (DAL). Of the three, Tiefensee is by far the most established and backed his surprisingly effective overage draft season with a 19-13 record and 2.43 GAA as the verified number 1 in goal for Mannheim last season, kicking that latter stat up a bit 2.32 in 7 playoff games. His upward trend is thoroughly expected to continue this season and on the whole, he’s in an ideal developmental spot for a player taken with a later round selection.

As for Bicker, Hänelt, and Quapp, all three are in more unique situations. For Bicker, this is Year 2 of his (probably rushed) DEL career, which saw him gather all of 3 points in 41 games last season before a leg injury ended his season prematurely. Bicker’s game is built on speed and after showing off his wares adequately at the WJC, he’s entering this year not only with a more prominent role in store for Frankfurt, but also the responsibility of being a go-to driver for this winter’s WJC. Hänelt’s great success last season was in actually getting through the season without any major physical setbacks. Otherwise, his 3 points in 40 games were nothing to write home about and he would need to make a big splash this season to re-garner a slot on the radar of prospect viability, as he’s quickly become an afterthought.

The 6’4” Quapp, on the other hand, is entering his first true DEL season after going 11-14 with a 2.63 GAA and .920 SV% in the DEL2 last season, decent numbers for a team that is among the most financially restricted in that respective league. He’ll now back up Norwegian international Henrik Haukeland, where he’ll have little competition entering the season. Furthermore, his Düsseldorf squad is itself among the most financially strapped in the DEL, meaning they’ll be counting on him as no less than a solid number 2 in net, with fire hydrant style responsibility if things sour. That’s how the season may have to kick off after Haukeland was injured in the most recent test game and is doubtful to be back in time for the opener.

U20 players

Unlike its European counterparts in Sweden, Finland, and even the Czech Republic, the number of players aged 17-19 who see ice time in the DEL can usually be counted on one hand during any given season. This leaves us wondering about the fates of a handful of youngsters who have been signed by DEL teams, unknowing what’s on dock for them. About the most fascinating thing that could happen on this front is seeing Dustin Willhöft (MAN), David Lewandowski (DUS), and Mateu Späth (CLG) wiggle their way into DEL action this season, hopefully even a (semi-)regular shift. That’s the kind of thing talents such as these tend to do in the aforementioned countries, even at the age of 17.

But there are a few more we’ll be watching closely. Edwin Tropmann (COL) was a top prospect heading into last season, as was Paul Mayer (MAN). And while Mayer saw DEL action and then finished the season with a fairly regular shift in the DEL2 - showing little statwise at either station - Tropmann’s early-season injury threw him out of the loop almost completely. We recently saw him playing this summer for the nation’s U20 team and he looked like he was getting back to form as the team’s top defenseman. These two defensemen are on the outside looking in with their DEL clubs, but both are strong likelihoods at one of the other two levels of pro hockey and should each be locks for the WJC team.

So, what will come of 6’7”, 207-pound defenseman Rio Kaiser in his draft year? He already got into 20 pro games (3 at the DEL level) this past season while being “Okay” at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup this summer. He’s already played both of Berlin’s Champions Hockey League games, so he’s getting a look. And that size just does not grow on trees. A very similar scenario has set in for 5’7” Alexander Vladelchtchikov with Bremerhaven, a defenseman who looked like he might be all the rage back when he was 14. A strong DNL season last year finally earned the 19-year-old a DEL contract with Bremerhaven, a team that has traditionally had problems bringing in younger German talent. But even among draft-eligible defenseman, he has overager Rayan Bettahar ahead of him, a player who lost a good portion of last season to a broken jaw when he was cheap-shotted after making a thundering open-ice check. He has been getting long looks in the preseason. Chances are that Vladelchtchikov will see time in the DEL2 instead, where he recently got his first pro league assist.

Two more players we had on our draft radar not too long ago were defender Lua Niehus of Frankfurt and forward Linus Brandl of Straubing, both now 19. Heading into last season, much was expected of each but Niehus got into injury trouble while Brandl found himself basically being a 13th forward for Landshut in the DEL2. Both were part of Germany’s WJC entry, but Brandl’s role was that of an extra forward while Niehus’ tournament was already over after one game. The skill levels each possess were never really in question until last season, when the expectations proved to clearly be overwhelming, with Brandl’s skating weaknesses proving to be damning while Niehus’ 5’9”, 160-pound body just wasn’t up to the physical task. Will both or either take the next step already this season? Barring injury, you’ll see both at the WJC.

Getting long in the prospect tooth is former Rögle prospect, forward Roman Kechter (20), who was wonderful for Nuremberg last season, collecting 17 points and +1 rating over 42 games. He also captained the U20 team after having captained the U18 team in 2022. We mention him here because he’s finding himself in a situation with a low-budget team where he’ll be fully expected to carry the load of a top 9 forward and see situational ice time in what could be a lot of hard scenarios. In fact, there’s likely not a 20-year-old in the league who’ll have a more concrete regular shift and responsibility than Kechter. And it’ll bear watching.

What we can also say is that particularly Düsseldorf, Iserlohn, and Nuremberg look bound to make use of plenty of U23 players, with a good handful being under 20. Particularly forwards Lenny Boos (17) in Düsseldorf, Max Brunner (18) in Iserlohn, and defenseman Max Merkl (18) are players who bring above-average skill sets to the table (by German standards) and each was a cog in seeing the U18 team gain promotion this past spring. With Boos being the son of a long-time DEL pro, Brunner having spent the past two seasons in Sweden, and Merkl already the author of 15 DEL appearances in his young career, it’s not unreasonable to think each will see some DEL action this season. A breakthrough by any could earn draft consideration.

UFAs to be?

The league will also feature a number of young players we feel continue to be of interest to NHL teams under the right circumstances. Defenseman Colin Ugbekile (22) and Leon Hüttl (23) top that list on the defensive front. Each has established himself as an up-n-comer in the national team and each is an absolute cog on his team’s blueline, contributing value in all three zones. Ugbekile even became a power play specialist last season, putting up 12 goals and 33 points. Cologne’s goaltender, Tobias Ancicka (23), finally established himself as a DEL starter last season, going 23-15 with a 2.51 GAA. After spending part of his junior years in Finland, this son of a former German national team member (of Czech descent) is finally turning promise into results and will play for a Sharks team that has as much pressure as anyone to perform this season, seeing as how it has the best attendance in Europe and few championships to show for it.

His teammate Justin Schütz (24), a former draft pick of the Florida Panthers, put up a league-leading 30 goals in 55 games last season. Snubbed from the national team before the Men’s WC, it’s safe to say that he’ll be looking to verify last season’s results with a renewed push towards an NHL contract. At the same time, there’s probably not a German player in the league who has the wheels, hockey IQ, and hands of Wojciech Stachowiak, a 25-year-old forward who saw his stats drop a wee bit in DEL play last season, but then went 2-7-9 in 8 WC games in the Czech Republic. It’s difficult imagining a player with his drive and overall package not getting a look in North America at some point. There’s simply too much hustle there.

It wasn’t too long ago that we spilled some words in favor of now 22-year-old forwards Alexander Blank, Danjo Leonhardt, and former OHLer Josh Samanski. All three will be taking on even bigger roles for their teams, with Blank fighting relegation from the get-go while the latter two will be aiming for a top 4 spot in the league with their Straubing Tigers. And while Blank continues to see his game grow into that of a playmaker, there were times last year where we found ourselves thinking that it won’t be long until Leonhardt’s 13 goals turn into 25. He’s certainly got the surrounding cast for it this year. Neither is as entrenched in their team’s plans as Samanski is, who is on the fast track to a more stable spot in the national team. The 6’6” forwards skates like he’s 5 inches shorter and broke through last season with 12 goals and 33 points. It’s going to be hard for the NHL not to take notice if 40+ points and WC appearance ends up being in the cards for him this season.

Sticking with the Tigers, goaltender Florian Bugl (6’1”, 187 pounds) has really been nothing short of spectacular the past few seasons. He’s now 22 and although long thought to be ahead of Dallas’ Arno Tiefensee, hasn’t been drafted. But he’s put up 17-8 and then 15-8 records the past two seasons and even got into 3 of his team’s 6 playoff games last season. He once again has a veteran North American goaltender to share duties with, but with his Straubing Tigers now in the Champions Hockey League and fully expected to be a top 4 club in the DEL again, there’s no reason to believe he’ll see fewer starts than he has to date as “spreading the wealth” will be part of the goaltending ice time plan.

DEL2

As wonderful as it is to theorize about possible draftees getting their feet wet in the DEL, it’s the second tier DEL2 that plays a much more significant role for the development of draftable youngsters. There’s usually more ice time to go around and teams are regularly looking for cheaper options for lower line roles. In addition, there’s a U23 role in place that downright requires the team to suit up a certain number of players 22 or younger for every game. We even expect many of the names listed above to more likely find themselves taking shifts here rather than the DEL as just about every DEL team has an affiliate in the lower ranks to whom they send their most promising youngsters.

The most prominent parking stations are Munich’s affiliate Kaufbeuren and Berlin’s affiliate Lausitz. These teams usually have some of the smaller league budgets, but see their rosters pepped up with youngsters the DEL teams acquire or bring up through their own junior programs. This year, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Kaufbeuren samples Jakob Peukert (D/18), Fabian Nifosi (D/20), Leon Sivic (F/20), and Jonas Fischer (F/19). The same is true for Lausitz with respect to the aforementioned Kaiser (D/17), Marlon Braun (D/20), Nils Elten (D/21), and Filip Ziesche (F/19). If we’re lucky, Linus Vieillard (G/18) will already be up to the task, as we’d like nothing more than to see him force his way into WJC consideration. He’s been slyly good wherever he’s played to date.

While at it, Nico Pertuch (19) is looking like the frontrunner for the spot as Germany’s #1 at the WJC and he spent all of last season as the back-up in Ravensburg. That role - including more ice time - is all but certain this season, so he’ll be a name to follow closely. We’ve liked him since he was 17, but the 6’2”, 212-pounder really took some major steps last season and shows some impressive mental fortitude.

As far as players are concerned who were already in scout’s notebooks this past summer and who could certainly gain overage drafting consideration with a strong winter are Kassel’s Clemens Sager and Weiden’s Elias Pul, both forwards. A north/south player with some moxy, Sager has a penchant for being very involved in board work while smart enough to compliment skill players of any sort. His team is a heavy favorite for the DEL2 championship and with that, promotion to the DEL. Will he get the ice time we’d hope for on such a loaded squad? That’s something we won’t really need to be asking with respect to league newbie Weiden, which has plucked the solid two-way Pul from the Red Bull Juniors program and looks ready to force-feed him with DEL2 minutes. He’ll need to adjust to bigger and better opponents, but if the talent and overall wherewithal we’ve come to know from him truly speak of his package, then he could be turning a lot of heads by season’s end.

DNL

At the nation’s top junior level, Landshut was the surprise victor last spring, coming back from being down 2-0 in the series against powerhouse Berlin to come out on top with a 3-2 Best-of-Five victory, much of that success on the backs of forwards Tobias Schwarz and Simon Seidl. The two not only lead the way offensively throughout the playoffs, but also got into several dozen DEL2 games as well as a starring role in the D1A U18 Worlds, where Germany went 5-0 in gaining promotion back into the elite group. With DEL contracts in their pockets (Straubing), the sky's the limit for the duo, which is expected to spend most the season back in the DEL2, but should be about a lock for Germany at the WJC.

This DNL season will nonetheless be one that is all about redemption for traditional powerhouse Mannheim, a program that will host one of the biggest storylines coming out of Germany, a young man we’ve been talking about for a bit now named Max Penkin. We’re not going to hold back in saying that he’s the most dynamic forward prospect coming out of Germany since Tim Stützle. That’s the trajectory at this point. Now, Mannheim started slowly out of the gates last season and found itself on the outside looking in once the initial qualification round concluded after just 14 games, placing the team in a B group that would battle to retain the class and thus, out of championship contention.

This hiccup surely will be a thing of the past and many of the reasons could be seen at the Eli Palfreyman Memorial Invitational in Canada at the conclusion of August. There, fans were able to see Penkin’s exploits. To clarify, Penkin is a 15-year-old who is first eligible for the 2027 draft. He dominated the U17 league last season and is set to be a go-to figure already this year, maybe even getting a look at the pro level. He is that intriguing and he’s actually so young that he had to gain “Exceptional Status” to be permitted to play at the DNL level already this season.

But fans at the tournament above were also able to see several other players who’ll look to be draft topics next summer, namely crafty tiny tot Dustin Willhöft, defenseman Nick Mahler, and dynamic twins Gustavs and Rihards Griva, originally from Latvia. We’re also excited to see what 18-year old overager Nikita Zhvanov (Tschwanow) will be able to do after a shortened 23-24 season saw him put up 28 points in 33 games and another 9 (and +9) in 18 games for 3rd league pro team Heilbronn.

Along with Mannheim, the usual suspects are expected to throw their hats into the championship picture, namely Berlin and Cologne. And with Germany back with the big boys at the U18 level, the DNL will continue to hold great importance as the provider of what will likely be over 50% of the team come next April. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup this past summer once again saw Germany overwhelmed at times, but a 2-1 victory over Finland was huge for the program and a placement game loss to Switzerland saw a wonderful effort by Germany tossed down the tubes with a late breakdown.

With that in mind, some of the most exciting DNL names to follow this year are those of Maxim Schäfer, Elias Schneider, Tom Fitschen, Moritz Kretschmar (all Berlin), Tobin Brandt, Noah and Marco Münzenberger (both roughly 6’4” and no confirmed relation to Edmonton prospect Luca), Matthias Pape, Max Ziergiebel (all Cologne), Niclas Focks, Konstantin Redinger, Tim Schütz (all Krefeld), Peukert (Kaufbeuren), and Fabio & Timo Kose (Regensburg).

Following the DNL this year will be about focussing on what talent forces its way onto the U18 roster. If any come into WJC consideration, then we’re talking about an exception of sorts as Coach Abstreiter rarely strays from his eldest options, most of whom have pro or CHL experience under their belts.

But to be clear, we’re here to see just how far Penkin can take his prospect star at this early stage in his career. He’s got 3 points in the loaded team’s first 5 games.

2023 NHL DRAFT: SECOND CHANCES PART THREE – EUROPE – 2nd and 3rd year NHL draft re-entry candidates

Brock Otten, Chapin Landvogt, Matej Deraj, Viktor Fomich, Chase Rochon — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 20:07:13 +0000

In a normal year, scouting hockey is marred by imperfection. Every year high end players get skipped over at the NHL draft for various reasons. Maybe they suffered through injuries. Maybe their team struggled, and it prevented scouts from getting a good read on them. Maybe their team was too good, forcing them down the depth chart with limited minutes and exposure opportunities. Or...maybe they just were not good enough. But thankfully human development is nonlinear and therefore unpredictable. Teenage hockey players are far from a finished product on the ice as their games mature just as the rest of their body and mind does. That is why it is critical to track players as they move through their second and third years of draft eligibility (or fourth years of eligibility for some European players).

The million-dollar question is…are we still playing catch-up as a scouting community following the resumption of play post pandemic? Last year, this was definitely the case as leagues returned to full seasons. But are certain players still growing exponentially as they try to recover lost development time? This is particularly true of players in the CHL and in Europe, where most junior leagues halted.

For those unfamiliar, North American players with birth dates from January 1st to September 15th, will be eligible for three NHL drafts. Players with birth dates from September 16th to December 31st, will be eligible for two NHL drafts. And for European players (in European leagues), extend that eligibility by one year in both cases. Recently, NHL scouts have increased the rate with which they are selecting “re-entry” candidates, or players previously passed over. Contract limits have made it critical for teams to spread out where they select players from, in addition to their age. This has made second- and third-year eligible U.S. and European based players especially attractive. However, these players have had a lot of success in recent years too. Look around the league and you see these players everywhere. For example, Calgary Flames standout defender Mackenzie Weegar was one. Ottawa Senators standout forward Drake Batherson was one. So too was Winnipeg Jets starter Connor Hellebuyck. Standout Tampa Bay Lightning rookie defender Nick Perbix was one.

Last year, four “re-entry” candidates went in the Top 100; Dmitri Buchelnikov, Lucas Edmonds, Mikey Milne, and Aidan Thompson. In our “second chances” article last year (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) we wrote about three of those four. In total there were 42 taken, right around the trend of other recent drafts (roughly about 20% of all players selected). Additionally, of those 42, we identified and wrote about 25 (over half of them) in our aforementioned second chances series. Just like in previous editions of this annual report, we aim to identify more.

In 2023, we have some very interesting candidates. Adam Gajan stole the show at this year’s WJC’s for Slovakia and has been a standout in the NAHL and USHL this year. Eric Pohlkamp was one of the MVPs of the WJAC and has been at the top of the USHL defenseman scoring race all year. Austin Roest has been top ten in WHL scoring all year long and has taken huge strides forward. This article intends to highlight them and many other candidates who could be part of that 20% this year.

Sweden

230203Västerås goalkeeper Ian Blomquist during the ice hockey match in the Hockeyallsvenskan between AIK and Västerås on February 3, 2023 in Stockholm.
Photo: Andreas L Eriksson / BILDBYRÅN

Ian Blomquist - Goaltender - Västerås IK (Hockey Allsvenskan)

We actually listed Blomquist last year in this piece and ranked him #193 in our draft guide after his breakout campaign in the J20 league. A 6 '2 netminder with a rare right handed catching glove, Blomquist ended up going undrafted (for a second time), but has returned this year even stronger. Playing with Vasteras IK in the Swedish second league, he has been the team’s best netminder this year and this earned him a spot as the third goalie on team Sweden at the WJC’s. Blomquist is athletic and aggressive in the crease and has worked hard to improve his body control, positioning, and rebound control this season now that he is playing pro. Consistency and mental focus will be the key moving forward. (Brock Otten)

Alexander Hellnemo - Goaltender - Skellefteå AIK (SHL)

A classic late bloomer, Hellnemo has emerged as one of the top young goaltenders in Sweden a year after being passed over at the draft following a disappointing year at the J20 and J18 levels. He has won five games in the SHL as a U19 player and has been arguably one of the best goalies at the J20 level when he has played there. Hellnemo is a pure stopper. His movements are very refined for a young netminder and he’s got a great glove hand that helps him protect the upper portion of the net. Rebound control is a bit of an issue at this current time, but with his play tracking ability, he has the potential to be a netminder across the pond. (Brock Otten)

Sebastian Hagen Aarsund - Goaltender - Frölunda HC J20 (J20 Nationell)

A Norwegian netminder, Hagen Aarsund has emerged as the starter for the Frolunda program’s J20 team this season. As of writing this, he sits third in the league in wins and even earned a call-up to be Fredrik Dichow’s back-up for a game in the SHL. Hagen Aarsund is an ultra-aggressive, hyper athletic butterfly netminder who really covers his crease well. He’s not huge at 6’1, but he combats that by playing far out of the blue paint, tracking the play well. The second half of his season hasn’t been as strong and he’s had some trouble with consistency, but his progression this season could put him on the scouting radar. (Brock Otten)

Måns Forsfjäll - Defense - Skellefteå AIK (SHL)

Måns Forsfjäll has an effective two-way game, but his defensive game is where he succeeds. In the 2021-22 and 22-23 seasons, he leaped to the SHL, and Fjorsfäll didn’t look out of place while defending the higher competition. Strength and skating are two areas where Forsfjäll excels. His effort and positioning on defence make him an excellent penalty killer with the speed and smooth skating required to drive offence off the rush. Forsfjäll has the potential to be a shutdown defender who plays a depth role as the sixth or seventh defender on an NHL team who can be counted on in important moments as well as on the penalty kill. I don’t expect him to put up many points in the NHL, but he has the skills to succeed as a defensive defenseman. Forsfjäll will be ready to take a step next season if he can find a role in the AHL. (Chase Rochon)

Victor Sjöholm - Defense - Luleå HF (SHL)

Sjöholm is a smooth skater with good acceleration and top-end speed. He can pivot and change directions quickly, making him effective in transition and in his defensive zone. Sjöholm is a reliable defender who uses his body and sticks well to separate opponents from the puck. He has good positioning and can anticipate plays, making him effective in both man-to-man coverage and zone defence. Sjöholm is not a particularly physical player, but he is willing to engage in battles along the boards and in front of the net. He has a hard and accurate shot from the point and can contribute to the power play. Sjöholm is an intelligent player who reads the game well and makes good decisions with the puck. Sjöholm is a reliable, two-way defenseman with good skating and defensive abilities. While he may not be a significant offensive contributor, he can play a valuable role on any team and should be a solid addition to any team's prospect pool. (Chase Rochon)

Oskar Asplund - Forward - Färjestad BK (SHL)

Asplund is an excellent skater with great speed, agility, and balance. He has a quick first step and can accelerate well, which allows him to beat defenders and create scoring chances. His ability to change directions and maneuver in tight spaces is also impressive. Asplund has a good wrist shot and can score from various areas on the ice. He has a quick release and can get his shot off in tight spaces. Asplund is a skilled puck-handler who can stickhandle through traffic and make creative plays with the puck. He has good hands and can make saucer passes and dekes to create scoring opportunities. His ability to protect the puck and win battles along the boards is also noteworthy. Asplund is not a particularly physical player but is fearless in engaging in battles along the boards or in front of the net. He has good balance and can hold his own against bigger opponents. However, he could benefit from adding more strength to his frame. Asplund is also a skilled forward with excellent skating ability and puck skills. He has the potential to be a dynamic offensive player at the next level and has shown an ability to play a responsible two-way game. He could become a valuable player in any team's lineup with continued development and added strength. (Chase Rochon)

Erik Påhlsson - Defence - HV71 (SHL)

Erik Påhlsson is a skilled and versatile defenseman with excellent skating ability and a high hockey IQ. He has a powerful stride that allows him to cover a lot of ground quickly, and he can change direction on a dime. He has excellent agility and balance, enabling him to evade forecheckers and promptly move the puck up the ice. Påhlsson has a fantastic offensive game, thanks to his incredible vision and ability to move the puck effectively. He also possesses good offensive instincts and is unafraid to join the rush to create scoring opportunities. Påhlsson is a reliable and responsible defender who uses his mobility and positioning to defend effectively. He is not a physical player, but he makes up for it by playing smart. He is also a solid penalty killer, demonstrating his ability to shut down opponents' power plays. Erik Påhlsson is a talented defenseman who has the potential to become a valuable asset to any team. His excellent skating ability, offensive skills, and responsible defensive play make him a well-rounded player who can contribute in all situations. (Chase Rochon)

Hannes Hellberg - Forward - Leksands IF J20 (J20 Nationell)

Hellberg's skating is one of his biggest strengths. He has excellent acceleration and top-end speed, which allows him to create separation from defenders and generate scoring opportunities. He also has good agility and balance, enabling him to change direction quickly and maintain control of the puck. Hellberg is an offensive-minded player who excels at creating scoring chances for himself and his teammates. He has good hands and can handle the puck in tight spaces, which makes him difficult to defend. He has a quick release and a hard, accurate shot, which he can use to beat goaltenders from any angle. He is also an influential playmaker who can set up his teammates with well-timed passes. Hellberg is a responsible two-way player who understands the importance of solid defence. He is unafraid to backcheck and uses his size and reach to disrupt opponents' offensive plays. He is also an effective penalty killer, using his speed to pressure the puck carrier and block passing lanes. His size, speed, and skill make him a dynamic offensive threat, while his defensive awareness and work ethic make him a well-rounded player. (Chase Rochon)

Adrian Carnebo - Defense - Djurgårdens IF J20 (J20 Nationell)

Carnebo has excellent skating abilities and can maneuver around the ice with great speed and agility. Carnebo has a natural ability to find the back of the net. He has a quick release on his shot and can pick his spots well. He also has a good sense of where his teammates are on the ice, which allows him to create scoring chances for them. Despite being a smaller player, Carnebo is fearless in getting physical on the ice. He is willing to battle in the corners and in front of the net and is not afraid to throw his body around to make a play. While Carnebo's offensive abilities are impressive, his defensive play could improve. He tends to focus more on the offensive side of the game, which can lead to him being caught out of position defensively. As mentioned earlier, Carnebo is a smaller player and could benefit from adding strength to his frame. This would help him better battle against larger and more physical players. (Chase Rochon)

Hampus Malm - Defense - Leksands IF J20 (J20 Nationell)

Malm is a smooth skater who can quickly move around the ice. He has good speed and agility, which helps him keep up with opposing forwards and make plays in transition. Malm is an intelligent player who understands his defensive responsibilities well. He is able to read the space well and make quick decisions to shut down opposing forwards despite not being the biggest player on the ice. Like many young players, Malm can be inconsistent at times. He needs to bring his best game every night and avoid lapses in his play. Hampus Malm is a reliable defenseman who can shut down opposing forwards and play a physical game. While he may provide little offence at this point in his career, he has the potential to improve in that area with more experience and development. If he can work on his puck skills and consistency, he could become a valuable asset for his team at the next level. (Chase Rochon)

Finland

Jani Lampinen - Goaltender - Kiekko-Espoo (Mestis)

Interestingly enough, Lampinen was better in Mestis (the Finnish second league) last year, but it was his performance at this year’s World Junior Championship that really caught the eye of scouts. Lampinen outplayed Canucks draft pick Aku Koskenvuo by a significant margin and finished the tournament with a .933 save percentage. He’s not huge (at pushing 6’2), but he has plus athleticism and is an excellent play tracker. This gives him great upside as he fine tunes some of the technical components of his game. (Brock Otten)

Juha Jatkola - Goaltender - KalPa (Liiga)

In his final year of draft eligibility, the last calendar year has been a whirlwind for Jatkola. It started this summer at the make-up WJC’s, where he stole the Finnish starter’s role from Ottawa prospect Leevi Merilainen. It has since carried over to Liiga, where Jatkola has become a dependable starter at the age of 20 (he turns 21 later this September). Much like Lampinen, Jatkola relies on his quickness and athleticism because he doesn’t have a massive frame (listed at 6 '1). His improvement over the last few years has been phenomenal and as long as he continues to be aggressive in the crease, he could have a bright future. (Brock Otten)

Nestor Noiva - Wing - Jokerit U20 (U20 SM-sarja)

Last season Nestor Noiva did not hear his name called in Montreal, despite a great season in U18 SM-sarja, where he scored 32 goals and 60 points in 35 games. He played a very aggressive game with his high motor, physicality and strength, making it very hard for defenders to take the puck as he evaded pressure with the combination of his puck protection skills and his acceleration. He often cuts at the top of the circle to create high-danger chances. I felt last season, Nestor's shot was holding him back from his true potential. This season has changed, and Noiva has a cannon. He still sticks to lots of slap shots and one-timers from the top of the circle like last season but now has grown with adding accuracy to his power and adapted to diversify his shot by taking more wrist and snapshots. Overall, Noiva has strong enough smarts to advance to the next level and has above-average puck skills and passing ability. Skating is the main area that will need to be progressed for Nestor to make an impact at the next level with below-average mobility and edges that force him to play a very north/south style. I think many scouts will value Novias physicality and shooting, which will translate much better in North America with his capability in tight. Teams should take a chance on him in the later rounds in hopes of eventually adding an energy-depth player into their system. (Chase Rochon)

Elmeri Laakso - Defense - Saipa (Liiga)

Elmeri Laakso is not a player that will blow anyone away with flashy plays or big hits. You probably wouldn't notice him just watching a full game. This is not meant as a criticism about Laakso’s game but actually a positive component. Laakso makes minimal to no mistakes, which makes him a very reliable defenseman. The reason he wasn't chosen last year, I think, came down to his lack of aggressiveness defensively as he missed coverage in the slot from time to time, as well as his inefficiency in puck battles. These issues have been cleaned up this season, and if anything, they have become staples to Laakso’s game, showing how much he has grown and is driven by self-improvement. He plays a game that is super team-friendly, making safe, poised plays and taking the ice his opponents give. What makes Laakso really stand out for me is his shot. He can shoot from any location, at any range, and manages to always get the puck through traffic and on the net. A quick release that holds lots of power that always manages to find the net like a magnet is very impressive. Putting this all together with strong mobility, built around quick feet and tight edges, Laakso makes a great case to be selected this year. He has experience on both the PK and PP and has shown he is effective at both. Again, Elmeri Laakso will not blow anyone away with elite talent, but when he has the puck on his stick, his efficiency is impressive. (Chase Rochon)

Oiva Keskinen - Center - Tappara U20 (U20 SM-sarja)

Oiva Keskinen is a defence-first center who plays a very passive game with minimal risk. Keskinen has the most important skill a hockey player can possess, that is his smarts and awareness, which benefit him greatly. Most of Oiva’s points come from the right place, right time situations, as he always puts himself in the best position to be an option. Keskinen is most valuable in his own zone by playing as the third defenseman by taking away passing lanes and tying up attackers in the slot. You rarely catch him out of position, which shows his defence-first style of play, making him a trusted player on the ice in most situations by his coaches. Oiva is an above-average skater that I think he could use more to his advantage on the attack and when pressuring attackers. Due to his passive playstyle, the speed he is capable of isn't used to its highest potential. For Keskinen to take the next step to pro, he will need to work on his overall physical hockey skills. Hockey is a mental game but very hard to play at the next level if you do not have any elite skill level. It comes down to matter if his smarts and development continues to grow over the next few seasons. I can see Keskinen being on NHL scout’s radar this year, but I'm not sure I see him being selected. (Chase Rochon)

Russia

Yaroslav Tsulygin - Defense - Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)

Yaroslav Tsulygin is a right-handed defenseman, who is mobile, competent in terms of puck skills, has a solid 6’2” frame and isn’t afraid to put it to use even though he still needs to properly fill it out. Last season, even though he showed some flashes of what he can do in the MHL, he still was a bit in a process of putting these tools into a proper toolbox, so that, combined with the COVID-limited exposure and reemergence of the Russian factor, resulted in him getting undrafted on draft day even though those raw talents likely were noticed by scouts in some way. This season he is getting regular time at the KHL level (should be mentioned that it helps that his father is the assistant coach on the team) and looks competent there at the age of just 18, which isn’t a frequent thing to see. Although some injuries slightly spoiled his season and even taking into account that there’s still a lot of progress to be made, I think this year it will be hard to ignore him, as he is clearly just getting started and his development is expected to continue. (Viktor Fomich)

Bogdan Konyushkov - Defense - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)

This KHL season is a bit unusual as due to all the recent political events the number of KHL foreigners was basically cut to half of the usual amount. This resulted in some roster spot openings and a lot of KHL managers rightly decided those should be used as a chance for younger players to succeed in these roles. Probably the brightest example of that kind of case is right-handed defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov, as coming into his second year of draft eligibility he had yet to play in the KHL nor in the MHL, so had as little exposure as possible. That didn’t stop the new Torpedo head coach Igor Larionov from noticing him and making him a top pairing defenseman on his KHL team. Even though he isn’t extremely flashy or athletic, Konyushkov’s main asset is his hockey sense, as he is very competent at defensive positioning and puck battles. This also makes him creative in the attacking zone and it should be mentioned that he has got great hands, which allows him to be an extremely precise passer as well as an effective powerplay orchestrator. Obviously, I can’t tell you about the NHL managers and scouts, but to me this sounds like the case of a potential solid mid-to-late round investment. (Viktor Fomich)

Stanislav Yarovoi - Wing - Vityaz Moscow Region (KHL)

In some ways Stanislav Yarovoi’s name was likely already familiar, after a shootout goal in the MHL earned almost two million views on youtube. However, aside from that, his performance on the junior level wasn’t remarkable to say it mildly, as the consistency just wasn’t there and he failed to convince the coaches that he deserved a proper role even at that level. Things just somehow turned around this offseason, as Yarovoi came to his KHL team’s camp much stronger and more confident than before and when he was given an opportunity in the preseason games, he just held onto it. He has taken off and is currently sitting among the top U20 scorers in the KHL. In terms of the assets aside from the aforementioned fascinating puck skills, Yarovoi is dynamic, possesses a strong and precise right-handed shot and looks to be at least not useless in terms of the two-way game. That said, there is still some inherent risk in selecting players like him who suddenly come out of nowhere to break out, but the upside here is likely significant. (Viktor Fomich)

German Tochilkin - Wing - Kunlun Red Star (KHL)

Observations show that when a skilled young player looks comfortable playing in Russian pro leagues it is a sign that there are enough reasons to consider him a legit NHL draft candidate. However, despite looking good in the VHL in his initial draft season, winger German Tochilkin wasn’t selected in the last draft – might be because of the lack of exposure or due to the Russian factor, although him being relatively raw in terms of the all-around game also certainly contributed to that. This year he made progress in that way and not only has he looked like an offensive leader at the VHL level, but also has translated some of it to the KHL level too, as he has been loaned to Kunlun team (coached by a former AHL coach Greg Ireland) and is using his opportunities (limited, but still) there well. Tochilkin is a smooth skater with advanced puck skills, definitely knows how to put the puck into the net and also doesn’t look like a liability on his own end. A lot of progress still needs to be made, as he definitely needs to become much stronger, but his skill set looks really intriguing enough to me. (Viktor Fomich)

Czechia

Jiri Tichacek.

Jiří Ticháček – Defense – Rytíři Kladno (Czechia)

Passed on twice mainly due to his size (5´9”), Ticháček is a smaller and mobile defenseman whose numbers don´t scream of great potential, but his play does. He is an exceptionally smart two-way defenseman who likes to join the attack, yet doesn't forget about defense. He has shown his abilities at the last World Juniors, playing on the first pair alongside David Jiříček as one of the crucial players of the silver Czech squad. Ticháček´s best quality is probably his skating; he´s shifty, agile and has a terrific top speed. He uses his stick well and excels at both ends of the ice. However, he's not having a great season in the Czech Extraliga with Rytíři Kladno, the team Jaromír Jágr still plays on. There are still not many NHL defensemen of the said size, but Ticháček could be worth a gamble in the later rounds.

Slovakia

Maroš Jedlička – Wing/Center – HKM Zvolen (Slovakia)

Jedlička had an impressive last year with Zvolen, finishing the season as the leading scorer on a pretty stacked team in Slovak top tier league. An injury stripped him of representing Slovakia at the Men´s World Championship and possibly improving his draft stock. The 20-year-old forward is now in his final year of eligibility. Although he had a slower start to the season, he’s now playing his best hockey. Jedlička has decent size (6´2”, 200 lbs), plays hard, physical and creates a lot of offense. He has a dangerous wrist shot and likes to shoot from various different areas around the ice. Furthermore, he´s a capable penalty killer and brings a lot of energy and grit. It's very hard not to see Jedlička moving to North America after the season. He has the potential to be an effective bottom-six, or even a middle-six winger, if he continues on the same path. (Matej Deraj)

Germany

Florian Bugl - Goaltender - Straubing Tigers (DEL)

In the past, we’ve talked about Bugl’s feats at the WJC, where he had a 4-2 record and 2.99 GAA over two tournaments. We’ve also mentioned his feats as the starter for the RB Junior’s pro team in the AlpsHL over the past two years, sporting records of 12-12 and then 13-7. None of that got him drafted, so he’s simply grabbed every opportunity he’s gotten this season as one of two back-ups for the DEL’s Straubing Tigers. And the results have been mighty impressive. After initially seeing action in six games with Straubing’s DEL2 affiliate Landshut, where he shined with a 4-2 record, 2.35 GAA, and .921 save percentage, he was then forced into DEL action when American starter Hunter Miska went down with an injury. What then ensued, Bugl has taken the whole league by storm. Hel has racked up a 15-7 record to date, often baffling opponents with a 2.36 GAA and .907 save percentage. Now we’ll have to see if one of those teams with a healthy supply of late-round picks is ready to bet on him as much as he’s continued betting on himself. Straubing quickly re-upped him for next season this past month. (Chapin Landvogt)

Arno Tiefensee - Goaltender - Mannheim Adler (DEL)

As opposed to Bugl, Tiefensee didn’t have anything to write home about after several hapless WJC appearances, which likely affected what was a good reputation coming out of juniors, where he unfortunately already didn’t get as many outings as you’d like to see from a market’s premiere goaltender aged 16 and 17. By the time he was 18, he was a regular back-up goalie for Heilbronn in the DEL2 (while junior leagues were shut down due to the pandemic), which exposed him to strong competition, but also a lot of time on the bench. Fast forward to the 22-23 season, where he too found himself in goal for powerhouse Mannheim while the first string goaltender was out injured. Simply put, the numbers have been fantastic. The 6’4”, 190-pound behemoth has gone 10-5 in 15 contests, sporting a top-flight 2.17 GAA (third in the DEL) and a .919 SV%. Included among his losses were scores of 1-0, 3-2, and 3-0, a game in which the opponent scored two empty-netters. He’s pitched two shutouts as well. The long and short of it is that Tiefensee is showing very good schooling and strong athleticism for a young man his size. His outings have consistently come with poise and confidence. Like Bugl, it’s difficult to imagine that he’s not garnering NHL attention just now. (Chapin Landvogt)

Danjo Leonhardt - Center - Nuremberg Ice Tigers (DEL)

In recent years, we’ve been a bit of fan about Leonhardt’s often fluid game and the wherewithal he’s shown in a number of situations and scenarios. This past summer, he got into his first WJC action and promptly contributed three assists. That came on the heels of a minimal lower line role for ICEHL champs Salzburg, for whom he scored the championship-deciding goal in the playoffs. On the whole, his 17 points in 52 games were very yeomen-like, but in a situation where established veterans dominated the top 9 forward corps. The season before, he had led the RB Juniors in scoring with 35 points in 32 games in what was his initial draft year. This season, he’s moved up the totem pole again and is taking a regular shift on an all-kid line for a low-budget Nuremberg club and has five goals and 12 points in 44 games, several of those points coming in a highlight reel manner. For those who watch the league intensely, he’s noticeably had little in the way of adjustment issues and looks to be taking the same steps many of the league’s top-scoring German players took when they were his age. If by any chance selected next summer, he’d be a pick the team could likely plant in the AHL right off the bat. (Chapin Landvogt)

Bennet Rossmy - Center/Wing - Eisbären Berlin (DEL)

While leading Germany in scoring with four goals and five points at the summer WJC, TSN analysts did not hold back in praising Rossmy’s combination of size, leadership, and net-front presence, coming just short of guaranteeing he’d be drafted in 2023, but the regular season for the former U18 outfit captain hasn’t been nearly what was expected of him. He’s been mired in a 4th-line role - sometimes not even suiting up - for a very disappointing returning DEL champion in Berlin, a team that has spent the bulk of the winter fighting to stay clear of a relegation spot. Rossmy’s one goal this season was scored on November 1st, and it’s been very quiet for him all season, only having accumulated four points. The team has a DEL2 affiliate, but he’s played all of one game there, so they’re keeping him around for a reason. There are surely more than a few pundits of this scene who feel he’s been in the wrong situation for his development all season, but his performance when he was getting 10-15 minutes a game (6 games long in OCT and NOV) didn’t exactly scream “Give me more opportunity!” An assistant captain at the WJC, he missed the first two games, then only had one assist in three matchups, that coming in the nation’s one do-or-die contest against Austria, a game the team came just short of giving away over the final 10 minutes of play. And yet, he’s got all the tools and size to boot. Was his WJC performance last summer combined with mere potential enough to garner the interest necessary to be a late-round draft pick? (Chapin Landvogt)

Philip Krening - Center/Wing - Red Bull Juniors (AlpsHL)

We spent parts of last season trying to figure out who exactly the six-foot Krening really is and if there’s a diamond in the rough here. He was injured quite a bit and ended up with 10 points in 16 AlpsHL games, which is a very decent scoring pace for a first-year draft-eligible player in a pro league. He then finished the season with three assists in four games at the U18 Worlds for a very offensively challenged Team Germany. We suspected he’d be right back in the AlpsHL this season, but RB Munich of the DEL (where Julian Lutz and Maks Szuber play) needed some assistance to start the season and Krening ended up with a goal and assist in the season’s first six games. He then saw minimal ice time in a pointless seven-game debut for affiliate Salzburg in the ICEHL before landing with the Red Bull Juniors again, for whom he once again has 10 points, this time in 12 games thus far. In between, he was part of the WJC outfit, for which he collected a goal and three points over five games. Again, not too shabby all things considered. He won’t turn 19 until April and he’s had some sick leave this season as well, so it’s been hard to get a real read on just what Krening’s possibilities are. Clear is that he seems to find a way onto the scoresheet just about wherever he plays but has been without the calm of a one-team season for several years now. Of the young skipped-over men first eligible last summer, he’s definitely the player with the most potential and intrigue. He’s a lock for next winter’s WJC as well. (Chapin Landvogt)

2022 IIHF World Junior Championship Preview

Zack Szweras — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 13:26:09 +0000

World Juniors’ Preview

Group A:

There is going to be a ton of competition out of this group, between Canada, Finland and Czechia. With this tournament being held in August, there will be omissions of players attending NHL training camp with the hope of making their respective NHL rosters. It will be interesting to see which countries will benefit the most from this.

Czechia

Line Projections

Jiri Kulich – Michal Gut – Jan Mysak

Ivan Ivan – Gabriel Szturc – Petr Hauser

Martin Rysavy – Matyas Sapovaliv – Jaroslav Chmelar

Tomas Urban – Matous Mensik – Jakub Kos

Stanislav Svozil – David Jiricek

Jiri Tichacek – Stepan Nemec

Tomas Hamara – David Spacek

Jan Bednar

Tomas Suchanek

Czechia is entering this tournament with one of the more complete group of defencemen. Highlighted by Columbus Blue Jacket’s prospects David Jiricek and Stanislav Svozil, it will be tough to get around their big-bodied defence. On top of that, Tomas Hamara, David Spacek and Jiri Tichacek can provide offence from the blueline. Currently David Jiricek did not travel with the team as he tested positive for COVID.

To complement their defence, they also have NHL drafted forwards spread through their lineup. The most notable names include Jiri Kulich, who was recently selected 28th in the 2022 entry draft from the Buffalo Sabres, Jan Mysak the Canadiens prospect who produced this year for the Hamilton Bulldogs on their way to win the OHL cup and Matyas Sapovaliv, the playmaking power forward taken in the 2nd round of this year’s draft by the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Everett Silvertips’ center Michal Gut will look to provide his improved playmaking, likely playing alongside goal scorers Kulich and Mysak.

Lastly, they will be looking for solid goaltending from Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Jan Bednar. With all their skill in their top-six forwards and on their blueline, Czechia will have to hope their depth can hold up and keep up with powerhouses like Finland and Canada.

Canada

Josh Roy – Mason McTavish – Connor Bedard

Kent Johnson– Logan Stankoven – Tyson Forester

Brennan Othman – Ridley Greig – William Dufour

Will Cuylle – Elliot Desnoyers – Nathan Gaucher

Donovan Sebrango – Olen Zellweger

Ryan O’Rourke – Lukas Cormier

Ronan Seely – Jack Thompson

Dylan Garand

Brett Brochu

While the Canadian team looks drastically different from the cancelled January World Juniors, they still have a strong chance of going far in this tournament. Offensively, Canada is loaded with the likes of Mason McTavish, Kent Johnson, Logan Stankoven and of course, 2023 projected first overall pick, Connor Bedard. Mason McTavish looked dominant in the January World Juniors. Using his combination of size, speed and skill to bully opponents, he will look to continue his success. The potential pairing of Kent Johnson and Logan Stankoven should be extremely fun to watch, as Johnson has elite skill often undressing defenders and Stankoven dominated the WHL last year, winning not only the WHL but the CHL player of the year award. Lastly, who can forget the name Connor Bedard, the 17-year-old phenom is coming off a season in which he produced 100 points in 61 WHL games and don’t forget he became the second 16-year-old to score a hat trick for Canada in the cancelled January World Juniors since some guy named Wayne Gretzky.

Defensively, Canada took a large blow losing both Kaiden Guhle and Owen Power, however they still have plenty of talent with Olen Zellweger, Ryan O’Rourke and Lukas Cormier. Olen Zellweger took his offensive game to another level last year producing 78 points in 55 games as an 18-year-old. He will see time running Canada’s powerplay. O’Rourke is a strong two-way defenceman who never takes a shift off, always trying to be involved, whether it’s a big hit, transition pass or a poke check to change momentum. O’Rourke will likely be paired with Lukas Cormier as Cormier is an extremely gifted offensive defenceman. While O’Rourke can bring strong defensive presence, Cormier will look for opportunities to transition the puck and join the odd man rush.

The final question for Canada is their goaltending. They are coming into the tournament with three solid options in Dylan Garand, Brett Brochu and Sebastian Cossa. All indications point to Garand and Brochu battling it out for the starting goaltending position. No matter who takes the net, Canada should be comfortable with all options available. Canada will be a team to beat this tournament.

Slovakia

Line Projections

Maros Jedlicka – Jakub Demek – Adam Sykora

Servac Petrovsky – Oleksiy Myklukha – Matej Kaslik

Samuel Honzek – Dalibor Dvorsky – Roman Faith

Oliver Stumpel – Peter Repcik – Lubomir Kupco

Rayen Petrovicky – Viliam Kmec

Adam Stripai – Maxim Strbak

Simon Groch – Boris Zabka

Tomas Bolo

Patrik Andrisik

Slovakia has taken a large hit from the tournament being held in August rather than December as top prospects Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec and Filip Mesar are not on the roster as they focus on NHL training camps. With that being said, there are still plenty of names worth watching. Looking at the forwards, Slovakia will be leaning on New York Rangers’ forward Adam Sykora to generate offence, who has made a strong impact on all international teams for Slovakia over the past year. Besides Sykora, Slovakia will be looking at Maros Jedlicka, who had a strong season in Slovakia, Minnesota Wild’s prospect Servac Petrovsky and Vegas

Golden Knights’ prospect Jakub Demek to provide support. The biggest name to watch for Slovakia, however, will be 2023 draft eligible Dalibor Dvorsky. Dvorsky as of now is seen as a top 10 talent in the upcoming draft and continues to find success internationally. The blueline is truly taking a toll with 2nd overall pick Simon Nemec opting not to participate in this tournament. Slovakia will look to rely on Rayen Petrovicky to give them top pairing minutes and solid defence from the backend. With the lack of depth, another 2023 draft eligible, Maxim Strbak, will be asked to step up to the plate. Strbak was a large piece of the Slovak team that won silver medal at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and looks to make his name known as someone to keep an eye on during his draft year.

Finally, in net Slovakia will most likely look towards 20-year-old Tomas Bolo as the starter for the team. Bolo has consistently played for Slovakia in international play and played well for Slovakia at the start of the cancelled World Juniors this past January. Overall, Slovakia will be an exciting team to watch, but will need to overcome the lack of depth in order to compete in a strong Group A.

Finland

Line Projections

Roni Hirvonen – Aatu Raty – Joakim Kemell

Ville Koivunen – Samuel Helenius – Brad Lambert

Roby Jarventie – Juuso Maenpaa – Kasper Simontaival

Eetu Liukas – Oliver Kapanen – Kalle Vaisanen

Petteri Nurmi – Topi Niemela

Eemil Viro – Ruben Rafkin

Aleksi Heimosalmi – Kasper Puutio

Leevi Merilainen

Jani Lampinen

There is legitimate competition between Finland and Canada for the top team in this Group A. Finland is loaded with a ton of talent up front, with every player in their projected top-six being selected in the 1st or 2nd round in their NHL draft. Both Aatu Raty and Brad Lambert have a chip on their shoulder to score this tournament as they each went into their draft years as projected top three picks and ended up sliding down on draft day. Finland is also lucky to have some strong playmakers on offence as Roni Hirvonen and Ville Koivunen have both proven their ability to set teammates up in Liiga. When Finland is looking for someone to bury the puck, the first option will almost always be Joakim Kemell, the elite goal scorer started last season on an absolute tear and finished with 15 goals in 39 Liiga games while battling through injuries in his draft year.

Transitioning to defence, Finland is lucky to be anchored by the player awarded best defenceman in the 2020 World Juniors in Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenceman Topi Niemela. Niemela is likely to be paired with defensive defenceman and Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Petteri Nurmi in order to give Niemela the comfort to get involved in the offensive game. Another name to watch closely on the blue line is Carolina Hurricanes’ prospect Aleksi Heimosalmi, who is an extremely strong skater that thrives in the transition game. Finland is backing it all up with Ottawa Senators’ prospect Leevi Merilainen as the projected starter. While he struggled in his first year playing for the Kingston Frontenacs, Merilainen has produced during his time with the international squad. It will be extremely exciting to see the skill of this Finnish team.

Latvia

Line Projections

Girts Silkalns – Klavs Veinbergs – Arni Ravinskis

Peteris Purmalis – Dans Locmelis – Sandis Vilmanis

Felikss Gavars – Martins Lavins – Darels Durkurs

Rainers Darzins – Raimonds Vitolins – Danils Andersons

Ralfs Bergmanis – Niks Fenenko

Harijs Brants – Rihards Simanovics

Bogdans Hodass – Gustavs Ozolins

Bruno Bruveris

Patrick Berzins

In a strong Group A, Latvia seems likely to finish in the bottom of the standings. While there are still talented players on this team, it would take a miracle for Latvia to advance to the quarterfinals. Taking a look at the forwards, Latvia will likely pair MHL teammates Girts Silkalns and Klavs Veinbergs together. Continuing the teammate trend, Dans Locmelis and Sandis Vilmanis will likely see a large amount of ice time together for Latvia coming off a strong season together playing in the J20 league producing 34 and 32 points, respectively. Both Locmelis and Vilmanis were recently drafted in the 2022 NHL draft, Locemlis was taken in the 4th round by the Boston Bruins and Vilmanis was selected in the 5th round by the Florida Panthers.

Latvia’s blueline will be anchored by 17-year-old defenceman Niks Fenenko. Fenenko went undrafted in the 2022 NHL draft despite having a fairly solid season playing the QMJHL scoring 40 points in 62 games. Projected to partner with Fenenko is University of Vermont commit, Ralfs Bergmanis. Although he is only 5’10”, Bergmanis is willing to throw his body around and disrupt play. The likely starter in net for Latvia will be 20-year-old Bruno Bruveris, who spent the past year playing with Cedar Rapids of the USHL, posting a 3.02 GAA with a .873 SV%. It would be an upset to see Latvia make the quarterfinals let alone win a game in this tough Group.

Group B:

Group B is expected to be dominated by two powerhouses in the United States and Sweden. It will be exciting to see if any of Germany, Switzerland or Austria can challenge either powerhouse and shake up the group. Even with losing players due to NHL training camps, the United States and Sweden are still positioned to make it far in this tournament.

United States

Line Projections

Matthew Knies – Logan Cooley – Matthew Coronato

Landon Slaggert – Thomas Bordeleau – Carter Mazur

Sasha Pastujov – Hunter Mckown – Brett Berard

Red Savage – Charlie Stramel – Mackie Samoskevich

Wyatt Kaiser – Sean Behrens

Tyler Kleven – Ian Moore

Jacob Truscott – Brock Faber

Remington Keopple

Andrew Oke

The United States are coming into this tournament with an extreme amount of talent on both the offensive and defensive side of the ice. While they may have one of the most talented rosters entering the August World Juniors, they have one major concern, the goaltending. No matter which goaltender starts the tournament for them, it will be an undrafted goaltender. Before we dig deeper, let us take a look at their firepower upfront. It will be extremely exciting to be able to see a line consisting of Matthew Knies, Logan Cooley and Matthew Coronato. All three have played for the USNTDP and each are considered offensive forces.

On top of that, the US finally will be able to have Thomas Bordeleau play for them as he unfortunately missed the last several World Juniors. The depth of the US forwards is something to be amazed at. Players like Sasha Pastujov and Mackie Samozkevich, each have immense skill and will provide scoring depth throughout the lineup. In addition, 2023 draft eligible Charlie Stramel looks to have made a strong impression and has carved out a role on this team. It will be interesting to see how this boosts his draft stock entering his draft year.

Taking a look at the US defence, it may be one of the most talented pools of defenceman in this tournament. There are many reliable names defensively on the backend including captain Brock Faber, Tyler Kleven, Jacob Truscott and Wyatt Kaiser. Offensively, the US will lean on Sean Behrens and Ian Moore to pinch and provide odd man rushes from the blueline. It is extremely important for their defence to play up to the level that many expect them to as they are going to play behind lesser named goaltenders in Remington Keopple and Andrew Oke. Keopple, the older of the two goalies, played this past season with Des Moines of the USHL, putting up a 3.06 GAA and a .896 SV%. Oke, who is only 18, had a worse season playing for a poor Saginaw team in the OHL. He produced a 4.63 GAA with a .848 SV%. If the US can protect their goaltenders they will be in for a long run.

Switzerland

Line Projections

Simon Knak – Joshua Fahrni – Jonas Taibel

Fabian Ritzmann – Joel Henry – Marlon Graf

Attilio Biasca – Micolas Baechler – Kevin Nicolet

Joel Marchon – Mats Alge – Tim Muggli

Giancarlo Chanton – Noah Delemont

Nick Meile – Dario Sidler

Rodwin Dionicio – Arno Nussbaumer

Noah Patenaude

Andri Henauer

The battle for the third spot in Group B will be a close one to watch and Switzerland will have to rely on a mix of veteran and youth to avoid relegation. The most notable forward for Switzerland is 20-year-old Nashville Predators’ prospect Simon Knak who has split time between the WHL and the Swiss National League. Knak has a knack for forechecking, often using his skating ability to provide pressure to puck carriers hoping to pounce on loose pucks. Switzerland will also rely on the youth, with 17-year-old Jonas Taibel likely playing top line minutes. He finished the previous season with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, producing 21 points in 57 games.

On the backend, Switzerland will turn to 20-year-old Noah Delemont to cover significant minutes for them. Delemont is calm cool and collected on the ice, which allows him to scan theice and use his strong vision to pass the puck. Like their forwards, Switzerland will again look to the youth and 18-year-old Nick Melie, who has been a consistent part of Switzerland’s international teams, producing four points in nine games at the U18’s. Switzerland is most comfortable with their goaltending. Noah Patenaude has proven to be reliable, playing for Saint John in the QMJHL producing a 2.96 GAA and a .914 SV%. With a little luck and strong goaltending, Switzerland has the chance to steal a couple games.

Germany

Line Projections

Alexander Blank – Danjo Leonhardt – Josef Eham

Markus Schweiger – Joshua Samanski – Justin Volek

Haakon Hanlet – Bennett Rossmy – Maciej Rutkowski

Thomas Heigl – Luca Hauf – Yannick Proske

Maksymilian Szuber – Luca Munzenberger

Adrian Klein – Maximilian Glotzl

Arkadiusz Dziambor – Korbinian Geibel

Florian Bugl

Niklas Lunemann

Germany was one of the unfortunate teams that were heavily affected by having the tournament moved from January to August as they had to replace seven players from the January roster. On offence, Germany will be leaning on Alexander Blank, Danjo Leonhardt and Josef Eham. Alexander Blank was off to a hot start for Germany in January scoring 3 points in 2 games before it was cancelled. Leonhardt, on the other hand, had a strong season playing in the Alps Hockey League finishing the past season with 35 points in 32 games. Both Leonhardt and Eham are teammates for RB Hockey in the Alps Hockey League and their chemistry should be used on a line together. Eham, like Leonhardt, had a great season finishing with a 1.14 point per game.

Defensively, the go-to player for Germany will be Luca Munzenberger. The former 3rd round pick of the Edmonton Oilers played the previous season for the University of Vermont. At Vermont, Munzernberger has polished his defence working on his gap control. Projected to play across from Munzenberger is Maksymilian Szuber who spent the majority of the season in the DEL playing for EHC Munchen. Szuber, an Arizona Coyotes’ draft pick, is a large raw defenceman who uses his body to his advantage.

In net, Germany will rely on 20-year-old Florian Bugl who dominated the Alps Hockey League last season producing a 2.27 GAA and a .916 SV%. Bugl looked fairly sturdy in January in his lone game in the cancelled World Juniors. Germany will be in a strong battle to avoid relegation and make the quarterfinals.

Austria

Line Projections

Oskar Maier – Leon Wallner – Moritz Lackner

Jonas Dobnig – Ian Scherzer – Senna Peeters

Fin Vann Ee – Luca Auer – Maximilian Hengelmuller

Tim Geifes – Janick Wernicke – Nico Kramer

Tobias Sablattnig – Martin Urbanek

David Reinbacher – Christoph Tialler

Lukas Horl – Lukas Necesany

Leon Sommer

Thomas Pfarrmaier

Similar to Switzerland and Germany, Austria will be trying to avoid relegation and will fight for a spot in the quarterfinals. The majority of Austria’s offence will be ran through Oskar Maier and Leon Wallner. Maier was named captain of the RB Hockey team in the Alps hockey league last year, finishing the season with 24 points in 27 games. Wallner, on the other hand, played his season in Sweden in the J20 league, producing 37 points in 28 games. An exciting name to watch for Austria this World Juniors is 2023 draft eligible Ian Scherzer. Last season, Scherzer excelled in the Swedish J18 league scoring 15 points in 17 games. He will be using this tournament as a platform to get himself noticed by NHL scouts.

Austria’s backend will be fortified by the youth with the likes of 19-year-old Tobias Sablattnig and 17-year-old David Reinbacher. Sablattnig spent the majority of the season in the Alps Hockey League where the 6’0” defenceman was able to put up 16 points in 37 games. Reinbacher has spent the past season between the U-20 Elit league and the Swiss League. The 2023 draft eligible put up a combined 33 points in 50 games and will look to use this tournament as a platform to get drafted.

Lastly, the net will be occupied by Leon Sommer who played for a poor Steel Wings Linz of the Alps Hockey league allowing 3.16 GAA while carrying a .910 SV%. Austria will hope their youth will be able to step up and lead their team to a few victories.

Sweden

Oskar Olausson – Daniel Ljungman – Fabian Lysell

Isak Rosen – Theodor Neiderbach – Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Linus Sjodin – Ake Stakkestad – Daniel Torgersson

Oskar Magnusson – Victor Stjernborg – Albert Sjoberg

Simon Edvinsson – Helge Grans

Leo Loof – Mans Forsfjall

Emil Andrae – William Wallinder

Jesper Wallstedt

Calle Clang

The other power house in Group B, Sweden has an enormous amount of talent up front and will look to lean on their skill to bring them a medal. The projected first line of Oskar Olausson, Daniel Ljungman and Fabian Lysell will be looked upon to set the offensive tone for Sweden. Olausson and Lysell both have a combination of speed and skill, which they use to transition the puck and attack the offensive zone. Ljungman has proven to be a good two-way centre who will provide support on both sides of the ice. Sweden still has options down the line including a pair of first round picks in Buffalo Sabres’ prospect Isak Rosen and Vancouver Canucks’ prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Both these players spent a large chunk of the previous season in the SHL in limited roles and were still able to produce.

The backend is where Sweden will excel, anchoring it will be none other than 6’6” Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Simon Edvinsson who has a unique combination of size, physicality and speed. Opposite of Edvinsson should be Helge Grans, the two-way defender uses his speed and long reach to close gaps and attack forwards turning over possession. To show the depth on this defence, the projected bottom pairing, Emil Andrae and William Wallinder, should make a large impact for Sweden. Andrae is an extremely skilled offensive defenceman who put up 33 points in 41 games in the Hockey Allsvenkan league. His partner Wallinder is a big bruising 6’4” defenceman who will crush any player in his way.

In net is where Sweden has the largest advantage though, with Minnesota Wild’s prospect Jesper Wallstedt. Wallstedt improved on his draft year season playing 22 games in the SHL and putting up ridiculous numbers with a 1.98 GAA and a .918 SV%. It is going to be extremely difficult to score on Sweden in this tournament.

WJ Predicitons

Group A

Canada

Finland

Czechia

Slovakia

Latvia

Group B

Sweden

USA

Germany

Switzerland

Austria

Quarterfinals

Canada over Switzerland

Finland over Germany

Czechia over USA

Sweden over Slovakia

Semifinals

Canada over Finland

Sweden over Czechia

Medals

Sweden – Gold

Canada – Silver

Finland – Bronze

Tournament MVP – Connor Bedard

Best Forward – Mason McTavish

Best Defenceman – Simon Edvinsson

Best Goaltender – Jesper Wallsted

All-Tournament team

F – Connor Bedard

F – Mason McTavish

F – Logan Cooley

D – Simon Edvinsson

D – Topi Niemela

G – Jesper Wallstedt

2022 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: TEAM GERMANY – Without Stars Solid Team Play Required to Recapture Magic

Chapin Landvogt — Fri, 24 Dec 2021 18:32:41 +0000

The 2021 WJC was the most successful WJC tournament in Germany’s history. Not only did Germany manage to make the playoffs for the first time ever thanks to an overtime win against Slovakia and tight regulation win against rival Switzerland, but also because it did so despite being hit hard by Covid, forcing Germany to play the first two games of the tournament with just 14 skaters, several of whom were just coming off their Covid illness. The team not only rallied around stars Tim Stützle and JJ Peterka but showed incredible heart in favorably dealing with a load of diversity over a short period of time. Ultimately, the ride ended with a 2-1 defeat to Russia, which was a moral victory in and of itself in light of the NHL prospect disparity between the two nations.

The 2021 WJC was also the last of two in a row where fans and scouts alike will have the opportunity to witness the likes of Stützle, Peterka, and Lukas Reichel (well, when he was part of it in 2020), strong NHL prospects who were responsible for turning the nation into an upstart success story over the past two winters. That this generation is no longer part of the tournament didn’t have to happen of course, but both Peterka and Reichel informed the German Ice Hockey Federation in November that they would not be playing for Germany at this WJC so as to be able to continue concentrating on their highly successful campaigns in the AHL. Naturally, Stützle is already an NHL player, so the fact that he’s still WJC-eligible is of little concern or solace for German coach Tobias Abstreiter.

What that all means is that Germany is sending a very, very pedestrian roster to the event and the team is going to have to be among the tournament’s best defensively in order to have a shot at making the playoffs. Moreover, despite returnee (and captain) Florian Elias having collected nine points in five games while centering Stützle and Peterka last winter, there’s not a forward here who is of considerable interest to NHL teams, just about all of them being double overagers playing pro in one of Germany’s top two pro circuits. There is an interesting defensive crew that includes Edmonton Oilers draft pick Luca Münzenberger, and the goaltending is something that could pay heavy dividends, even if Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Nikita Quapp is not guaranteed the starting role. Still, there’s the obvious question as to where the goals necessary to make the playoffs - or simply to avoid the relegation round - are going to come from?

From whence shall they come?

EDMONTON, AB CANADA - DECEMBER 26: Germany's Florian Elias #7 skates with the puck while Canada's Dylan Holloway #10 looks on during preliminary round action at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship at Rogers Place on December 26, 2020 in Edmonton, AB Canada. (Photo by Andrea Cardin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Elias is the obvious go-to player in this tournament for Germany. It’s not just because he’s coming in as one of last winter’s top scoring players or was the DEL’s Rookie of the Year last season, but also because he’s been doing nothing but scoring since the U20 team broke camp this past summer. Be it a summer tournament in Füssen or the recent 4 Nations Tournament in Norway, Elias has been producing and much of it is coming in the form of goals. He remains a small, stout player, but he’s really got a cannon of a wrist shot and is not one of these players who misses out on opportunities because he’s looking for better-positioned teammates for a cutsie pass. Elias simply knows when to rip it and doesn’t hesitate.

That’s a good thing for Germany because there’s hardly another soul in the forward corps about whom that can be said. What we can say is that the forward returnees Markus Schweiger, Josh Samanski, and Justin Volek will form a line and it’ll be Germany’s third line, deployed to serve as a shutdown unit. Schweiger brings the wheels, Volek the in-your-face brawn (sometimes too literally), and Samanski the big-bodied, two-way center who can play in all three zones. Even if the latter has been quite impressive in an offensive capacity in Germany’s pro circuits since the last WJC, it’s hard to imagine that the line will be placing fear into the hearts of opposition goaltenders. Still, that line should be eating up important minutes when it comes to keeping the opponent off the scoreboard.

Bennet Rossmy. Photo by Dan Hickling, Hickling Images

After that, it’s almost entirely uncertain what the lines are going to look like. If the most recent 4 Nations Tournament is any indication, then Bennet Rossmy, who captained Germany at the U18 tournament in Texas, may have a spot reserved for him next to Elias on line one. He’s gotten into a lot of DEL and DEL2 games this season but has done little in the way of denting the scoresheet. Jakub Borzecki, a well-built tank with a righty shot, will likely flank Elias to the right and is playing his hockey for Red Bull Salzburg of the ICEHL in Austria. He’s been in the scouts’ notebooks for a while, but his U18 Worlds opportunity in 2020 was wiped out by Covid cancellations and then his 2021 WJC was also missed entirely due to having been sick with Covid. He hasn’t done much scoring as a pro yet, so it may be too much to ask to have him make it happen here.

The second line will likely consist of Alexander Blank, a 19-year-old who is in his second season of DEL play and turned a lot of heads last winter, and Josef Eham, a 19-year-old who is currently the top German scorer for the Red Bull Juniors of the Alps Hockey League. Both can play center or left wing, and both can play the game any way it comes, albeit Eham is the fancier of the two while Blank makes ideal use of his body in board play.

Their partner on the right could be a number of players and if coach Abstreiter is looking for offense, that guy may have to be Maciej Rutkowski (DEL) or Danjo Leonhardt (ICEHL). Neither is doing much scoring this year, but both were very strong on the scoring front last season for their Oberliga and AlpsHL teams, respectively. Rutkowski is the younger of the two and has played with Blank at several levels over the past few years while Leonhardt and Eham know each other well from the Red Bull program. Nonetheless, he’s played a more defensively oriented role for Salzburg this winter.

After that, there are several young men whose roles aren’t clearly defined but will likely build the team’s fourth line. Noah Dunham is all but certain to center them after his impressive 4 Nations Tournament play and ensuring hot streak in the DEL2. He’ll be surrounded by any number of Yannick Burghardt, Thomas Heigl, Jussi Petersen or the aforementioned Rutkowski and Leonhardt, all of whom have ultimately been playing lower line roles for their DEL, DEL2 or ICEHL teams.

In short, if this team doesn’t find a way to score goals until its final preliminary round game against Austria, don’t be surprised. They’ve just got to hope they come by then.

Keeping them out

The good news for Germany is that goalie Florian Bugl is part of the fun once again. The 19-year-old has seen a lot of action as the starter for the Red Bull Juniors the past two seasons and saw action in three games at the last WJC, namely the two victories and the 2-1 loss to Russia. Very impressive! Will he be the starter at this winter’s WJC? That’s not set in stone. The most likely scenario is that Bugl starts the games in which Germany has its most realistic shots at victory, namely against the Czech Republic and Austria. Quapp is the drafted goalie and has a 3-4 record in eight outings for Krefeld this season, but Abstreiter may look to have him play just once in the preliminary round against one of Canada or Finland. It would behoove the program to have him get some experience since he’s the odds-on favorite to be the starter at whatever U20 tournament Germany plays at next winter.

The third man building the trio is Niklas Lunemann and here’s where things get interesting. Until recently, Lunemann had only ever played in Germany’s top junior circuit, where he’s been very strong for Cologne’s organization. He now has just one game of pro play at the DEL2 level under his belt. The 19-year-old was a last-minute addition to the 4 Nations Tournament team and ended up in goal after 20 minutes, when Germany was down 4-0 to Slovakia. He proceeded to guide the team to a 5-4 OT loss, only allowing a goal against while shorthanded. He then won the next contest 4-2. Now the question is just how Abstreiter has processed that and if he may want to use this tournament to see if Lunemann can bring any unsuspected magic to the table. Don’t be surprised if you see him in net against Finland or Canada.

One way or another, the staff needs to know who they want to go with by the time the game against Austria rolls around, as that will be the key to the preliminary round.

We’re big and tough and like playing in the DEL

In Münzenberg and Max Glötzl, who has spent this season split between the DEL and DEL2, Germany is returning two of its top four defenseman from last year. Overall, Münzenberger was the best of the bunch and used that tournament to get himself drafted, seeing as how he lost the regular season to a mixture of the junior league being canceled and the need to maintain his NCAA eligibility by not playing pro. He’s now a true freshman for the University of Vermont and coach Todd Woodcroft has had no qualms in throwing him 100% into the fire of regular ice time.

In Arkadiusz Dziambor and Fabrizio Pilu, they are joined by two solidly built defensemen who have spent the entire season playing for their respective DEL clubs. Then there’s Adrian Klein and Max Szuber, both of whom have spent the majority of the season in the DEL, the former having already played 31 games there last season. The latter, Szuber, just concluded the 4 Nations Tournament with six points in five games, making him the top-scoring defenseman in the tournament and second overall in scoring. Expect him to be on the team’s first power play unit. All four are six feet tall or taller and bring the experience of playing against men many years their elder, many of whom have had NHL or AHL careers to this point.

Korbinian Geibel is another well-built player and has seven games of DEL experience this year, but has been very impressive in the DEL2, where he’s looked like a veteran in seven games. Justus Böttner is 19, but the only player on the team not playing college, DEL, or DEL2 hockey. He’s the smallest blueliner in the group, but the program seems to be high on him as they left several current DEL and DEL2 options off the team in favor of him.

Sure, it’s a bit of a no-name outfit, but Germany believes it has a very robust group that can skate with the big boys and play physical while taking up passing lanes and blocking plenty of shots. The group is also mobile enough to get the puck moving forward in quick transition. If one or more can also produce in a power play capacity, then Germany’s blueline may be their key to a playoff spot.

Scout’s focus

For those into overagers, Germany is a club you won’t want to miss at this tournament. Still, there are several players who are not in their third year of draft eligibility and the most important is first year draft eligible defenseman Adrian Klein, a 6’3”, 205-pound lefty shot who is in the midst of his third year of pro hockey in Germany, despite having just turned 18 in December. One of the oldest first-time eligible prospects next summer, it’s hard to read what Klein may one day be able to offer as he plays a very careful game that gives you the impression he’s doing exactly what his coaches want of him. In addition, despite being a DEL defenseman for the second year in a row, he’s only got one point in 41 career games. Still, he does have five points in six DEL2 games this season and Abstreiter hasn’t hesitated in feeding him ice time in test events, such as the recent 4 Nations Tournament in Norway.

Group synopsis

Germany played Finland and Canada last winter and it wasn’t pretty. Of course, they did so with just 14 skaters. As things look now, they’ll have more to build on in the depth department and those games against the Finns and Canadians will need to serve more as warm-ups than anything else. The matchups against the Czech Republic, who Germany defeated in the 2020 WJC, and Austria are where the tournament will be decided. Things would have looked a lot more promising with Peterka and Reichel in the line-up, but Germany will now have to dig real deep to edge out the competition in what is the easier of the two groups in Alberta. The possibility is there, especially against Austria, but group play will need to be used to answer a few scorching questions first.

Oddity

Coach Abstreiter and his staff are taking a team to Alberta that features only one player who is currently playing outside of Germany and Austria, namely returnee Münzenberger. That means that a key 2022 prospect playing for Rögle in Sweden (Roman Kechter) and six youngsters skating for CHL teams are not part of the WJC puzzle this year. There was a time not too long ago where this was unthinkable for a German WJC entry.

Forecast

Germany’s one test game ended in a 4-0 loss to Slovakia. Bugl and Quapp split time in goal; the lines were juggled. However, the team is basically the same as the one that recently decided the 4 Nations Tournament for itself, and both Slovakia and Switzerland were key opponents in that tournament. So, the team knows what it’s facing. Realistically, Germany simply has to stay healthy and then defeat Austria when the money is on the line, but although Germany has the better blueline and goaltending, Austria actually has several higher profile forward prospects in its line-up, something that will make that game quite the chess match.

Unless major upsets take place, that game will decide who goes to the relegation round and who is in the playoffs. The most likely opponent in the relegation round will then be Switzerland while the team headed to the playoffs is likely to face Russia, Sweden or the USA. For Germany, this tournament has to be about maintaining the class and nothing else. There are some interesting prospects in the pipeline for next year’s tournament, so a relegation would be heartbreaking for a program that has been spitting out so much NHL-talent in recent years.

Expect this year’s team to understand that and rise to the occasion.

A tight win over Austria should be in the cards, then we can look forward to names like Julian Lutz, Leo Hafenrichter, Haakon Hänelt, and Kechter at next year’s WJC.

EUROPEAN PROSPECT ROUNDUP

Chapin Landvogt — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 19:51:45 +0000

210521 Juraj Slafkovsky of Slovakia ahead of the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship game between Belarus and Slovakia on May 21, 2021 in Riga.
Photo: Simon Hastegård / BILDBYRÅN / kod SH / SH0105

The 21-22 season has been underway for over eight weeks now, with the KHL having kicked off the fun already at the end of the summer. This past weekend marked a basically European-wide break in regular season action so that just about everybody’s national team can participate at a number of tournaments across the continent. This applies not only to the men’s teams, but also the U20, U18, and in some cases, U17 sides.

This also serves as an excellent time to take a look at a number of drafted and yet undrafted prospects throughout the continent and fortunately for the hockey world, there’s been a ton of interesting news on the prospect front!

One of the most interesting developments of the season can be seen in the KHL, where Winnipeg Jets 5th round draft pick, Dmitiri Rashevsky, taken as an overager in his third year of eligibility, has exceeded many expectations in popping in 14 goals and 24 points over 27 games thus far. That’s good for 19th in scoring throughout the entire league. He’s also sporting a strong +13 rating and thanks to some real good offensive company playing for Dynamo Moscow, there’s really little reason to think he’ll slow up all that much this season. It’s safe to say he’s the highest scoring 21-year-old in the KHL just now.

Making less noise in the KHL this season is Yaroslav Askarov (NAS), who has a very respectable 2.01 GAA and .904 save percentage in five KHL outings with SKA, but only a 1-1-2 record to show for it. That he’s spent four games with the club’s VHL affiliate, putting up a 2-2 record with almost identical stats doesn’t have to mean anything in the long term, but it also means he’s not quite at where recent star Russian goaltending prospects like Igor Shestyorkin and Ilya Sorokin were at his age. Alas, there is still some hockey to be played this year.

The KHL is naturally chock full of recent or older NHL draft picks, but few are looking as good at the moment as Arseni Gritsyuk (NJD). The mid-sized lefty shot has shown that his bursts of speed are effective against Russia’s best at the men’s level and he’s currently got five goals and 10 points in 18 games, having often received sheltered minutes along the way this season. Another Devils draft pick doing fine in the KHL is 2020 first rounder Shakir Mukhamadullin who is taking a regular shift for traditional power Salavat and has three goals and seven points in 27 games. He had just as many goals last season in 39 games, but it’s the overall comfort and wherewithal of his defensive game that’s sticking out. There’s routine there, and a calmer sense of urgency.

Of course, this is and continues to be the eventful year of the Matvei Michkov watch. Being 16 and getting into 10 KHL games (3 points) is a feat in and of itself, but his 11 goals and 18 points in seven games in the junior level MHL went to show that he’s ready for much more daunting tasks. He’s debuting in the Russian national team this weekend, where he’s got the hockey Twitterworld jumping out of the seats over his “Michigan goal” against Sweden. Getting phone calls from Alex Ovechkin is the icing on the cake for now and the hockey world is simply praying that the soon-to-be 17-year-old will be part of the WJC-fun in Edmonton next month.

And while the prospect talked is covered in kind by Michkov, Alexander Perevalov is quietly tearing apart the top junior league with 17 goals, 33 points, and a +21 in 22 games while fellow top 2022 prospect Ivan Miroschnichenko continues to turn heads with his nine points in 20 VHL games, meaning the 17-year-old is playing a solid role against men in Russia’s second highest pro circuit.

Nordic bliss

Next door in Finland, there’s no less noise being made by a few of the nation’s top youngsters. The biggest news in Liiga is Toronto Maple Leafs pick Topi Niemela, a defenseman taken in the 3rd round of the 2020 NHL Draft, is fifth overall in league scoring with four goals and 18 points in 20 games. We are talking about a 19-year-old kid who’s barely 170 pounds soaking wet. He was already a sensation for Finland at last winter’s WJC and he’ll be looking to return to Edmonton as Suomi’s go-to guy on the blueline.

He may very well be joined on the team by the OTHER biggest sensation in Liiga play this year, namely the just now draft-eligible Joakim Kemell and boy, has this kid been something special. His 12 goals lead the league, and his 18 points have him tied for second overall in league scoring, one point behind the league leader. More amazingly is that he’s done it in just 16 games, five less than the league’s top point producer. Some hockey people knew he’d be a player this year after no less than his five goals and six points in five Hlinka Gretzky Tournament games, but his season has been off the charts. There’s no other way of putting it.

Also doing well for themselves are a couple of smaller, offensively oriented defensemen. Anttoni Honka (CAR) has already got 13 points in 20 games after a fantastic 31 in 58 games last season. He’s really done nothing less than steadily produced since Carolina drafted him. Then there’s former Detroit Red Wings 2015 pick Vili Saarijarvi. Yes, of course, he had plenty of time in North America and now his rights belong to Arizona, but after 36 points for Lukko in 50 games last season, he’s currently chugging away with four goals and 15 points in 20 games this season. In short, it’s looking like a career year for the 24-year-old who was in action this past weekend for his national team.

Speaking of offensive defensemen, when directing our eyes towards the future, there’s no getting around Kasper Kulonummi, a 17-year-old who currently has 15 points in 19 games for Jokerit’s U20 program. It is of note seeing as how he had six assists at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and had a point in every game for his nation at a U18 outing this weekend.

As we continue looking westward, Sweden is once again providing the world with plenty to talk about at the U21 level. No team is more aware of this than the Detroit Red Wings. To begin, defenseman Simon Edvinsson has basically been the best U21 player in the country. Sure, his nine points and +7 in 16 games for Frolunda, a team always in the hunt for the championship, has been sweet, but we just can’t emphasize enough how solid he’s been in an all-round capacity. His understanding of his position and how to use his enormous body to his advantage is clearly beyond his years.

His teammate Elmer Soderblom is a giant at 6’8”, 238 lbs., and has seen his development take a considerable boost after what was already a strong 20-21 showing. He’s been getting first line minutes on a term with four solid lines, and it’s resulted in eight goals and 11 points in 19 games. There’s also first year SHLer Theodor Niederbach who has managed to stick with the big club through 19 games. His four points are nothing to write home about, but he’s showing a keen sense of doing what’s necessary to stick in the line-up and assume the role necessary in a line-up that is full of established offensive players.

And keeping in line with Frolunda, the Red Wings also drafted Liam Dower Nilsson, who has gotten into seven games (zero points) with the big club but has also chipped in 17 points in 14 U20 league games, so he too is right on track with his progression as he still looks to throw his name into the WJC team hat.

Then there are defensemen William Wallinder and Albert Johansson. Both are playing top four minutes of late for their SHL clubs Rögle and Färjestad, respectively. Wallinder has been very hot of late, having chipped in three goals and eight points in 16 games while Johansson has nine points in 17 games. Both have been showing plenty of the attributes that got them drafted and their upwards projection continues to have experts in the business looking at these guys as viable future NHLers.

That’s a lot of Swedish for one club, especially considering the Red Wings also have Jonatan Berggren doing just fine in his first season with the team’s AHL club (seven points in 10 games thus far).

But both the SHL and Allsvenskan are filled with plenty of other draftees and young men the NHL teams have their eyes on. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Pontus Holmgren (12 points) continues to be a strong contributor for Växjö, for whom he was the playoff MVP in last season’s championship run. Filip Cederqvist (BUF) and Linus Karlsson (VAN) are chugging along just fine with 11 points apiece, both having larger SHL roles than ever before. The same can be said for Calle Själin (NYR) and Ole Lycksell (PHI), but their 11 points are a little more special, as Själin is a defenseman and Lycksell has collected his in just 14 games.

When it comes to the Allsvenskan, we’d like to mention two defensemen in particular. One is Emil Andrae, a Flyers second rounder who is playing for HV71 this season, a team that has won 14 of 15 games and is on a concrete mission to gain its way back into the SHL. Andrae’s 13 points in 12 games has contributed to this endeavor thus far, even if Philadelphia would ideally like to see him suiting up for an SHL club. Then there’s Axel Bergkvist, who is playing for Mora and who’s rights belong to Arizona. He’s still just 21, has 13 points in 14 games, and is only two seasons removed from a 52-point year with Kitchener. He’s not tall, but well-built and we all know some guys are just late bloomers, so Bergkvist is one we’ll watch throughout the season.

Sweden’s 2022 draft watch has become very exciting as well, as just about all eyes have been on Djurgarden. Top prospects Liam Öhgren, Noah Östlund, and Jonathan Lekkermäki all did some major damage at the nation’s U20 level before getting a shot with the SHL club. Öhrgren has spent the most time in the bigs, collecting two points over 14 games. Östlund has gotten into seven games and Lekkermäki into three, both remaining pointless, but the latter has an impressive 16 goals and 25 points in just 16 U20 league games. Each is just 17-years old, and health and injuries will continue to play a role in just how much they play in the SHL, but that’s not looking like an issue for fellow 17-year-old Marco Kasper, the super Austrian who has four goals and six points in 16 contests for Rögle. His feat is quite impressive in light of the team’s role as a championship contender and in that it features a U20 outfit chock full of impressive players, including several who have already been drafted. We’d also like to mention that Kasper has six points in six CHL games for Rögle as well.

Not to be forgotten in all the hoopla around the 2022 prospects is the fact that 6’2”, 185 lbs. Leo Carlsson of Örebro has chalked up four points in 14 SHL games. He’s just 16 and first eligible for the 2023 draft. Will we see him suiting up for Sweden at the U18 worlds? His chances of being part of that outfit are very high.

Slavic revival

The Hlinka Gretzky Tournament this summer was a “case in point” in what some had been saying was on the way, namely that the Slovakian program had a special wave of players on the way up. Indeed, it’s looking so good that some in the region are reminiscing about the days when Peter Stastny and Zdeno Cigar were ushering in the Zigmund Palffys, Miro Satans, and Peter Bondras of the world, with the Marians Hossa and Gaborik soon to follow. There are several key reasons for this.

To begin, the 6’4”, 225 lbs. Juraj Slafkovsky has been trucking down a road to a top 10 selection for well over a year now. Sure, he’s got but three points in 14 Liiga games this season, but his 17 points in nine U20 league games as well as his six goals and nine points in five Hlinka Gretzky Tourney outings have shown him to be among the best anywhere in his age group. Scouts naturally love his size and jam, as Juraj isn’t one to take anyone’s crap. And why should he with a body like his? That he can do some playmaking and rocket off shots has got more than a few just licking their chops about the possibilities.

Behind him, albeit not all too far, are defenseman Simon Nemec, likely one of the top five defensemen available in this draft class, and forward Filip Mesar, who debuted for the Slovakian men’s team this past weekend at the Deutschland Cup. Both are 17, both are playing in Slovakia’s top men’s league, and both scored at over a PPG pace at the Hlinka Gretzky event. Also getting a long look this winter are Jakub Krizan, a left wing who is clipping at more than a PPG pace in the U18 and U20 leagues while having collected five points in nine second league games, and Alex Sotek, a right winger who has suited up for five different clubs in four different leagues but sticks out thanks to his nine goals and 34 points in just 18 U20 league games. Then there’s Adam Sykora, who hasn’t put up a whole lot of points this season (just four) but takes a fairly regular shift in Slovakia’s top league and is expected to make the WJC squad as a part of its defensive conscious.

All this is without even spending time on defenseman Jozef Kmec (Prince George Cougars) and center Servac Petrovsky (Owen Sound Attack), both of whom are doing just fine for their CHL clubs.

The fun naturally doesn’t stop there as the group of boys establishing themselves for the 2023 draft may even be more impressive. Defenseman Maxim Strbak is just 16 but honing his craft as a regular contributor in Finland’s U20 league. Winger Frantisek Ridzon has seen two games of action in both of Slovakia’s two highest pro circuits, but at 16 is making a laughingstock of the nation’s U20 league with 25 points in 16 games. One of his Nitra colleagues is Ondrej Molnar, who had six points at the Hlinka this summer, and has been the driving force of the Slovakian U18 squad that also plays in Slovakia’s second highest men’s league. Questionable is if any of them can really compare to Alex Ciernik, son of former part-time NHLer Ivan Ciernik, who is making serious noise with Södertälje’s U20 team, for which he’s got 21 points in 19 games. He too was a prime contributor at the Hlinka Gretzky Tournament (seven points) and has been playing in Sweden for the past four seasons.

Now, for the really astute among our readers, you’ll probably have noticed that nearly a dozen names have been provided here without a word about the most exciting, up-and-coming Slovak out there, namely Dalibor Dvorsky. Yep, we’re talking about the 16-year-old who had 12 points at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He’s the same kid who is second in scoring in Sweden’s U20 league with 27 points in 18 games. By the way, the leading scorer has two more points in two more games. Dvorsky’s feats have also led to two appearances with AIK’s men’s team, which plays in the Allsvenskan. This season is still young, so we really don’t know just what accomplishments Dvorsky will be capable of, but if he’d manage to lead the “J20 Nationell” in scoring, he’d be the youngest player ever to do so.

In light of all this, it’s a true shame that Slovakia’s U18 team isn’t even in the top IIHF group. Yep, the opportunity to gain promotion has been squashed two springs in a row by the worldwide pandemic. Nonetheless, insiders are already contemplating what Slovakia may be capable of doing at next spring’s D1A U18 event.

Some fans out there may be wondering what the big brother Czechs think of all this, considering they’ve continued to have the upper hand internationally for the better part of this decade. What we can definitely say is that righty shot defenseman David Jiricek is doing all he can to get himself into top 10 draft consideration. At 6’3”, the two-way rearguard has four goals and nine points in 20 games at the highest level in the Czech Republic. He’ll be returning to the WJC, probably with a letter on his chest, and one’s got to think that it’s a prime goal of his to outshine Nemec in gaining the better draft position. He’s certainly making that case in pro play this fall.

Tidbits from elsewhere

In Austria, the Red Bull Hockey Juniors (a U23 outfit) have started to pick things up in the professional league AlpsHL, where the kids for several nations - predominantly Austria and Germany - play against grown men. The start was a rough one, but there’s been an upswing in recent weeks and one of the highlights of this move up the standings has been 17-year-old Austrian Luca Auer, a righty shot forward who has 10 goals, 25 points, and a +18 in 18 games. For perspective, Danjo Leonhardt led the team in scoring last winter with 35 points in 32 games while Julian Lutz made headlines with his 13 goals, 26 points, and +13 in 31 games, granted as a 15- and 16-year-old. Auer has a motor and loves to drive the net. He’s also got a mid-July birthday, so you know where he's at draftwise.

It’s also been a while since Slovenia has provided the NHL world with a legitimate prospect, but one young man who is playing in Germany is doing his darndest to change that. Currently leading the Krefeld U23 side that plays in the Oberliga Nord, Germany’s third pro circuit, in scoring is forward Marcel Mahkovec. He’s got an impressive 5-12-17 in just 13 games and has also chipped in 6-9-15 in 8 games for the club’s DNL team. That he’s just 17 is what has many wondering just how high his prospects are? Compact and creative, Mahkovec has suited up 23 times for Slovenia’s U19 selects for various test games and tournaments, putting up 23 goals and 44 points in the process. Also look to see him on the nation’s men’s team, even if only at lower levels of international play.

Finally, we don’t spend a whole lot of time looking at overagers, or more specifically, kids who just aged out of the draft picture entirely, but we’d like to throw some light on two young men in Switzerland’s NL who you may want to keep in the back of your mind for down the road. One is 21-year-old defenseman Mika Henauer who is in his fourth season of pro hockey. He already gained our attention last year by becoming a top four option for Bern basically out of nowhere, putting up 3-14-17 in the process. He was one of the youngest regular blueliners in the league. After 22 games this season, he’s already collected 3-8-11 and continues to grow in importance for his team.

The other name we’d like to bandy about is that of Nando Eggenberger. Yes, you know it. The former Oshawa General once looked like a possible up-n-comer but fell off the map completely after a terrible 19-20 season. Now 22, he’s coming off his best season to date (12 goals in 50 NL games) and looking to put a whole new spin on things, already collecting 16 points in 21 games. To be certain, Eggenberger has a power forward body and can be difficult to handle along the boards and in the corners. The question has always been whether he’s going to start scoring at some point. He is on pace to blow away career highs and place his name into World Championship consideration for the Swiss side.

German Prospect Musings – Edition #1 for the 21-22 Season

Chapin Landvogt — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 21:50:35 +0000

FRISCO, TX USA - APRIL 29: Germany's Adrian Klein #17 passes the puck during preliminary round action against Russia at the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship at Comerica Center on April 29, 2021 in Frisco, TX USA. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/HHOF-IIHF Images)

The 2021-22 season has been up and running since September and, with the exception of a few postponed games here and there throughout the various pro leagues for Covid-related reasons, has been operating pretty smoothly. And when it comes to prospects eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft, the DEL and the other two pro circuits are chock full of kids who come into question.

Unfortunately, it’s not looking like much of a banner year when it comes to hot topics for the draft despite the myriad of players 20 and younger who are playing across three pro leagues and the nation’s top junior league showing some interesting development among players 18 and younger. There are several glaring reasons for this.

First and foremost is the fact that the nation’s top first year draft eligible entering the season, Julian Lutz, is experiencing an extremely disappointing season to date. The good news is that his play is not to blame, but rather the lack thereof as Lutz has been injured since the preseason and hasn’t yet played a minute of regular season action for any teams. He has a contract with the Red Bull Munich organization of the DEL and many were looking to see if he’d pick up right where JJ Peterka left off.

And he still might, but he’s out for now.

It should be noted that Lutz did play at the Hlinka Gretzky Tournament this summer and only managed two points (both very fine goals) over four games, putting up a -9 in the process for a German team that lost its first three games including a double-figure loss to host Slovakia.

Another major reason for the lack of draft year punch lies in the fact that Roman Kechter (Rögle U20), Moritz Elias (Saskatoon Blades), Rayan Bettahar (Swift Current Broncos) and Leo Hafenrichter (Guelph Storm) are all first-year eligibles playing abroad and they, along with Lutz, build what were basically the top five German prospects heading into the season, but they’ll all come under the guise of Sweden or North America when it comes to their categorization next summer, should they not head back to Germany before the season ends.

So, who’s left?

The top prospect at the moment is defenseman Adrian Klein. Already a top four defenseman for Germany at last spring’s U18 WC, Klein is already 18 and just missed the September 15th cutoff date for last summer’s draft (with a September 18th birthday), making him one of the oldest first-year eligibles in next summer’s draft. Having made noise as a 16-year-old when he spent the whole season in Germany’s 3rd highest pro circuit, he already got into 31 DEL games for the Straubing Tigers as a 17-year-old, having scored one goal in the process. He has suited up 10 times for Straubing this season as well, going scoreless to date with a -2 rating, but was loaned to DEL2 partner Landshut, where he has two goals, five points, and a +5 rating in just four games, opening quite a few eyes in the process.

Next up is forward Luca Hauf, who next to Lutz, was the youngest player on Germany’s U18 squad in Texas. Having had a monster season as a 16/17-year-old in Germany’s 3rd pro circuit last year (31 points in 37 games), Hauf has a contract with the DEL’s Krefeld Pinguine for this season where, as a 17-year-old, he’s gotten into just six games and is coming in at a -3. He has been loaned out to the same 3rd league team for nine games thus far this season where he has scored five goals and 11 points, showing progress in a league that is still dominated by professional men, including a number of former Canadian juniors and college players.

At the moment, there’s no indication that he’ll be gaining consideration for the WJC team, and he’ll be too old for next spring’s U18 squad. He was a top six forward for Germany at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, collecting one assist and a -2 over four games. Hauf is on the draft map, but if he’s got any intent of being drafted, the scouting community is going to need to see him get back to the DEL and then make a little bit of music once there.

Overagers throughout the DEL

In European leagues like the SHL, Liiga, and even Russia’s VHL, it’s not uncommon for NHL scouts to be keeping close tabs on a number of overagers. This is naturally different for a league like the DEL, where there are quite a handful of slightly older players who are draft eligible earning a paycheck. Nonetheless, not a one of them is doing much producing just now. Third-year eligible Florian Elias is about the best of the bunch with four points and +5 in 11 games while Krefeld’s third-year eligible Alexander Blank is top nine forward for his team but has just six points and a -5 rating in 19 games.

Another third-time eligible forward is former Owen Sound Attacker Josh Samanski who really arrived on the scene in the DEL2 playoffs last season (10 points in seven games). The 19-year-old has scored four fabulous goals (five total points) in 17 games for Straubing while also collecting three points in two DEL2 parties for Landshut. It should be pointed out that his DEL club has had plenty of problems scoring goals this season despite a top-heavy top 6, meaning Samanski has understandably been getting bottom six minutes.

One of the overage players we most wanted to keep an eye on this season is Bennet Rossmy, a 6’3” forward who captained the U18 entry in Texas. He has indeed gotten into 17 DEL games with the Eisbären Berlin and another six with the club’s DEL2 partner in Weisswasser, but other than an assist in six CHL games for Berlin, he has yet to hit the scoring sheet. With the recent acquisition of ex-NHLer Frans Nielsen to an already full line-up, it’s hard to think Rossmy is on the quick path to extra ice time.

Several other overage Germans of note are currently playing in Austria.

Red Bull Juniors having a tough go of it in the AlpsHL

The RB Hockey Juniors kicked off last season with a bang before levelling off as the playoffs approached, eventually seeing a first round exit. This year, the team got off to a slow start and has picked things up recently but can’t seem to find a rhythm. The team doesn’t quite have the horses it had last season and many goals against have been self-inflicted, with unnecessary individual errors popping up at an alarming rate.

Nonetheless, Germany’s top goalie for the draft plays here and he’s looking at a possible starting gig at the WJC. Florian Bugl has managed a respectable 2.98 GAA and a 3-5 record for the struggling club over eight games, but his .883 save percentage has been alarming, if not indicative of the fate of the club thus far. Still, he was the rock who stood in goal for Germany’s victories at last winter’s WJC and, as a third-time eligible for the draft, is currently the best undrafted goaltending prospect coming out of Germany.

His top German partner on the blueline is Sten Fischer, a good-sized righty shot who was part of last spring’s U18 squad. His five points and +5 in 14 games are nice, but nothing to write home about, even if he’s one to keep an eye on. In general, the RB Hockey Juniors have very few German defensemen in the line-up.

Up front, first-year overager Thomas Heigl has had some moments with his six goals and nine points over 14 games but was expected to have more of an offensive impact. Nonetheless, he’s also gotten into three games for Munich of the DEL, having scored his first DEL goal last weekend. His twin brother Nikolaus has been out of action with an injury all season.

The most impressive German on the team has been third-year eligible Josef Eham (currently 19), who is second on the team in scoring with eight goals and 22 points in 18 games. He was already a nice contributor last season, but for comparison’s sake, he had just 20 points in 35 games, a total he’s surpassed in half the time already this season. As such, he’s forced himself into WJC consideration and is a name a lot of DEL teams are keeping tabs on.

As for first-year eligible Germans playing for the juniors in Salzburg, 17-year-old Philipp Krening came into the season as one to watch and looked like he’d live up to the billing, having put up five points in his first six games. He has now been out with what looks like an injury ever since but remains a hot topic for the U18 WC. He wore an “A” on his jersey for Germany at the Gretzky Hlinka Tournament.

Lastly, we’re going to put an asterisk next to Daniel Assavolyuk, a tiny German national of Kazakh descent. He got a late start into the season, but after putting up five goals and six points in just three games for the program’s U18 team, which plays in the Czech Republic’s U20 league, the 17-year-old was pulled up to the pro junior outfit and has quietly put up four points and a +5 rating in four games, even if several points came in the team’s recent 10-3 victory over Cortina. He’s got a real nose for the net and there’s a torpedo aspect to his attacking prowess.

4 Nations Tournament in Lillehammer, Norway

Germany’s preliminary U20 squad will be playing an immensely important test tournament from the 10-15th of November. Host Norway naturally won’t be in attendance at the WJC next month, but both Slovakia and Switzerland will be and testing their mettle at this juncture will be extremely important for Germany’s coaching staff, which will take a squad consisting 100% of nominees currently playing in Europe. That means that none of the Germans currently in North America, be it those eligible who are playing pro, college or Canadian juniors, will be in attendance in Norway.

This list of those abroad would include the German shooting star blueliner from the last WJC, Luca Münzenberger, drafted in the third round by Edmonton who is currently playing for the University of Vermont as a “true” freshman. It’s hard to see him not being part of the team this winter. This would also be the case for Haakon Hänelt, drafted by the Washington Capitals this past summer, who has five points in seven games for Gatineau of the QMJHL as well as forwards Kevin Niedenz (Oshawa Generals) and Yannick Proske (Spokane Chiefs).

And we shouldn’t forget that Peterka and Lukas Reichel, both enjoying decent starts to their seasons in the AHL, are each still eligible for the WJC.

That brings us to the group that’ll be showing up in Norway. To begin, Klein will be the only attendee who is in his first year of draft eligibility whereas goaltender Nikita Quapp will be the only player who has already been drafted (6th round by the Carolina Hurricanes). Quapp started the season off quite poorly for the DEL’s Krefeld Pinguine but bounced back with some outstanding performances and despite a less than spectacular 3.29 GAA and sub-.900 save percentage, has put up a 3-3 record for a struggling club. In fact, he’s the only U23 drafted German playing in the DEL this season save for Florida’s Justin Schutz (21), who has failed to get on the scoreboard in five games for Munich.

Very interesting is that the blueline will feature six players who have spent the bulk of this season playing in the DEL. Next to Klein, this list includes Arkadiusz Dziambor, Max Glötzl, Fabrizio Pilu, Maks Szuber, and Simon Stowasser. Not a one of them assumes an offensive role of any sort for their team and none have more than the three points Stowasser has for the Bremerhaven Pinguins, even if Dziambor is sporting a +6 for Mannheim and has spent the whole season in the DEL, one of the bigger surprises among U20 skaters. Daniel Schwaiger of the RB Juniors and Justus Böttner of the third league Black Dragons Erfurt round out the eight defensemen heading north.

The 13 forwards nominated include the aforementioned Elias, Blank, Samanski, Rossmy, and Eham, all of whom are likely to be among the team’s top 9. Having the best shot at rounding out the top three lines are WJC returnees Justin Volek and Markus Schweiger as well as Maciej Rutkowski and a McKeen’s favorite in Danjo Leonhardt. The former gained notoriety for his 31 points in 43 third league games as an 18-year-old last season and has now dressed for all of Krefeld’s DEL games, putting up three points to date. The latter was the RB Juniors’ top scorer last season (35 points in 32 games) in his second year of draft eligibility, albeit he was extremely young in his first year of eligibility. The native of Berlin is now taking a regular shift in a defensive capacity for Salzburg of the Austrian-based ICEHL, with just four points in 17 games, but did collect three points and a +3 in three games during the U20’s Summer Challenge in Füssen. We’d certainly be very curious to see the slick center in Alberta this winter.

Rounding off the forward crew are Jakub Borzecki, Jussi Petersen, Noah Dunham, and Yannik Burghardt. Like Leonhardt, Borzecki is also a double overager who is plying his trade for Salzburg of the ICEHL, but the rest are all playing in the DEL2. Dunham is doing the best of the group with seven points in 13 games for Heilbronn while Burghardt has been carefully allotted ice time for Kaufbeuren, with four points in 12 games, while also playing for his club’s DNL team, where he’s turned heads with 13 goals in just nine games. With just one assist along the way, he’s clearly shooting for that league’s Cy Young award.

Bugl and Quapp are the names in goal and should be seen as a very competitive pairing heading into the WJC when compared to the goaltending prospects for Austria, Slovakia, and Switzerland. Arno Tiefensee is also a returnee from last winter and is along for the ride in Norway, but with his 2.51 GAA and .910 save percentage in five games for Heilbronn of the DEL2, it’s very possible the 6’4” giant has a different standing in the pecking order in the eyes of Germany’s coaching staff.

All in all, the 4 Nations Tournament will be pivotal for several of the players listed above, as one has to think that no less than Münzenberger and Hänelt will be on the WJC squad while the DEB will be putting in every favor necessary to gain the services of Peterka and Reichel.

Looking ahead

In our next issue of German Prospect Musings, we’ll be taking a deeper look into what’s going on in Germany’s DNL as the league has been firing on all cylinders and a number of 17- and 18-year-olds have been showing some strong to dominating tendencies that should see them get pro and U18 team consideration as the season progresses.

We’ll conclude this piece by making our first mention of a young man we’ll be keeping a close eye on in gaining our bearings for the 2024 NHL Draft, namely Jan-Felix Faupel. With 12 points in nine games for Mannheim’s U17 team and another two in two games for the club’s very stocked DNL team, the 15-year-old forward is already leaving a number of older colleagues in his dust. Before joining the Mannheim organization, he had played for Wolfsburg’s U17 team - with three points in 30 games as a 13-year-old and then 14 points in five games as a 14-year-old, both seasons shortened by the global pandemic.

GERMANY: PROSPECT MUSINGS III

Chapin Landvogt — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 13:59:20 +0000

GERMAN FRONT PROSPECT MUSINGS III

With the IIHF Men’s World Championships long since concluded, the German ice hockey scene can look back at what was a resoundingly positive season, having finished 4th overall at the WC tournament after conducting a DEL season that saw only one game be cancelled due to implications of the Coronavirus. Despite the national team’s disappointing quarterfinal and bronze medal game losses to Finland and the USA respectively, Germany is now ranked 5th overall in the IIHF’s world rankings. This puts them ahead of Sweden and the Czech Republic - for the time being.

The team that suited up in Riga, Latvia, didn’t feature any draft-eligible prospects, but it did feature the country’s top three drafted prospects outside of the NHL in Moritz Seider, Lukas Reichel, and JJ Peterka, with Florida’s Justin Schütz having been one of the last cuts before the tournament. Aside from Reichel’s five points in the first two games, all three got onto the scoring sheet at the tournament and Seider was even named the WC’s top overall defenseman, an honor previously unknown to German players, much less those strutting their stuff as 20-year-olds. It would seem that after having already been named the SHL’s Defenseman of the Year, the physical all-rounder is on the fast path to a fixed spot on the Red Wings’ blueline.

For Reichel, who mixed in a few costly turnovers among his many highly creative and effective plays, he put pen to paper on his ELC with the Chicago Blackhawks several weeks ago, coming off a regular season in which he centered the top line for the DEL’s champion Eisbären Berlin. Put simply, he may be coming off one of the best seasons any drafted prospect outside of the NHL had in a hockey world that has very much been scarred by the worldwide pandemic. Of course, the same could be said about Seider too.

Peterka and Schutz enjoyed nothing close to the same success, but each took steps in their development and clearly had their best pro seasons to date. Starting things out for Salzburg in the Austrian-based ICEHL, Peterka managed to chip in 16 points and a +4 rating in just 12 games while Schütz collected 15 and a -1 in 25 games. The tide flipped a bit once both were finally brought in to play with their mother club, the Munich Red Bulls. Schütz tallied 11 goals, 21 points, and a +11 rating over 34 games while Peterka did pretty much the same with 10 goals, 21 points, and a +8 rating over 32 games, having had his outstanding WJC (10 points in 5 games) in between the two pro stints. Alas, both experienced a very disappointing playoffs when their team was swept right in the first round by Ingolstadt, but both will be in very promising positions should they end up in Munich for a third season.

All things considered, the teams owning the rights to all four of these players can be happy with the steps taken this past season.

Bennet Rossmy. Photo by Dan Hickling, Hickling Images

U18 experience very telling

It was a very good thing that the first U18 WC tournament in two years was one in which no team was relegated, as Team Germany faced a number of challenges that ultimately heavily influenced the team’s performance at the tournament and would, in a normal year, have seen Germany playing against Latvia in a relegation round. The team was looking like it could have been quite interesting, and there were plenty of candidates who had spent this past winter playing pro hockey at some level. But the ideal situation crumbled very quickly.

As things were, the extended roster headed to camp filled with players who had only played 8-12 games of DNL hockey before their seasons were cancelled at the beginning of November 2020. Then a number of candidates had to step out due to injury or Covid, and this unfortunately included the nation’s top 1st year eligible prospect for this summer’s draft, DELer Haakon Hänelt, as well as three of the four most promising prospects for the 2022 NHL Draft, DEL winger Roman Kechter, DEL center Moritz Elias, and defenseman Leo Hafenrichter, each of whom was scheduled for a spot on the top two lines. In fact, the 16-year-old Hafenrichter was even expected to be on the top defensive pairing.

This led to a situation where Coach Steffen Ziesche had to put together a team where regular shifts would be taken by young men who hadn’t played competitive hockey since November. A few others had seen a few shifts here or there for a 3rd tier pro team. To make matters worse, the team’s test game weekend in Switzerland right before the flight to the States had to be cancelled due to a Covid outbreak, leaving it with no attempt to truly test its lines and systems until one single test game was set up in Texas, ironically against Latvia, to whom it lost.

Sadly, for Germany, the team also found itself in the tournament’s Group of Death, facing off against four of the world’s traditional top six nations in the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, and the host USA. The schedule didn’t help either. The Czech Republic was expected to be the most beatable opponent in the group, but Germany faced them right off the bat in its first game, having only played that one test game beforehand. A 3-1 loss in which goaltender Nikita Quapp made a number of very noticeable saves and was considered quite solid, but it never really felt like Germany was much of a threat and, as should have been expected, there were plenty of unforced, self-caused turnovers and errors that a more routine and practiced team likely wouldn’t have been guilty of.

Germany got a bit better over the next two games against Russia and the USA, with a 5-3 loss to the USA serving as a moral victory of sorts, but with the team out of playoff contention after three games, Coach Ziesche decided to start the team’s third string goaltender, Luca Ganz. This was surely a nice gesture, but the young man had only played two games this year and they were each last fall. The Finns proceeded to lead the game 2-0 after their first few shots and 5-0 after 13 minutes of play. The end result was 10-0, but the game felt like it was over after the first two goals against, for all intents and purposes. Ganz was left in net the entire time and the team played as if it was ready to head to the airport.

Considering Quapp was fighting to be a draft selection this summer and Simon Wolf (2022 eligible), who was quite solid for the majority of the game against the USA, is the likely starter for Germany next spring, one has to wonder what good this decision was for any of Germany's three goaltenders? It didn't help a guy playing for his draft position nor did it have an eye on the future when relegation will likely be part of the story again. In addition, what act of charity was it to keep a clearly overwhelmed netminder in goal for 10 goals against at a level of play he just wasn't ready for?

Whether related or not, Ziesche has since been replaced by former DEL defenseman Alexander Dück, who took over at the beginning of June.

FRISCO, TX USA - APRIL 26: Germany's Julian Lutz #16 skates with the puck while the Czech Republic's Jakub Altrichter #18 chases him down during preliminary round action at the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship at Comerica Center on April 26, 2021 in Frisco, TX USA. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/HHOF-IIHF Images)

What we did learn from the U18

With Hänelt sidelined, left wing Bennet Rossmy took over as the team’s captain and really tried doing all he could to make this a Cinderella tournament for Germany. He collected a few points, he threw some hits, he tried to be a playmaker - it was all for naught in the standings, but there’s a chance that he raised his draft prospects in the process. He’s coming off a year in which he spent the entire season playing for a DEL2 club in Germany’s second-best pro circuit, so he is one of the few German players to get in a full season of play.

Tiny tot defenseman Sandro Mayr showed some very good wheels and overall skating prowess, even though his proficiency dropped as the tournament wore on. It will be interesting if the rest of his game catches up to his feet over time. Defenseman Maxim Rausch might have been a bigger story too if pro rules had been called here instead of international junior league rules, as he can really use the body and knows how to box players out. Adrian Klein really is this year's top 17-year-old defenseman in Germany, and one could see why at this tournament. However, he was painstakingly careful in all he did, making it obvious that he's been playing pro hockey at a level so high (the DEL) that he's used to being on an extremely short leash.

Although all three of Germany's goaltenders got a start, Quapp got into two and put on a performance that only confirmed the progress he made this past winter in making it to the DEL. The Russian-speaker had several real nice moments against Russia and there was a definite difference in composure to that of his two teammates. With size and quickness from post to post on display, the results were less important than the analysis of his tools, as Germany's team defense was simply overwhelmed for large stretches of play.

We nonetheless saw one of this winter’s top German prospects leave us very disappointed, namely forward Sebastian Cimmermann. Yes, he had a nice counterattack goal against the US (one the goalie should have had), but he seemed to have very little overall puck contact and was always chasing the play. He was physically overmatched in most instances. In addition, he was on a line with Thomas and Nikolaus Heigl, both teammates of his at the Red Bull Academy, and both having had far less experience than him this past winter, yet both were far more visible and positively active than Cimmermann. In essence, it was hard to say that he showed the scouting community anything that would lead an NHL team to use one of its seven standard picks on him.

Julian Lutz is Germany's top prospect for the 2022 draft, and some would surely say we saw that here at this tournament, but those having seen him play in the AlpsHL this season will tell you that he didn't even begin to show what he’s capable of in Texas. He seemed hemmed up and just not ready to unleash the lion inside him. Alas, we'll have to wait for him to arrive internationally next year when he'll likely be on the WJC and U18 teams.

Forwards Connor Korte and Robin van Calster got better with each of the first three games and whereas we didn’t really see why exactly Korte put up 20 goals in Switzerland’s top U20 league, we did see that it's a crying shame that van Calster missed just about the entire season when the junior league was cancelled. He definitely showed that he possesses the kind of skill that usually entices NHL talent seekers. A surprise addition to the team, winger Roman Zap was all over the place in a skating capacity and would have been the team's top scorer had he made good on a penalty shot along the way, but for all his spirited forechecking and successful pokechecking, too many plays died when the puck was actually on his stick. That was likely a result of not having played a real game since November.

OTTAWA, ON - MARCH 22: Ottawa Senators Left Wing Tim Stutzle (18) skates during the first period of the NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and the Calgary Flames on March 22, 2021 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire)

Draft now in sight

The euphoria in hockey circles caused by the combination of a WJC playoff performance, the successful rookie season by Tim Stützle, and a DEL league that played some of its most attractive hockey ever despite almost not having taken place whatsoever has been extremely positive this year. This is especially true in light of the plethora of U21 players who saw time in the DEL, much less the DEL2 and Oberliga, many of whom having taken a regular shift.

That all led to more attention for the sport at the nationwide level with a 4th place finish at the Men’s WC. Indeed, a bronze medal would have taken things all that much further as the sport was seen on news channels, in magazines, and online at a level last seen with its silver medal at the 2018 Olympics, giving it a seldom seen rate of exposure two times within a 3-year period.

What will this mean for the upcoming draft?

As we detailed all winter, there is no Seider and there is certainly no triumvirate of forwards such as Stützle, Reichel, and Peterka to select from. Instead, we have a group topped by overage prospect Florian Elias who capped off his wonderful WJC performance and strong DEL season with the DEL’s Rookie of the Year award, although truth be told, there were a few first-year players who either had considerably better stats or meant a good bit more to their respective clubs. He didn’t have a lot of points for Mannheim, but each of his three goals were a thing of beauty, leading many to believe that he’s in store for a much bigger role next season.

After Elias, our list already ventures into a diaspora of young talents who are surely in the scouts’ notebooks, but there’s simply no telling if any team will be willing to take a shot on them in a draft that will feature a boatload of no less than Canadian players who played condensed seasons in the QMJHL and WHL as well as those who had no season whatsoever as part of the OHL. Will weight be placed on players who the scouting community actually got to see play? Will the handful of talents on our list be seen more favorably because they spent this year playing pro hockey? Were other prospects already scouted at such a rate in previous seasons that they’ll still be at the top of the lists for a number of teams?

More specifically, will a guy like Luca Münzenberger, who truly opened some eyes at the WJC, become a forgotten commodity, because his commitment to the University of Vermont prevented him from playing pro hockey this winter? Will the aforementioned Rossmy be a surefire, late round pick because he had a full season of pro hockey and showed his wares at the U18 while his 6’3”, 195 lbs. frame surely makes him enticing for a number of teams one way or the other?

Will an NHL team look at a big kid like 6’3”, 205 lbs. defenseman Klein, consider his full Oberliga season with 16 and full DEL season with 17, throw aside his rather measly offensive stats, and place extra weight on him first turning 18 on September 19th?

Does someone favor Hänelt so much from what they saw of him at Red Bull Academy that they’ll look past his injury woes that caused him to miss both the WJC and U18 as well as his one point in 22 DEL outings?

It’ll be an interesting draft for many reasons, but it would be most realistic to feel that there will be very few German names called. The lack of star power combined with incomplete bodies of work topped by some young kids having played against much older and more mature competition leaves for a difficult take on just what NHL potential lies in this year’s class.

On the other hand, hope springs eternal in a year in which many of the hockey community’s most scouted junior regions were hit hard by our Corona realities, perhaps opening a few draft weekend doors that might not otherwise be opened!

We’re thinking there may just be a surprise or two for the German scene come the end of July.

WJC und U18 teams already preparing for next winter’s challenges

Both Germany’s U20 and U18 teams held summer camps over the past few weeks, giving the program and players a solid opportunity to start forming the teams and pay some very careful attention to the details and gameplans that coaches Tobias Abstreiter (U20) and the aforementioned Dück (U18) wish to implement. In light of last year’s challenges, these measures are very positive and give the scouting community the opportunity to see what’s possibly in store this winter in Edmonton and then next spring right in Germany, where the nation will host the U18 worlds.

That U18 team will feature a number of names that will be of interest for the 2022 NHL Draft, most notably Lutz, Wolf, Luca Hauf, and Rayan Bettahar, who has the option of spending this next winter playing for Swift Current in the WHL. All four return from this spring’s tourney in Texas. The team will also feature a number of young men whose names have played a big role in German ice hockey history including Veit Oswald, Philip Ziesche, Eric Hördler, and Mason Sturm, who is – you guessed it – son of former NHLer Marco Sturm. In Hördler’s case, his father Frank currently plays for the Eisbären Berlin, with whom he has won eight DEL titles. In addition, Jesse Kauhanen’s father is Ilpo is a Finnish national who spent the bulk of his career in the DEL and still works and resides in Germany. Lastly, Moritz Elias is the younger brother of draft-eligible Florian and spent 16 games in the DEL last season, collecting two points along the way. Also, in attendance is Hafenrichter, who should be seen as Germany’s top draft-eligible defenseman for the 2022 draft.

For the WJC squad, 10 returnees from last year’s team will also be part of a special event this month in which the team will meet together in Füssen, Germany, before hosting the U20 Summer Challenge, which will pit the team against the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Slovakia. In total, 28 players have been nominated from the event, but not all of them were part of the camp earlier this summer, including DELers Elias and Simon Stowasser as well as part-time DEL2 defenseman Paul Reiner. A noticeable absentee for this notable mid-summer event will be defenseman Münzenberger, who was on the ice for over 22 minutes a game at the last WJC.

For scouts in attendance, it’ll not only be an excellent opportunity to gauge the progress of overagers whose tourney was cut short due to Covid in Jakub Borzecki, Josh Samanski, and Maks Szuber, but also see current draft-eligible players against older competition in namely Rossmy, Hänelt, Heigl, Blank, Glötzl, Klein, Quapp, and Danjo Leonhardt. A special treat will be viewing Kechter, who’ll be part of the fun as Germany’s youngest players. All in all, 12 of the players nominated spent at least part of last season playing DEL hockey.

In summary, the DEB appears to be very concentrated on repeating its WJC achievement even without the likes of Stützle and Peterka while fielding a U18 team that’ll be able to make some noise in a tournament Germany will be hosting. That was the case by in 2011 when Dresden and Crimmitschau were the venues of importance and Tobias Rieder and his band of relative no-names managed to gain its way into the playoffs. Lutz and co. will surely be happy to have history repeat itself next spring and if it does, he’ll have to be the right in the middle of it.

GERMANY: Prospects Musings II

Chapin Landvogt — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 20:08:10 +0000

GERMAN FRONT PROSPECT MUSINGS II

As March has kicked off and Germany’s pro leagues are either hitting mid-season form or moving rapidly towards a final jostling for playoff positioning, this season has thus far been one for the youth - but yet it hasn’t. The number of players aged 16-20 taking a regular shift, much less those having made their pro debuts, in one of Germany’s top three pro circuits, has been like nothing before. Hardly a team out there hasn’t had at least one 18 or younger player suit up for it. Many have a good handful or more of players 21 or younger.

Naturally, the realities of a world pandemic have in some cases forced the teams’ hands while a shortage of opportunity at junior levels (the DNL, for example, is still on hiatus) has given pro teams a wealth of teenagers to choose from to round out their rosters and ensure well-attended practice sessions. And therein lies the crux of the problem. Many junior players have nowhere to play right now as they sit around and hope that the DNL leagues will somehow continue their season at some point, which is looking unlikely in a country that has seen many corners locked down for a good five weeks now.

These circumstances have turned this season into a completely wasted year for a generation of players. Mind you, we’re not speaking of solely the DNL junior league, but also every organized league under that as well as men’s amateur levels, which have often been a breeding ground for younger players as well.

A positive to be taken here though is that this has meant “opportunity” abounds and a number of the younger players are riding with it. Cologne (8) and Nuremberg (4) alone have each suited up a handful of players aged between 16 and 20, something very notable for a league that is notorious for having precious few players even as young as 23 on its rosters. The DEL2 and Oberligas have been more than sprinkled with players 18 or younger to the point where hardly a team isn’t making use of players this age, even if the reasons for going this route may also be of a financial nature.

Max Glötzl

Draftee pool 2021

Things have changed since early December and several of the prospects felt to be the most important for this draft class have seen their fortunes dissipate, none more so than the top prospect for the 2021 NHL Draft at the time, Haakon Hänelt. After an injury derailed him for the first half of the DEL season, he has managed to get into 13 DEL games for the Eisbären Berlin, but has just one goal to his name, coming in at an even +/- rating in the process for a team that is currently atop the North Group standings. Making matters a bit worse for Hänelt and his draft ambitions is that the team has been winning a lot lately, often by high scores, so there is no rush to give him a larger role. Will he get a shot via a reassignment to the DEL2? That is an option, but he is currently on the mends again after a recent minor injury. Naturally, he is lined up for the U18 Worlds in Texas, so there may be a push from the German Ice Hockey Federation to see if he can’t get a larger role somewhere else over the next six weeks, especially in a rehabbing capacity.

Our big risers to kick off the season, forwards Sebastian Cimmermann and Bennet Rossmy, have both come down to earth since then. Both remain players to watch and are basically surefire candidates for the U18 team. In Rossmy’s case, he may be looking a lot more “human” than he did to start things off for the Lausitz Foxes of the DEL2, but he has continued to play regularly for the team (getting sometimes more, sometimes less ice time) and has a respectable three goals and 11 points in 34 games. His -11 is nothing to write home about, but he is a 17-year-old in a giant body playing against men, a challenge scouts are very familiar with and can make time for.

Cimmermann simply hasn’t been getting the reps, having only suited up for 12 games since the beginning of December, but seven goals, 15 points, and an overall +16 rating for the Red Bull juniors in 22 games is more than respectable, especially with the number of U23 player options that team can suit up. The AlpsHL playoffs are just around the corner, so it will be interesting to see if he manages to get ice time when the chips are all on the table.

This leads us to the other two players who built our initial top 5 group before Christmas, namely WJC participants Florian Elias and Max Glötzl, both second year eligibles. For Elias - and we would like to once again point out that he is about as young a second time eligible as you can find -, we can only say that his coming out party at the U20 Worlds has been followed by going straight to Mannheim where he has taken a regular shift and seen time pivoting the 2nd line and showing up on the team’s 2nd power play unit. The two goals, four points, and -1 rating over 16 games have been minimal, but the youngster has been highly involved all over the ice and right in the middle of plenty of other opportunities to date for a team that should be scoring more goals, but nonetheless comfortably sits at the top of the DEL’s standings. It should be added that both of Elias’ goals were bullet wrist shots from a distance that simply beat the goaltender cleanly. If we would have to gander, he is looking like the most certain German to be drafted this year. Nonetheless, he was just sent down to the DEL2 to get extra shifts.

Glötzl’s WJC appearance was not one to get excited about. Sure, he saw plenty of ice time, but he looked like a player stretched beyond the limits of his capabilities and didn’t necessarily have the kind of decision-making prowess that screams “future NHLer”. The size is right and it’s not like he is afraid to go where it hurts and dish out some hurt as well, but unless he was a bit overwhelmed by Germany’s Covid-induced circumstances, his status as an unknown prospect of note has likely been parked. There was just too much vanilla in his game and a handful of unforced errors along the way. Since returning to Germany, he has continued to see regular ice time for Bad Nauheim in the DEL2 (22 games, seven assists, -5) and even suited up for three games with Cologne in the DEL (no points), but there is little reason to think that he is a prospect for the 2021 Draft at this juncture.

On the horizon

As the season has progressed, some other names are busy arriving on the scene to some degree. After putting on a very solid WJC performance, save for roughly 10 minutes against Switzerland, goaltender Florian Bugl has continued to be the go-to man in goal for Red Bull Juniors. A 2.62 GAA, .910 save percentage, and 16-11 record are what the 18-year-old has to show for his efforts in a men’s league.

Due to Swedish juniors being put on extended pause, forward Roman Kechter - a probable candidate for the upcoming U18 team - has headed down to become a lower line regular for the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, which continues to be the DEL’s bottom feeder. The lack of more than one assist and -8 rating in 11 games are nothing to smile about, but his team has been offensively futile for much of 2021 and Kechter hasn’t looked out of place with respect to pace and physicality. He has also been receiving over ten minutes of ice time per game, with it increasing incrementally as the season progresses. Although nothing has come of them, several of his passes not only set up teammates perfectly but have displayed the kind of vision and on-your-toes thinking that you don’t often find around the DEL. Kechter will not be returning to Rögle to complete the season, so scouts will be able to see how he continues to develop over the next 18 DEL contests.

A player who continues to gain our interest is Danjo Leonhardt, who has improved as the season has progressed. The 18-year-old is a teammate of Bugl’s and has put up 11 goals and 33 points over 32 games, making him one of the team’s most frequently dressed players and its top scorer. He also has a +17 rating in the process. There are no glaring weaknesses in his game and yet his offensive flair has only seemed to grow this season. Basically a non-prospect for last fall’s draft, yet still only 18 until August 22nd, we have got to think the scouts following the Red Bull Akademie program know very well who Danjo is and what he is capable of against men.

Lastly, we would like to mention Markus Schweiger as a first time eligible who is worth keeping on your radar. A victim of the Covid protocol, the 5-6” forward only suited up for Germany’s last two games but was immediately placed on the second line and showed a good bit of moxie, tournament-level wheels, and a good head on his shoulders. He looked sturdy and had little problem with the rough stuff. There were no points at the WJC and he has only amassed four in 14 games with Kaufbeuren of the DEL2 since returning from the WJC, but he chipped in 12 in nine DNL games before the pause and is a player the German program is very high on. Unfortunately, he has aged out of the U18 team.

Limbo

We mentioned after the WJC that defenseman Luca Münzenberger was, along with Elias, the big winner for Germany in gaining notoriety on the prospect front. He has not been able to do anything to enhance that status since, but this is to no fault of his own. As a player committed to the University of Vermont, and with the DNL currently inactive, there is simply no place for him to play. Pro teams would love to incorporate him right now, including his parent club, Cologne, but that would of course strip him of college hockey eligibility. For players such as himself, there has been no destination to turn to. His ice time since the WJC seems to have consisted solely of practices.

The situation isn’t nearly as vicious for Nikita Quapp, as well as WJC participant Arno Tiefensee, the two goaltenders most noteworthy on Germany’s prospect front. Although Tiefensee basically got rocked in his two WJC outings and hasn’t really put up the type of numbers for the DEL2’s Heilbronn Falcons, the 6-4”, 190-pound giant has nonetheless split duties at that level and sports a 5-8 record for a team that is unexpectedly mired in last place. The slightly smaller Quapp, coming in at 6-3”, 187 lbs., has now gotten into five DEL games, most of them over the last 10 outings, and has gone from looking overwhelmed to nearly pitching shutouts, collecting a 1-2 record to date. This has been a breath of fresh air for a Krefeld team that won’t be exiting last place this season. He has seen action in seven Oberliga games, where his numbers have been completely underwhelming.

The point of mentioning these two is that they were scheduled to be integral go-to pieces for their respective DNL clubs and thus, aren’t getting to experience the type of age-conducive play that would give the scouting community a true look at just what type of prospects they are, much less allow them a steady presence and role in net. Being a 2003-born player, Quapp can at least look forward to what should be a starting job on the U18 team.

Overaging it

It is always hard to tell just what it means to see double overagers achieving things at a nation’s highest pro level, but Germany does have several players we simply must mention, as their ice time - and to a degree, their achievements - demand some attention. Former QMJHLer Taro Jentzsch has one more shot at the draft and has a very respectable 14 points and +1 in 20 DEL games for Iserlohn, even if he has slowed down a bit recently. He only has three goals, but they have all been of the highlight reel variety.

Likewise, 19-year-old Alexander Blank has been seeing more and more top six minutes and power play time for the hapless Krefeld Penguins, chipping in seven points in 20 games. The son of long-term DEL scorer Boris, he is plugging away for a team lacking offense and he spent the first part of the season with Krefeld’s Oberliga team, with which he racked up an outstanding 27 points in 16 games. The way things are going, it is hard to think he won’t be with Germany’s WJC squad next December. We know that he has entered the discussion for Germany’s U23 squad, which in normal years appears at tournaments such as the Deutschland Cup.

Cologne center Marcel Barinka has also been playing top six minutes and has 14 points and +3 in 20 games. He is a Czech national with a German player pass and is also the son of former part-time NHLer Michal Barinka. After two unspectacular seasons in the QMJHL, the 19-year-old has been making his mark at the DEL level against professionals, looking like he has a whole new lease on his hockey life.

An honorable mention may also be in store for goaltender Tobias Ancicka, who just turned 20 a week ago. Left off Team Germany as the first to fail a Covid test (ironically back in action in Germany a good week ahead of the WJC), the expected #1 in net has played six games for Berlin in the DEL and 11 for its DEL2 affiliate. His numbers for the Lausitz Foxes, currently two points out of last place, have not been shiny, but the 1.95 GAA and .928 save percentage at the DEL level have raised some eyebrows, with these numbers having come very recently. He is expected to be the back-up for the Eisbären for the rest of the season.

Several of the overagers we had hoped to see something from, namely Nino Kinder in Berlin, Elias Lindner in Munich, and Simon Gnyp in Cologne, haven’t put anything of note together, which is a shame for particularly the latter after he led all WJC defenders with 29:57 minutes of power play time and overall average ice time with 27:09 minutes per game. There is 20-year-old defenseman Philipp Mass in Krefeld, who has three points and a -7 in 12 games and was getting more than 17 minutes of ice time per game over his first three contests after having kicked off the season with five points in 13 games for the Red Bull Juniors in the AlpsHL. Just down the highway in Cologne, undersized 20-year-old Jan-Luca Sennhenn has been getting roughly 12 minutes per game (two assists, -2) in his 19 outings for Coach Uwe Krupp, which has come as a surprise to the many who had figured both Gnyp and Glötzl would be ahead of him in the pecking order.

Then, of course, there are forwards Jakub Borzecki (15 points and +10 in 22 games), Manuel Alberg (15 and +2 in 22), Jozef Eham (19 and +6 in 31), Sam Dubé (10 in 18), and defenseman Maks Szuber (11 and +11 in 27) playing for the Red Bull Juniors as well, three of whom we saw at the WJC. A strong end to the AlpsHL season could show a team enough to consider such players with a late round pick, even if that kind of thing is seeming less common nowadays.

Lastly, 6-3” Josh Samanski played a regular shift at the WJC and played for the Owen Sound Attack last season. He would have been there this year too, but he is getting plenty of experience and opportunity with Ravensburg of the DEL2, where he has three goals, 13 points, and a +2 over 29 games. He is a regular and will be playing playoff hockey this season, should he not be returning to Owen Sound. The son of a long-term coach in Germany, he very well understands the KISS principle and seems to be appreciated wherever he plays.

Swiss mades

Speaking of overagers, Leipzig native Daniel Neumann has spent the past few years playing in Switzerland’s junior ranks. Having just turned 19 two weeks ago, he is worth keeping an eye on because he seems to be a bit of a shoo-in for next winter’s WJC. We say this considering his 23 points (and +26) in 24 games for Zug’s U20 team, which has led to a promotion to the Zug Academy men’s team, which plays in Switzerland’s SL, the second tier of pro play. There, he has added another 15 points and +4 in 27 games, showing that he is not out of place at the pro level.

A more interesting first year eligible for the scouting community is 5-11” forward Connor Korte, who continues to ply his trade with Davos’ U20 program, where he has 17 goals and 25 points in 35 games. He just turned 18 on January 31st, and thus, is eligible for U18 team play, which is looking likely at this point. He has been one of the few German juniors who has been able to get in a whole season of play.

U18 on the way

Team Germany will find itself in another “Group of Death” at the upcoming U18 in Texas, but everyone is just happy that the event is taking place. In light of the dubious circumstances described throughout these musings, one can imagine that the U18 team will consist of a lot of young players who have gained pro experience this year. We have named several here, but there are a couple more of note who are likely in strong contention.

Defenseman Adrian Klein has suited up for 21 DEL games this season and another six in the Oberliga. There is nothing in the line of points worth mentioning, but he is simply -2 at the DEL level and has been raved about with respect to his ability to understand the game and play within his limits. Kai Zernickel is 6-5” and 180 lbs. and has also gotten into four DEL games. Both of these players are just 17.

Up front, Iserlohn’s youngsters Yannick Proske (19 games) and Nils Elten (4 games) have seen some action in lower line roles and there is not a point between them, but Proske in particular has gained the coach’s faith in taking a regular 4th line shift. He was supposed to be a big part of the story for Mannheim’s DNL team this season.

We would also be surprised if 17-year-old Luigi Calce of the Mannheim program wasn’t part of the equation. Expected to be one of the DNL’s top players this season, he has since dressed for nine DEL2 games and has three points. In addition, several members of the Red Bull program are also likely in contention, namely twins Thomas and Nicolaus Heigl, Philip Feist, Sten Fischer, and 16-year-old defenseman Jesse Kauhanen.

We will have a more complete preview of this team as the tournament approaches.

Sweet 16

In our last installment, we mentioned the name Julian Lutz as Germany’s top 16-year-old talent and he still is. His success with the Red bull Hockey Juniors in the pro AlpsHL (14 goals, 26 points in 30 games) has led to a one-game debut with Red Bull Munich (one assist) and now seven games with EC Salzburg of the ICEHL (formerly EBEL) in Austria, where he has two goals and three points. He continues to be a rising star who we will be keeping a close eye on in light of a game that has a few thinking he could be the next Tim Stützle.

The age of 16 has become a very interesting one on the German hockey front this season. Florian may be the most sought-after prospect in Germany for now, but his younger brother Moritz Elias has spent time in the DEL as well this year, having suited up for 15 games thus far and collecting a goal and two points. Most impressive has been his 0 +/- rating thus far, because his Nuremberg team is mired in last place in the DEL’s southern group and has let in plenty of goals against. New DEL coach Frank Fischöder came over to the team directly from Mannheim’s junior ranks and brought Moritz, among others, with him. The youngster has been a good one to date and recently faced off against brother Florian, which no-one would have suspected before this season.

We would also like to mention Luca Hauf. He just turned 17 on January 11th but has played much of the season as a 16-year-old for Krefeld 1981 in Germany’s 3rd circuit where he has 12 goals and 28 points in 31 games, good for third on the team in scoring thus far. He is only 5-11” and a slight 155 lbs., but his journey has only just begun, and the lefty shot has raised plenty of eyes in Germany’s ice hockey landscape and beyond. He got into his first DEL game just this past week and will be watched closely moving forward.

Forwards aren’t the only 16-year-olds of note thus far this season. Defenseman Leo Hafenrichter (6-0”, 170) has played two games for Cologne in the DEL and three for Bad Nauheim in the DEL2. He has only received a few shifts at the DEL level, but he is looking like one of Germany’s strongest prospects for the 2022 draft and defensemen this age don’t typically even get considered for top league play. He too has a good shot at representing Germany in Texas later this spring, a tournament we’ll have much to report on in our next edition.

GERMANY: Prospect Musings for the 2021 NHL Draft

Chapin Landvogt — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 20:18:30 +0000

GERMAN FRONT PROSPECT MUSINGS

With the Federal Republic of Germany having spent the fall ringing in a number of more cautious measures in dealing with the global Corona pandemic, it wasn’t until November 6^th that things really got started on any major ice hockey fronts within the country, with the exception of the DNL (top junior league) season, in which the teams played up to ten games each before league play was interrupted for a period of five weeks, tentatively scheduled to end on December 5^th. Pro level hockey fun was kicked off with a boom with the yearly Deutschland Cup, featuring both the national team AND a U23 entry called Top Team Peking, which included a handful of players eligible for next summer’s NHL draft. Germany’s second (DEL2) and third (Oberliga) pro circuits also began, both chock full of players aged 21 or younger. As a caveat, it is also worth mentioning that the international Red Bull Akademie has also been underway in the professional Alps Hockey League, with a roster that features U20 players from several nations, Germany included.

Hockey hungry German fans received more good news in mid-November, when the DEL announced that its season would be starting on December 17^th, when all 14 teams would head into action in two different groups, each team playing a 38-game regular season. In light of how things looked as late as October, in which it was doubtful a DEL season could be conducted, news of upcoming DEL action could be a saving grace for a hockey nation that saw its hockey progress endangered with the cancellation of its top league, the side effects of which would have been crippling on a number of fronts.

So, what does this all mean for the international scouting community in assessing German prospects for the 2021 NHL Draft?

What we can tell you is that Haakon Hänelt is the top German first-year eligible prospect for the 2021 NHL Draft. The 17-year old winger (first turns 18 next June) was expected to be on last spring’s U18 team at the tender age of 16 and played for the Red Bull Akademie’s U20 team all of last season (22 points in 32 games). In fact, his three games with the club’s U18 team saw him gather eight points and +8 rating, including a 5-point outing in his one regular season appearance. He is now under contract and scheduled to play for the Eisbären Berlin of the DEL, for whom he is already showing up in tests games as part of the Magenta Cup (even scoring a goal in a recent 7-2 loss). He also participated with Top Team Peking in the Deutschland Cup and scored a lovely goal along the way which showed just what kind of hands and hockey mind he has. His story will really start taking flight on December 17^th. We will unfortunately not be seeing him at the WJC.

After Hänelt, the next two top talents on the German front are overagers Florian Elias and Max Glötzl. These were the two German players we here at McKeen’s felt would be next in line for NHL teams after Tim Stützle, Lukas Reichel, and JJ Peterka at the most recent draft, but both surely took a back seat in the notebooks of NHL scouting authorities when the COVID-19 pandemic brought last season to an untimely end. The highly unique circumstances of this past draft left them, like many players, a bit lost in the numbers, unable to strut their stuff in any DNL playoffs or the U18 world championships.

Elias is currently playing with the Adler Mannheim and has not looked out of place, picking up where he left off at the Deutschland Cup as one of the drivers for Top Team Peking. A shorter, stocky player, Elias turned 18 last August and remains one of the younger overagers out there, which should make him all that much more attractive to follow as a draft-eligible this winter. A trip to the WJC is in the cards as the young forward looks like one of the few players Germany can seriously look at as a second-wave offensive producer. Glötzl, on the other hand, has already laced up his skates for six DEL2 games this season and impressed against men with four points and a +3 rating. Like Elias, he will be one to watch on the WJC squad, to which he brings an impressive 6-2”, 198lbs frame. Furthermore, it is believed that he will be joining Cologne of the DEL upon his return from Edmonton. It may even be fair to view him as the best U21 German defenseman aside from Mortiz Seider.

Next on the list is Bennet Rossmy, a 6-3”, 187lbs 17-year old forward who has already had quite a season to date. Having spent the last four years with the renowned Bili Tigri Liberec program in the Czech Republic, Rossmy kicked off this year with six games for their U20 club and another two with HC Benatky of the Czech second pro league. He then joined the Lausitzer Foxes of the DEL2 and has played all six games for the latter club, collecting three points to date and taking a fairly regular shift in the middle six. He won’t turn 18 until next August and is basically guaranteed a key role on Germany’s U18 club next spring. In essence, Rossmy is already looking like this season’s shooting star on the prospect front, but much of that may in part be due to his having been on the ice much longer than everyone else in the Czech Republic. As of this week, he is now practicing with the Eisbären Berlin between DEL2 games for Lausitzer.

If Rossmy isn’t the biggest riser out of the prospect shadows, then it must instead be Sebastian Cimmermann of Red Bull Akademie. Despite a plethora of forward options, Cimmermann has gotten into 12 games for the Alps Hockey League and has chipped in six goals, nine points, and a +13 rating. Crafty, opportunistic, and heady to boot, the 5-9” forward can’t help but raise eyebrows with his ability to fit in with slightly older players and play effectively against men. On the down side, he only has one point and a -2 rating in four games with the U18 side, which may indicate that he has some more maturing to do, as he is naturally expected to be one of the movers and shakers when playing with similarly aged peers. On the other hand, it may only be a function of small sample size.

Once we get past these five players, there are handful of names of interest who may very well bring themselves into the spotlight on the German front. One could be tiny tot Markus Schweiger, who could soon be on his way to Edmonton as a member of Team Germany’s WJC entry. Another may be 17-year old Connor Korte from Rosenheim, a forward who has spent the past two seasons with the Davos organization in Switzerland and currently plays for their U20 team. Others could end up being recent DEL2 debutants Ryan Del Monte (scheduled to play for the Barrie Colts this season), Philipp Bidoul or Leon van der Linde, the latter two both being defensemen.

We also ask ourselves if the highly touted – and quite large – Nikita Quapp will get the ice time he needs in goal in order to show what he is capable of? He may have been the likely starter for Germany had there been a U18 WC. Will DNL defenseman Luca Münzenberger (a WJC nominee), Fabrizio Pilu or Niklas Hane continue making names for themselves when DNL action continues? Can overager Maks Szuber carve a spot for himself as a draft target with a strong WJC? After all, Szuber is running on full octane after having started off strongly with a steady gig in the Alps Hockey League. We are also keeping a sharp eye on Red Bull forward Danjo Leonhardt, who will be 18 right on through to the draft next summer and has added goal-scoring to his previously keen sense of playmaking. He is a young man who has just been getting better and better.

There will be a few other names we will also be keeping an eye on including Leon Steinberger, Lion Stange and Pascal Dopatka, but we will let things unfold a bit before going into more depth as to why these players could gain traction fast.

For now, the prospect watch for next summer’s draft has basically just begun and there is a lot of storytelling to be done over the next 5 plus months. Aside from perhaps Rossmy and Cimmermann, there have been no major surprises on the German prospect front, but hardly any disappointments either. One way or another, we plan on keeping you posted all season long.