Tobias Schwarz – McKeen's Hockey

2026 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: Daily Recap- December 30th, 2025- Game Summaries – Standout Performances – Notable Draft Eligible Prospects

Kyle Pereira and Linc Zdancewicz — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 20:30:43 +0000

SWITZERLAND v GERMANY

Switzerland got off to a very quick start, putting the Germans on their heels early. At the halfway point, Kimi Koerbler would cash in first, with Gian Meier and Niklas Blessing nabbing the helpers. About 15 seconds later, Timo Kose would take a slashing penalty, setting up a Swiss power play directly after their first goal. Jamiro Reber would score on the man advantage, with Leon Muggli and Lars Steiner getting the assists on that goal. Then, about a minute into the second, Switzerland would grab a 3-0 lead, with Koerbler getting his second of the game. Five minutes later, it would be Ludvig Johnson adding to the lead, with Basile Sansonnens and Paul Mottard getting the assists, making it 4-0. The Swiss would clamp down and pick up the shut-out win, their first of the tournament. A crucial victory for the Swiss ahead of their huge matchup against Slovakia to claim third place in Group A.

MVPs:

Switzerland: Christian Kirsch, Basile Sansonnens, Kimi Koerbler

Germany: Lennart Neisse, Mathias Pape, Tobias Schwarz

LATVIA v DENMARK

The latter game on Day 5 was a slow burn but eventually gave the limited crowd its money’s worth as the game progressed. The back-and-forth nature of the early first was brought about by a solid defensive start by the Danes. As the first period closed, Bruno Osmanis had an incredible chance at the net initially saved by Wilde, but Krisjanis Sarts cleaned it up to give Latvia a slim lead going into period two. The second was full of excitement and offense, with the party starting on the Latvian Power Play when Alberts Smits showed off his goal-scoring prowess for all scouts in attendance, picking a beautiful spot to get his first tally of the tournament. That 2-0 lead held through much physicality and bouts from both sides until Oliver Larsen fired a beautiful wrister home to cut the lead in half. A scoring onslaught ensued to end the second as Latvia would score twice, from Sieradzkis' tip on the Power Play and Macijevskis at even strength, while William Bundgaard would keep it within two for Denmark off a beautiful feed from Larsen. Bruno Osmanis would put it out of reach in the third on an amazing individual effort to make it 5-2. In the final two minutes, as the physicality was turning into constant fighting, Anton Linde and Kristers Ansons would each give their country one more goal to close out this one. Latvia makes it to their fourth straight quarterfinal appearance while Denmark will face the Germans in the relegation game.

MVPs:

Latvia: Krisjanis Sarts, Alberts Smits, Olivers Murnieks

Denmark: Oliver Larsen, William Bundgaard, Mads Klyvø

INDIVIDUAL REPORTS

Basile Sansonnens (SUI) (1A)

The defensive details for Basile Sansonnens have made him a standout on this Swiss team that has been excellent defensively. He was a big reason why the Germans were held to 20 shots in this matchup. Sansonnens has carried over his great rush defense and d-zone prowess from his experience in the Swiss league for Lusanne. His mean streak has been much needed too, it was key to disrupting the play of Sweden and the U.S. but it was most effective in this matchup. Sansonnens is showing great signs as a shut-down D with solid enough puck carrying abilities. The confidence from this disciplined performance will for sure carry over to the bigger matchups in Slovakia and the Quarterfinals game. An excellent look for the Vancouver 7th Rounder.

Mads Klyvo (DEN)

Kl;yvo was held off the score sheet in his game against Latvia, but it’s hard not to notice his impact on the ice for Denmark. It seems as though every time Denmark is rushing up the ice for some offense, Klyvo is in the middle of it. He’s all over the ice, generating most of the few chances Denmark has, and just very involved. Klyvo has been a big standout for the Danes and will be a key piece of their tilt in their relegation game.

DRAFT ELIGIBLES

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - DECEMBER 30: Denmark's Oliver Larsen #13 celebrates his second period goal against Latvia during Preliminary Round - Group B action at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship at 3M Arena at Mariucci on December 30, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. (Photo by Tim Austen/IIHF)

Oliver Larsen (DEN) (1G 1A)

Oliver Larsen is having himself a wonderful overager season for Rogle in the J20-Nationell, registering over a point a game. Finally, against Latvia, he was able to showcase how this current season has come about. Larsen’s skating is extra smooth, giving him a great advantage in the neutral zone to create time and space to advance the rush. This IQ and mobility are also displayed well in the offensive zone, especially on his assist to Bundgaard. Larsen had several passes that helped create multiple other scoring chances in the offensive zone as well. However, the most impressive play against Latvia was his fantastic wrist shot in the second. Larsen has become a much better shooter over this year, and it was on display there. Though he was passed over once, don’t count out Larsen to potentially be a name taken later in this upcoming draft.

Alberts Smits (LAT) 1G 2A

Early in this game, Smits did not look great. Against a softer opponent, many people were expecting a lot more out of him after that first period. But he would turn it up in the second, where he put his incredible shooting ability on display. He was absolutely firing them from the point and showed what he can be in the future. It’s important to note that, while he was a standout as a puck mover and as a scoring threat from the point, he was shaky defensively against a weaker opponent. That’s the story of Smits, but there’s no doubt that the raw traits he has and displayed consistently in this contest is tantalizing.

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.

2024 U18 Division 1A World Championship – Team Previews + 2024 and 2025 Draft eligibles scouts are watching

Chapin Landvogt — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 22:34:30 +0000

The U18 Worlds will soon be upon us!
But before the main event takes place later on in April, the world will witness what nation will participate in next spring’s event. With relegation out of the world’s top group once again a part of the equation, the D1A U18 Worlds has seen its significance grow once again, already starting with last spring. Hosted by France, Team Kazakhstan emphatically made its way into the top echelon after many years of absence, going 4-1 to gain first place at a tournament in which host France was relegated despite two losses first coming in overtime. The favorite at the time may have been Denmark but despite actually crushing Kazakhstan 8-3 in the tourney’s 3rd game, a 5-3 loss was coupled with a 3-2 OT victory over France to see Denmark finish one point behind the Kazakhs.

And that begs to question whether Denmark, which will be hosting this year’s edition in the port city of Frederikshavn, can view itself as entering this year’s event as the favorite once again? With geographical neighbor Germany having been relegated last spring, the current answer to that question is likely a negative. Not only that, but Japan enters tourney play having not only defeated the Danes last spring but finding itself on a bit of a streak in international friendly play, having defeated i.e. Germany not too long ago in a tournament in Slovakia.

But this event is perhaps more pertinent for the scouting community as it will be giving both the NHL, various junior ranks, and independent services a prime opportunity to view a large handful of prospects who are either dotting the junior ranks of Sweden, playing in various locations in North America, or are part of the famed Red Bull Academy in Salzburg. Even more interesting is that despite the odd draft candidate of interest for the 2024 draft, there are even greater insights to be won here for those looking towards the 2025 draft, as several late dates of birth in 2006 are coupled with a rather large portion of 2007-born youngsters who are already expected to be key performers for their various nations.

So, without further ado, we’d like to take an inside look at what scouts will be looking at for each team.

The favorites

Denmark

A host nation for this event is often either the team that was just relegated out of the top group or the one most expected to gain promotion. Surely there are other criteria, but Denmark is going to be a team to beat, and this is for good reason, as the club will not only feature a good handful of players who had an impact last spring, but many who are playing their junior hockey in the hockey big brother nation of Sweden. Granted, the team will no longer have an Oscar Molgaard, Anton Olsson, or Albert Schioldan to lean on, but there’s more than enough collective talent here to skate circles around several opponents at this tournament. And they will have returnee Anton Linde, a U20 league player for the Växjö program and author of 6 points last spring in a top six role. He’s expected to be the captain for head coach Flemming Green’s team.

Other catalysts on the team will be Swedish blueline legionaries Markus Jakobsen, Oliver Kristensen, Oliver Nielsen, and Frederik Rundh, all of whom spent this season getting plenty of ice time for their respective U18 clubs. In fact, Jakobsen even suited up primarily for Malmö’s U20 team, getting into over 30 games of action. The same can be said of forwards Oliver Dejbjaerg Larsen, Tristan Petersen, and moreover Mads Kongsbak Klyvo, with the latter two being of special interest. Petersen is 6’4”, 208 pounds and played the majority of the season with Jakobsen in Malmö’s U20 team, putting up a humble 8 points. That’s certainly notable but measuring in at 6’2” and 181 pounds, Klyvo went 26-22-48 and +28 in 40 total U18 league games for the famed Frölunda program. As impressive as that is for anyone, he’s only 16. It goes without saying that he’ll be one of the key tournament attractions all week long.

But Denmark will also be able to build on the experience of a number of domestic players who spent the winter playing pro hockey in Denmark’s second division. Among the more notable players are defensemen Frederik Amondsen, Jeppe Bertram, Viggo Damgaard, and Jesper Oelsen as well as forwards Mikey Bergmann, Andrew Bjergstad, William Bundgaard, Oliver Green, Philip Neergard-Henrichsen, Linus Rorth, Sebastian Stromstad, Peter Truelsen, Tobias Villadsen, and William Uhre. Damgaard’s father was a long time captain of the men’s national team and Truelsen has put up nice numbers while weighing in at 6’2”, 198 pounds. The 6’1” Bundegaard took things even further, suiting up for 46 top league games (10 points) after collecting 15 points in 10 second league games. But of all these players, each of whom has been able to establish himself at this level, it's the 16-year olds Green and Rorth who everyone is waiting to see at this tournament, just like the aforementioned Klyvo. Green impressively put up 28 points in 25 games while also getting into 40 top league games (5 points), making him the youngest player in the circuit. Rorth’s 7 top league games paled in comparison, but his 35 points in 33 second league contests had the nation talking.

Outlook:

There are no goalies returning from last year’s group, but Tobias Christensen and Patrick Tiedjen tended goal at both the U18 and 2nd pro league levels. Nondescript at the moment, they look like the one possible weakness. The rest of the team is bursting at the seams with players who, in comparison to the bulk of the competition at this tournament, have been seeing prime competition and topflight development. There’s experience, size, speed, and plenty of players who spent this winter putting pucks in the net. Although Linde would have to be seen as the star of the team in light of last spring’s performance, the youngster Kyvo will be playing in his hometown in front of plenty of friends and family. Seems like he’ll be gunning to create a fairy tale and he’ll have more than enough support in this endeavor.

Germany

It’s been almost 10 years since Germany revamped its modi operandi with the introduction of the PowerPlay26 program, one that has seen the development of the sport grow in leaps and bounds with respect to competitiveness. In light of the recent success of the men’s team at the Olympics and World Championships as well as the U20 outfit’s continual ability to find a way to remain in the world’s top group, it can be stated how much of a setback the relegation was last spring, getting handedly defeated by group newbie Norway. On paper, the loss was very disappointing as it wasn’t necessarily the least talented group Germany had thrown on the ice in recent years, but it became one of the least successful. Now, an even more talented group is going to be hitting the ice to get the program back where it feels it should be, among the world’s best. And the most endearing part is that this group is chock full of players currently of possible interest for the 2025 NHL draft.

In net, the Germans will turn to Linus Vieillard who we saw in goal last summer at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and shortly thereafter at a U17 tourney in the Czech Republic. He followed that international experience with a masterful U20 league season for Berlin, with whom he was one win shy of taking the DNL championship. Lennart Neisse (Brantford Bandits) and Erik Eder both saw plenty of action this winter, even if both were in platoons of sorts with their respective teams.

The blueline will be one the scouting community will be keeping a real close eye on, seeing as how 17-year-old Max Merkl already debuted in the DEL last season and then spent the bulk of this season getting pro minutes in the top three leagues in Germany, including 7 more DEL outings. His 10 points in 5 DNL games clearly showed he had little to gain from remaining in the junior ranks. More importantly, Carlos Händel (Malmö Redhawks) and Max Bleicher (EV Füssen) are 2007-born defenders who are probably the best all-round defensemen on the team, especially in the areas of skating and offensive generation. Each is currently looking like a very likely draft candidate in 2025 and as impressive as the righty shot Händel’s 23 points in 28 U18 league games is, Bleicher’s 14 points in 35 3rd league games raised plenty of eyebrows. 21 points in 11 U20 and U17 games, all as a 16-year-old, show how ready he is for greater tasks. The remaining 4 defensemen have all been part of the program for two seasons now, but we’re hoping one of them is going to step up as a true top 4 option.

The one returnee from last spring’s squad is Elias Pul, a player who has had a decent, but quiet season for the RB Juniors program in Salzburg. The two-way center will surely play an important role here, likely teaming up with Nick Maul, another RB product who was Germany’s most notable player at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer. Heavy two-way play and plenty of strong corner work will be expected of the multifaceted Clemens Sager, who got into 4 DEL games this year, and he may be complemented by Tobias Schwarz and Simon Seidl, each with a healthy portion of DEL2 experience this season and fresh winners of the DNL championship, having beaten Sager’s Polar Bears from Berlin in the process. The two have plenty of offensive acumen, but can they now bring it at the international level?

Some unknown excitement will be contributed by Tim Schütz (Okanagan Hockey Academy) and Max Brunner (Lidigö, SWE), two players whose true progress abroad has been hard to assess. But the real excitement in this squad will be provided by 2025 draft-eligibles David Lewandowski, Mateu Späth, Dustin Willhöft (who actually grew up in Frederikshavn), and perhaps 6’2” Timo Kose. All four were dominant DNL players this season despite being up to 3 years younger than many opponents. Lewandowski and Späth even gathered some valuable experience in Germany’s 3rd league, both serving as instant scorers for their teams and Lewandowski being named the junior player of the year. The latter will be able to continue playing with junior linemate Lenny Boos who has come on strong this season and has impressed when pitted against international competition. Perhaps most exciting up front has been the emergence of Elias Schneider, a 16-year-old who doesn’t turn 17 until July 8th. Despite his tender age, he finished 4th overall in DNL scoring (52 points in 38 games) and then tacked on 19 points in 13 playoff games. He wasn’t necessarily expected to take on a big role in the U20 team, but after 20 points in 4(!) U17 games, they couldn’t hold him back. He may be the most purely skilled forward on the team.

Outlook:

This outfit has the most interesting group of forwards, several wildly exciting defensive prospects, and a goalie who could easily be tops in the tournament. It’s also entering the fray with a chip on its shoulder, knowing it failed miserably by being relegated last spring. It enters play with two recent lopsided test game victories over Hungary but having suffered a 5-3 loss to archrival Austria in its final test game. What will that mean considering they open up tourney play with a contest against those very same Austrians? In essence, that first game and the final bout against Denmark will be decisive in Frederikshavn. Japan remains a team that Germany will have to tread water carefully with, but victories over Hungary and Ukraine are expected. It’ll be a very sad state of affairs for the hockey world if this group of 2025 draft-eligible players is spending next spring at a D1A U18 Worlds, so the push for promotion this year should be considerate.

The contenders

Austria

It’s strange thinking that a nation that recently spent several years in the top division of the U20 Worlds had to gain promotion out of the D1B group to even get to this event this year. And after the Austrians lost to Poland to kick things off last spring, it took a perfect record the rest of the way including close bouts against geographic neighbors Italy and Slovenia to get to this year’s event. With a collective sigh of relief, the Austrians have no reason to hide here due to the number of players involved who are either playing abroad or are part of the nation’s Salzburg-based Red Bull program.

Perhaps the most pressing argument for Austria’s competitiveness can be found in goal. Both Patrick Grascher (17-4) and Luca Haitzmann (13-1) had wonderful records at the U18 level in Austria, but last spring’s 3rd stringer Mika Haim looks to have the inside edge on the starting job after going 9-5 in platoon duties for Red Bull’s U20 squad. If there’s any platooning done in Frederikshavn, program fave Haitzmann should be the guy teaming up with Haim. The blueline is anchored by a concrete top 4 group featuring returnees Fabian Baumann, Gregor Biber, Johannes Gruber, and Paul Reiner. Not only do they bring the solid tourney experience of yesteryear, but Baumann (AlpsHL) and Reiner (ICEHL) spent the bulk of the season playing pro hockey while 6’3” Gruber plied his trade in North America and 6’3” Biber spent the year in a top 6 role for Rögle’s U20 team. It may be the most established quartet of any in the tournament. It’ll then be exciting to see if and how the three 16-year-olds Max Bärnthaler, Mario Hofegger, and particularly Niko Uschan are made use of. Whereas the 6’2” Hofegger spent considerable time in Austria’s U20 league, the lightweight Uschan (just 110 pounds!) put up 6 points and a +15 in 20 U20 level games while also chipping in 9 points in 9 games in Austria’s 4th pro circuit. All three will use any ice time here as an audition for greater tasks next season.

Up front, some new heroes will have to step up to the plate, as not one of the returnees from last spring’s tournament had more than 1 point. A 5-3 victory over Germany in the final test game several days ago says that this may not be a problem. Still, the overall class of the group is severely lacking, with only a few players of note leading the charge. First and foremost is 6’3”, 187-pound Felix Haiböck who already got into 11 AlpsHL games with the Red Bull Juniors, collecting 3 assists. For the program’s U20 squad with 41 points and a +28 in 35 games. Johannes Neumann didn’t produce a whole lot in 22 U20 league games for Rögle, but the undersized 17-year-old was a steady producer for the U18 squad. Both return from last year’s event. Leon Buzek (AAA in the US) and Benedikt Krainer (U18 in Finland) have gained strong experience abroad, while winger Leon Kolarik and returnee Luca Kogler are both part of the top 9, if not top 6 equation. Still, its two underagers up front who’ll be worth watching. 16-year-old David Watschnig returns from last spring’s tournament and led the entire nation in scoring at the U18 level with 82 points and a +36 in 38 games. 15-year-old Paul Sintschnig has raised eyebrows with his scoring acumen and may even be a second line winger in Denmark. Both are extremely promising and Watschnig appears to be a lock to head abroad next season. There’s reason to believe we may have another Marco Kasper on our hands here and it’s not just because both are from Klagenfurt.

Outlook:

If the go-to players are able to set the pace and successfully eat up the important minutes, this team can play for promotion. The depth is questionable, as is the international quality throughout the line-up. What the team can’t afford is to take a day or two off. They’ll head into the first match-up of the tournament against Germany feeling confident, but Denmark is going to be a hard nut to crack for this group and neighboring Hungary will play them harder than anyone else. There’s more than enough talent here to steer clear of relegation despite being the group’s newbie from below.

Japan

A side that just keeps getting better and better, the Japanese entry was hit or miss last spring, gaining two regulation wins, suffering two regulation losses, and winning one in OT. The club has also put up some nice results against the likes of Germany, Ukraine, and Slovakia in various test tournament events throughout the winter but remains an almost mystical club as so many of its team members play their hockey in Japan, which is somewhat undocumented at this level. Returning from last spring’s club should be goaltender Yuichiro Takase, who got into one game without allowing a goal against or changing the outcome, and forward Miura Hyuga, who himself played sparingly in the five games he suited up for.

As for the rest of the team, we’ll just have to see which line-up they throw out on the ice in Frederikshavn as no roster was provided at the time this article was established. We certainly hope to see 15-year old Darius Odermatt, a dual citizen who was born in Switzerland, even if a player that age rarely makes it into the U18 national team. It’s also hard to imagine Japan entering the tournament without Sazuku Kudo in goal seeing as how he already played at the D1A U20 Worlds. The same could be said about U20 veteran defensemen Ryunosuke Shirozu and Akira Suzuki.

To be noted is that Kenta Isogai never played for his national team at an IIHF event, so we’re not expecting Japanese-born players who have spent years away from the homeland.

Outlook:

The Japanese squad has become very unpredictable in recent years, almost always good for an upset here and there. That was not different last spring. The teams brought in have generally been fast and hard-working, yet undersized throughout the line-up. What viewers should expect is a team ready to pounce on mistakes and teach underprepared teams a lesson. We wouldn’t mind seeing a couple of young men stand out and turn into options for clubs in Europe and North America, but it should be denoted that the entire forward corps will be new aside from the aforementioned Hyuga.

The ones with nothing to lose

Hungary

After a 2-0 win over France, 3-2 OT loss to Ukraine, and 4-2 win over Japan last spring, Hungary entered the final day of 2023 tourney play with an outside shot at promotion. A 7-0 shellacking at the hands of Denmark changed all that. Now the Hungarians bring in a widely inexperienced team that will feature just 2 returnees on the blueline and 4 returnees in the forward ranks. Topping that off, there’s no telling if those veterans will even be the team’s most dependable players as all have been playing in spots around the hockey world that feature rather inferior competition in the grand scheme of things. Still, one of those returnees is the 6’2”, 186-pound defender Ven Bendeguz who just turned 17 roughly a month ago. Already in his second appearance, the swift-skating blueliner has been playing in Sweden for a number of years now and was a regular contributor for Södertälje’s U18 squad this winter. A year away from draft eligibility, he’ll be one to watch throughout this tournament. Döme Szongoth is one of the tourney’s oldest players and is coming off a strong year with Ingolstadt’s DNL club, so he’ll have to be a guiding light while 16-year old Dominik Nagy, who just wrapped up a solid U18 season in Sweden, gains valuable experience as one of the most promising players in the program. Looking like the team’s overall leader is Krysztian Franyo, a 6’2” returnee who took a regular shift at the D1A U20 Worlds last December.

Goalies Dominik Kiraly (Canada) and Viktor Pasztor (Finland) each put up winning records this winter while gaining reps abroad but are coming off test games in which opponents were not exactly held off the scoreboard. Theoretically, both should be strong suits of this outfit. A bigger question is who is going to score. Returnee Oliver Barna (Canada) and Kolos Feher (Finland) both scored a good number of goals for U18 programs abroad while a handful of other forwards were sprinkled around mostly Finland’s junior ranks, but the majority of players are coming from junior programs in Hungary and only returnee Balint Lobenwein spent much time playing primarily for a U20 outfit, where he put up 35 points in 32 games. Scouts will be most in tune at watching a trio of 2+ underagers. Marcell Mayer (16) spent the season in Hungary but is thought to be heading abroad next season. Agoston Schmidt (16) just wrapped up his second season in Finland playing for TPS’ U16 club, for whom he put up 43 points in 38 games. Impressive, but only good enough for 50th overall in league scoring. This brings us to the most enticing player the Hungarians could put on the ice, namely 15-year old Doman Szongoth. Already 6’1” and 185 pounds, Szongoth led Finland’s U16 circuit with 76 points in 33 games on the strength of 49 goals. The KooKoo program had no qualms in having him conclude the season with the U18 team, where he added another 17 points in 18 games. The chances are that Szongoth will be a top six forward already next week.

Outlook:

Unless a goaltender steps to the plate and wins a couple of games on his own, the team is very realistically playing against relegation. The game against Ukraine on the 18th is already being viewed as the must-win contest. The 8-0 and 7-3 losses to Germany didn’t bode well but the team has hopefully learned from them. Otherwise, the scouts will be looking at individual players and a few of these young men will likely find themselves in programs abroad next season if they put on a good display here. In essence though, all eyes will be on the younger Szongoth who is on pace to be a hot topic for the 2026 draft.

Ukraine

That Ukraine is even here under the current circumstances in world affairs is an achievement unto itself. As any astute fan can imagine, the team will consist of players who are currently playing their hockey and taking their next steps in development basically across the globe. Not only can this lead to an above-average level of unfamiliarity with each other, but also to different levels of play that are hard to measure in a short period of time. What the team will not lack is any pride in wearing the colors of their nation. For many, this is a pinnacle showing of self-identification.

Still, the roster will feature precious few returnees from last year’s event. Only 2 defensemen and 3 forwards will be returning, and the goalie contingent will be completely new to the event. Fortunately for Ukraine, they’ll have a trio of players coming in that is fully intact from U18 league play in Norway, where the three have played dominating roles, most particularly Mykhailo Haponenko, whose 69 points in 30 games led the way and was topped off by another 5 in 4 U20 league games. His radar partner is Daniil Kurayev, who himself put up 51 points in 28 games, will accompany him here on what should be the top line.

Most interesting however is 16-year old defenseman Mykola Kosarev who put up 14 goals and 35 points from the blueline - in only 22 games. This tames the achievements of his older peers in the same league, especially considering he also got into 8 U20 games for Norwegian powerhouse club Stavanger and added another goal and 7 points. Whereas it’s already felt he’ll be playing in a more notable league next year, the underager will have a wonderful opportunity to present himself to eyes that had not yet seen him here at this event as his star the largest of the group, as interest should be there from CHL and USHL clubs. His defensive partner could be returnee Aleksii Yektiekhov, a vet of the D1B U20 WJC, who put up 28 points in 55 Czech U20 games for Pardubice. Even if not, Yektiekhov should be general of the blueliners and out there in all important situations.

In addition to featuring a line-up with a majority of the players spread out all across Europe (only one player active in Ukraine), there are 9 participants who are busy in lower level leagues across North America. Artem Chepil and Danyil Denisenko are the most notable of the group, both having excelled as offensive weapons for the respective programs, the Boston Hockey Academy and HCAA U18 respectively. Everyone else appears to be an open book. Who will take this opportunity to shine?

Outlook:

Of the three goaltenders, only Illia Semekha has spent any significant time in goal this season. Last spring’s 6’2” starter Alex Levshin has only played in one game this season. The incongruity in net, with the lack of a clear-cut starter, should be a weakness right out of the gate. The team is coming from all over the place and will have precious little time to come together. On top of it all, not a player on this team is playing regularly in any major junior or pro league of note. Lastly, there’s no France to serve as a buffer zone this year, instead being replaced with a heavy German team with considerable aspirations. Ukraine is the clear underdog, even if the team will likely have more crowd support in Denmark than anyone outside of the event’s host.