The 2025 Under 17 Four Nations Tournament held in Plymouth, Michigan August 5-9, played by teams from the United States, Czechia, Slovakia, and Switzerland, is in the books. Czechia secured this year’s championship with a 5-3 victory over the United States this past Saturday. Many names from this tournament will become very familiar with followers of draft prospects over the next couple of years. Among others, such names will certainly include a trio of Shattuck St. Mary’s forwards competing for the Americans, being Gerry DiCunzolo (playing for OHL Peterborough in 2025-26 after a 147-point season), Colin Grubb (56 points in 54 games for SSM’s U16 team in 2024-25), & Ethan Sung (59 points in 47 U16 games). For Czechia, the players standing out to me were forwards Krystof Vrbata (son of former NHL’er Radim Vrbata), Matyas Cancik (good-skating center who plays with a nasty edge), and hulking winger Maxmilian Mares (6’6″ 209 lbs; already competed at the U17 level in 2024-25).
On the other side of the globe, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup began yesterday. Although this tournament is a U-18 event typically showcasing next year’s draft-eligibles, perhaps the player garnering the most attention at this year’s event will be 2027 draft-eligible D-man Landon Dupont. Dupont had 60 points (17G 43A) in 64 games for WHL Everett as a 15 year old this past season. He undoubtedly will be in the mix to be selected with the first overall pick in 2027.
From a team perspective at the Hlinka Gretzky, Team Canada & Team Sweden lead their respective groups by virtue of each team winning its first two contests in regulation.
https://www.hlinkagretzkycup.ca/en-ca/season/2025/stats/team-standings?tournament=true