I made the trek to Edmonton for the 2024 edition of the Hlinka Gretky Cup, which, as I expected, was an excellent tournament thanks to its organizers. The highlight of my trip was the statue of Doug & Bob McKenzie in the Rogers Place plaza, picture attached. As I was taking their photograph, I half-expected one of them to come to life and call me a Hoser!
All kidding aside, congratulations to Team Canada on its gold medal winning performance. I definitely felt Canada was the best team in the tournament, with the most high-end NHL prospects on its roster. To that end, several of the names I expect to hear during the course of the year are below.
Team Canada had a great defensive corps led by Matthew Schaefer (Erie Otters OHL, ranked #5 by Daily Faceoff draft rankings) and Jackson Smith (Tri-City WHL, ranked 18th by Daily Faceoff). Forward-wise for Canada, I very much liked the efforts of Cameron Schmidt (Vancouver WHL, ranked 22nd by Consolidated Rankings), Cole Reschny (Victoria WHL, ranked 16th by Consolidated Rankings), and Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat WHL, 2026 DE).
Team USA also boasted strong blue liners in Blake Fiddler (Edmonton WHL), Cullen McCrate (Dubuque USHL), and Jacob Rombach (Lincoln USHL). At the forward position for the Americans, I was impressed with the acceleration of Ben Kevan (ranked 47th by Draft Prospects) and the quick release of Nicolas Sykora (Omaha USHL).
Bronze medalist Sweden was led by a strong forward group, among whom were 3 of the top 4 tournament scorers: Viktor Klingsell (ranked 14th by Draft Prospects), Ivar Stenberg (2026 DE), and Milton Gastrin (ranked 40th by Consolidated Rankings).
I felt the top prospects for silver medalist Czechia were its huge (6’6″) defenseman Radim Mrtkan (ranked 59th by Draft Prospects) and diminutive but hugely skilled forward Adam Benak (Youngstown USHL, ranked 15th by Draft Prospects). I expect Mrtka to rise quickly in the rankings as the season progresses.
