Congratulations to Team USA (gold), Team Sweden (silver), and Team Canada (bronze) for their medal-winning performances at this year’s U18 worlds.
There are a lot of great storylines here, perhaps most notably the play of tournament MVP Will Smith of Team USA (Central Scouting’s third-ranked North American skater). Smith finished tied with tournament alum Jack Hughes with a record 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists). Smith’s linemate, Ryan Leonard (fifth-ranked North American skater), recorded 17 points (8 goals, 9 assists), including the gold-medal winning overtime goal against Sweden. The stellar play of Canada’s Carson Bjarnason (first-ranked North American goaltender) was also on display, although Swedish goaltender Noah Erliden (2023 draft eligible) was named to the all-star team. Erliden was bolstered by Sweden’s two victories over Canada. These victories, in addition to Sweden’s silver medal, were due in large part to the play of Otto Stenberg (sixth-ranked international skater). Stenberg tallied 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists) for fourth-most in the tournament. He was named to the all-star team along with countryman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (seventh-ranked international skater). Dalibor Dvorsky (third-ranked international skater) finished with 13 points (8 goals, 5 assists) for semi-finalist Slovakia, and also was named an all-star.