From USA to Europe: 10 players to watch at 2023 U18s

The 2023 IIHF U18 men’s world hockey championship kicks off with Sweden as the reigning champions and this year’s NHL draft prospects clamouring to elevate their draft stock.

Watch the United States take on Latvia at the men's U18s LIVE on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on TSN5 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App. 

From a quartet of Americans looking to avenge USA’s loss in the gold medal game last year to European stars who spent the regular season playing pro hockey getting the chance to go head-to-head against their peers, here are 10 players to watch for April 20-30 in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland.

Will Smith – United States

Smith is the sixth-ranked player on TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s March list after a strong season with the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP).

Lining up with Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault all season long, the 18-year-old centre scored 42 goals and recorded 107 points in 53 games this season. His 171 career points are sixth all-time in USNTDP history trailing only Jack Hughes, Clayton Keller, Phil Kessel, Cole Caufield and Patrick Kane.

“Any style of game, whatever is presented to him with respect to opportunity, he knows how to take advantage of. Challenges, he knows how to overcome [them],” said Button of Smith. “He is so subtle in his play. Next, his IQ to me is off the charts.

“He has this unbelievable knack to speed up, slow down, slide sideways, slide the other way, stop. Everything he’s doing is with a significant purpose. I think he’s so good.”

Smith had two goals and two assists in four games at the 2022 U18s as the Americans earned silver.

Ryan Leonard – United States

Leonard also turned in a strong campaign with the USNTDP this year skating at right wing on the top line, scoring 43 goals with 77 points in 50 games.

He had five goals and an assist in six games at the U18s last year and is the 13th ranked player on Button’s list.

Ryan Leonard

“He’s a difference-maker with his speed, competitive fire and tenacity,” said Button. “He can score and add offence but his will is just something that is off the charts.

“If I have to give somebody a six out of five for competitiveness, Ryan Leonard would get it. Great skater. He knows where he wants to go and he’s getting there and he’s not being stopped.”

Gabe Perreault – United States

The left-winger complementing Smith and Leonard is Perreault, who notched 48 goals and 114 points in 56 games.

His 114 points this year is the third-best single season by a USNTDP player behind only Auston Matthews (117) and Jack Hughes (116).

“I think Gabe is such a talented offensive player but I also think that Gabe does a lot of the other work, and when I say a lot of the other work, he does a lot of other things that contribute outside the score,” said Button.

“He’s on the puck, he plays without the puck, he’s tenacious and he can shoot as well as he can make plays.”

Oliver Moore – United States

Completing the quartet of elite draft-eligible American prospects is Moore, who is ranked No. 14 on Button’s list.

The centre scored 27 goals with 66 points in 54 games this season. Button notes that the addition of two young skilled players to Moore’s line will only help him.

“He’s a Dylan Larkin-type,” said Button. “He’s a predator. He’s committed. One of the things that’s happened with the program is that they brought up two of the young players, Cole Eiserman and James Hagens, who are top-notch players. So now Oliver’s got skill on his flanks, he didn’t always that same level of skill on his flanks and Oliver to me is tremendous.”

Eduard Sale – Czechia

At the U18s in 2022, Sale had a goal and eight assists in six games as he and Jiri Kulich helped the Czechs finish fourth.

Since then, Sale helped Czechia earn silver at the 2023 World Juniors with six points in seven games and had seven goals and 14 points in 43 games playing in Extraliga, the highest level of Czech men’s professional hockey.,

Eduard Sale Czechia

Sale is the fifth-ranked prospect on Button’s list and has previously compared him to Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak.

“He’s so smart,” said Button of Sale. “He can shoot and make plays. His IQ is outstanding. Off the charts. I think that he is fantastic. He’s not moving out of my top five or six. Not a chance.”

Dalibor Dvorsky – Slovakia

The Slovak centre bounced around the various levels of Swedish hockey with AIK but played in 38 games in Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second tier men’s pro league. He had six goals and 14 points in those 38 games.

Dvorsky had a goal and an assist in four games at last year’s U18 tournament and had three points in five games at the 2023 World Juniors. He impressed during the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with eight goals and 12 points in five games as Slovakia earned silver.

Ranked 19th on Button’s March list, he compares Dvorsky to Calgary Flames centre Mikael Backlund.

“Really good two-way player,” said Button of Dvorsky. “I think he’s smart, competitive, he’s going to contribute offensively and defensively.

“Where you put him in the lineup, that’s where he can be sneaky good offensively because he’s a good passer [and] playmaker. He can shoot the puck.”

Axel Sandin-Pellikka – Sweden

At just 17-years-old, Sandin-Pellikka led all Swedish defencemen in average TOI (19:54) and total ice time (139:18) at the 2023 World Juniors where Sweden finished fourth.

With Skelleftea J20, he had 16 goals and 36 points in 31 games. He helped Sweden earn silver at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with two assists in five games.

“Very well could be the best defenceman in this draft,” said Button. “A really gifted player with the puck, he can skate with it, he can pass it, really good in the offensive zone. Plays with just tremendous poise and confidence.”

Button has Sandin-Pellikka as his 10th-ranked prospect on the March list.

Kasper Halttunen – Finland

A 6-foot-3, 207 pound winger, Halttunen had an up and down season as he bounced around various levels of Finnish hockey.

With HIFK U20, he had 18 goals in 18 games but at the top level, he had just one assist in 27 games.

Internationally, Halttunen won bronze at last year’s U18s with three goals and five points in six games and earned bronze once again at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with three points in five games. He is ranked 32nd on Button’s list.

“I think one of the things you have to evaluate with Kasper, the first question is why has [his game] been uneven?” said Button. “A lot of times those kids jump around in different leagues and different levels. So they’re not only trying to find their own game, they’re trying to find their own game at different levels that offer different challenges. But he can shoot the puck, he’s big, he drives the net.”

Cole Eiserman – United States

Eiserman dominated this season as a 16-year-old, spending time with the USNTDP’s U17 and U18 squads and isn’t eligible until the 2024 NHL draft.

With the U17s, he scored 43 goals with 72 points in 43 games. In 12 games at the U18 level, he had 26 goals and 20 points. At the World U17 Hockey Challenge, Eiserman helped the United States win gold with 12 goals and 20 points in seven games and making the tournament All-Star team.

Cole Eiserman

“He is a highly skilled, powerful offensive force,” said Button of the University of Minnesota commit. “Shooting the puck, hungry to get into the spots, explosive speed that says ‘stop me if you can’ and most times I watch him play, teams have a tough time stopping him.

“Accurate explosive shot. He is in the category of prospect potential superstar. There is nothing that I hesitate on in projecting him as the best player available for the 2024 draft.”

Aron Kiviharju – Finland

Kiviharju is considered one of the top prospects available for the 2024 NHL Draft.

He won double bronze last year with Finland at the U18s (six assists in six games) and Hlinka Gretzky Cup (six points in five games).

With TPS in the SM-Liiga, Kiviharju had three assists in 21 games. Button compares the 5-foot-10 defenceman to a current Hall of Famer.

“I don’t want to hear one thing about undersized defenceman when it comes to Kiviharju because he’s brilliant,” said Button. “He controls the game. You can’t get to him, his brain is phenomenal. His passing skills, edge works and elusiveness are phenomenal.

“He’s so advanced in his thinking and his processing ability. He might not put up big gaudy offensive numbers. They’ll be good but he controls the game like Scott Niedermayer did.”