The Smaht Scouting team has prepared scouting notes on several European prospects who will be playing for their country at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (July 31-August 6) in Red Deer, Alberta.
For the preview on American and Canadian prospects, please click here.
Josh Tessler, Jordan Malette, Austin Garret, Paul Zuk and Matthew Somma contributed. Check out their notes below.
Slovakia
Ondrej Molnár
DOB: February 8, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 176 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: HK Nitra
Hometown: Nitra, Slovakia
Draft Year: 2023
“Excellent speed and good skating extensions to foster quality acceleration. Good posture. Good ankle flexion. Quality turns and pivots and then getting quality speed off the turn as he leans on his edges. When skating up along the red line at the corner, he looks to pass pucks to the slot especially when he is facing heavy pressure. He constantly looks to pass pucks to high and medium danger, but struggles to connect with his line-mates as they are slower. When Molnár has a lot of pressure on him right after he drove up the ice, he has no choice but to pass to the slot and hope for the best. He can be a little too overconfident in his reach. His reach is solid, but when he extends the puck far out he needs to secure the puck a bit better when danger arises. While Molnár does need to address puck control through the course of his draft year, his speed allows him to be a constant threat and hopefully his fellow Slovaks at Hlinka can match his acceleration to give him quality passing options.” – Josh Tessler
Samuel Sisik
DOB: March 17, 2005
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 150 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: SaiPa (Liiga / U20)
Hometown: Bratislava, Slovakia
Draft Year: 2023
“Likes to work the cycle in low danger areas before cutting in. Sisik usually will skate towards the corner before skating parallel to the red line. When he has the puck on the outside, past the perimeter, he doesn’t bring the puck in himself, instead he looks to complete passes to teammates in low danger who aren’t far from him. He does position himself nicely at net front for rebound collection. He can get around a defender putting pressure on his upper body to grab a hold of a rebound and put a quality follow-up shot on net. Ideally, I’d like him to develop a more assertive style of forechecking as he struggles to implement tight pressure and be slightly more assertive about attacking the middle of the ice.” – Josh Tessler
Jakub Chromiak
DOB: November 2, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 183 lbs
Position: Right Handed Defenseman
Team: HK Dukla Trencin
Hometown: Ilava, Slovakia
Draft Year: 2024
“Chromiak is a shifty skater with great crossovers and solid puck skills. He isn’t the biggest defender but will lead with the body in order to separate attacking players from the puck. Chromiak is a late 2005 birthday, meaning that he isn’t eligible until the 2024 draft, but I see some tools that you can mold into a capable NHL defender.” – Matthew Somma
Sweden
Theo Lindstein
DOB: January 5, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 176 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Brynäs IF (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Gävle, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Very conservative and reliable defender. Not a ton of offensive upside. But, has solid positioning, stay well aligned to puck movement. Quality skater and has good speed to loose pucks. Pass first puck mover in transition. Doesn’t often carry the puck up the ice himself at least not at the SHL level. Need to work on defending zone a bit better when facing a puck carrier at the half wall and an opponent behind the red line. Needs to be slightly better at keeping his head on a swivel to track the opponent behind him / behind the red line. Good pressure and stayed well aligned to oppositional puck movement in the corner. Doesn’t really have the upper body strength to push attackers out of the slot. While he doesn’t have the ability to really push attackers out of the way with his upper body, Lindstein does maintain good alignment to the puck carrier looking to move the puck down the ice in the neutral zone, takes away space and forces the attacker to dump the puck.” – Josh Tessler
Otto Stenberg
DOB: May 29, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 176 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Frölunda (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Stenungsund, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Quick. Always on his feet. Reacting well to oppositional puck movement. Good reach with the puck. Attacks the middle, but I’d like to see him drive inside more consistently. Opts to take a lot of shots from further out when he runs out of room instead of trying to work the cycle by passing the puck back to the point. Soft hands with his stick handling and can rely on his handling to push the puck away from pressure. Good presence at both ends of the ice. Has good tools, but needs to figure out how to use them to be consistently effective from shift to shift. ” – Josh Tessler
Noah Dower Nilsson
DOB: April 25, 2005
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 168 lbs
Position: Center
Team: Frölunda (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Strömstad, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Doesn’t have the speed to be that assertive on the forecheck. Needs to use his reach to take away gaps when defending the rush in the neutral zone. Needs to be far more assertive and close out gaps when on the forecheck. He looks to take away space by extending his stick out, but it doesn’t really take away space as the attacker can get the puck to a teammate without dealing with the obstacle. Looks to find open gaps down low to exploit and open up passing lanes for his teammates to pepper pucks through. Keys up goals for himself down low. Since he distribute the puck quite nicely down low, he should be a key offensive producer at Hlinka.” – Josh Tessler
Kalle Carlsson
DOB: March 2, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 181 lbs
Position: Centre / Center
Team: Örebro HK (SHL and J20)
Hometown: Strömstad, Sweden
Draft Year: 2023
“Not really in your face defensively that much. Extends out his stick from a far. He gets into position to key up passing lanes but its clear that his line-mates don’t trust him at the U20 level. Looks to cut in from the corner to net front and use his stick-handling reach to push the puck away from attackers and then slip the puck in right before the goaltender can shift over in time. Good cross ice pass through tight spaces to a teammate rushing into the zone and Carlsson is gliding in comparison. With his dual threat combination of leveraging quality reach stick-handling and excellent passing ability, he could put up a decent amount of points at Hlinka.” – Josh Tessler
Czechia
Adam Jecho
DOB: March 24, 2006
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 187 lbs
Position: Right Wing
Team: Tappara (U18)
Hometown: Zlin, Czechia
Draft Year: 2024
“The 16-year-old physical specimen hailing from Zlin, Czechia had an eye-opening 21/22 campaign, racking up 36 points in 43 games for Tappara U18’s in the U18 SM-sarja. He also represented Czechia at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky tournament, where he registered an assist in 4GP. Jecho has suited up for Czechia multiple times as a double-underager and has produced quite well in those situations. Jecho looks to be well on his way to becoming a first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, and his rare combination of size, strength and skating ability has given him the upper hand playing against his opponents. Jecho is a dual-threat in the offensive zone and can beat you with a shot or with a deke. It will be interesting to see if his ability to drive the net and muscle off defenders to garner a scoring chance continue at this tournament, as Jecho will be facing older, tougher and more skillfully developed players. Look for Adam Jecho to have himself a strong tournament.” – Paul Zuk
Eduard Sale
DOB: March 10, 2005
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 168 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: HC Kometa Brno
Hometown: Brno, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“I want to see Sale quicker to loose pucks and more aggressive on oppositional puck movement. When he has control of the puck in low danger with pressure in front of him, he ends up passing at the perimeter instead of using his weight to push in and cut to the inside. Good reach to secure possession of the puck in tight quarters as pressure was on him. The reach extension allowed him to push the puck just far enough and then went five hole. Good puck security when he has the puck on his stick. Well-aligned with his pivots and has good reach that can come in handy on the forecheck and backcheck. Can be very methodical with his approach in getting open ice down low at the net front. You will see him deliver a tap pass (give and go) when in a 2-on-1 situation. The defender then shifted over to Sale’s teammate and that allowed Sale to skate to the net, then the teammate ends up passing to Sale down low.” – Josh Tessler
Michael Hrabal
DOB: January 20, 2005
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 198 lbs
Position: Goaltender
Team: HC Sparta Praha (Czechia U20)
College Commitment: University of Massachusetts
Hometown: Praha, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“Takes up a lot of space in net with his frame. Controls rebounds well. Good glove on low danger shots. Shifts around traffic at net front to get a view of the oppositional puck carrier. Tracks cross zone puck movement well. Can control his rebounds nicely even on shots from high danger, pushes puck to the corner boards with his pads. When facing medium danger shots that he is squared up for, he has a good glove on them. Good job of using the blocker to push pucks to the corner and good usage of the stick to push the puck away in high danger. Hrabal has good side to side movement when facing side to side movement in the low slot. He can glove shots nicely after shifting to the side. Good reactionary up/down time on shots coming from low danger with traffic in front of him, Hrabal shifts his head over and identifies the exact second in which the attacker winds up and then he falls to the butterfly.” – Josh Tessler
Jan Šprynar
DOB: February 26, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 170 lbs
Position: Right Wing
Team: Rimouski (QMJHL)
Hometown: Zatec, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“Šprynar’s best quality is his lethal shot. Jan doesn’t need too much time to rip a quick wrister into the top corner, giving the goaltender barely any chance to react. His ability to launch a one-timer makes him a threat on the powerplay and I would imagine he is used as a focal point for one of their units. He operates mostly in the F3 role where he can survey the zone and rotate into space for dangerous shots from the slot when the time is right.” – Jordan Malette
Jakub Dvořák
DOB: May 25, 2005
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 192 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Bili Tygri Liberec
Hometown: Liberec, Czechia
Draft Year: 2023
“Big defender. Quick to loose pucks in his own zone. Will utilize the boards to move the puck to a teammate when he is in a jam with a forechecker right at him. Keeps really good pace with the furthest attacker in the neutral zone and the defensive zone. Good man on man presence. Has good reach that he can leverage in tight puck battles in his own zone. Boxes opponents out in his own slot. Shots going wide from medium danger. Really good reach that he can leverage should he be coming from behind oppositional puck movement, allows him to poke check and steal possession. He will sandwich you in the corners. Shovel zone exit passes when he is right at the blue line and a teammate is in close proximity. Excellent stretch passing. Will pinch up and try shots from medium danger, just beyond the perimeter.” – Josh Tessler
Finland
Aron Kiviharju
DOB: January 25, 2006
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 157 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: TPS (Liiga and U20)
Hometown: Esbjerg, Denmark
Draft Year: 2024
“The best Finnish defensive prospect arguably since Miro Heiskanen in 2018, Aron Kiviharju is an incredibly talented blueliner in basically every facet of the game. Kiviharju was originally born in Denmark but represents Finland internationally and has played seemingly his entire career there. The 5’10”, 157lb defender is slated to play for TPS in Liiga to start next season, meaning he’ll be playing top level professional hockey at just 16 years old, an incredible feat. Kiviharju was an assistant captain for TPS’ U20 squad this past season, where he registered 30 points in 35 games, as a 15/16-year-old. A master in the defensive zone as well as in transition, Kiviharju can wow fans and scouts alike with his agility and skill handling the puck. He can fool opponents seemingly quite easy which allows for him to show off his talented puck distribution skills. His offensive zone work could use some polishing, which I’m sure he’ll look to work on this upcoming season in Liiga. That’s not to say he’s a stranger to offense, but his shot and overall instincts in the attacking third of the ice could use some improvement to fully round out his two-way game. All eyes will be on the projected first overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft when the Hlinka Gretzky tournament starts on July 31st.” – Paul Zuk
Kasper Halttunen
DOB: June 7, 2005
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 192 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: HIFK (Liiga and U20)
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland
Draft Year: 2023
“Halttunen is an agile skating, big forward who has the skill to be both a physical forward while also being a force in transition. His vision and ability to quickly identify plays lags behind his skating ability and off puck ability to be a goal scorer at the moment. His agility for his size is extremely impressive, however there were a few times in the games I watched where he was slow off the blocks and was caught from behind when I thought he had clear breakaways. His shot is sneaky but isn’t overpowering, and I like his motor in the defensive zone and the forecheck as he’s able to use an active stick to create turnovers. His production profile is intriguing, and if he can get a bit faster in his processing decisions (or better options post-scanning) he could really excel.” – Austin Garret
Emil Järventie
DOB: April 4, 2005
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 159 lbs
Position: Left Wing
Team: Ilves (Liiga and U20)
Hometown: Tampere, Finland
Draft Year: 2023
“His reaction timing to puck movement is delayed and that doesn’t allow him to seal gaps and go to the puck. Solid transitional puck movement up the ice in transition and that can be credited to his excellent north-south speed. While he does have good straight line speed, he is a knocked knee skater and the knocked knee is hurting his mobility and that hurts his speed when moving east – west. Trouble with his edges. Will bobble possession in the neutral zone. Too long of a release on his shot. The pull back has to be shorter and ideally he shouldn’t be staring down the puck while he shoots. Back puck protection in close quarters down low. When skating up on the rush on a breakaway, he struggles to get the puck on net. When the goaltender was in the butterfly, he tried to go high post but missed wide.” – Josh Tessler
Germany
Leon Willerscheid
DOB: April 10, 2005
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 192 lbs
Position: Goaltender
Team: Kölner Haie (DEL)
Hometown: Brühl, Germany
Draft Year: 2023
“Slight gap underneath the glove that opponents are exposing. Good push with his pads to move from side to side to defend against a cross slot pass and one-timer, pushes the puck to the corner with his pads. Overlaps the post with his stick. Will expose too much of his five hole. He does push a lot of rebounds to low danger with deflections off of his stick. He does needs to be careful with how far out of the crease he commits being too because it can make it a challenge to cover the back door should the puck end up with an opponent at the back door. Will give up a decent number of high danger rebounds off of low danger point shots, but he does have a solid glove on shots from low danger. ” – Josh Tessler
Linus Brandl
DOB: April 1, 2005
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 183 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Jungalder Mannheim (DNL U20)
Hometown: Not Listed / Germany
Draft Year: 2023
“Brandl plays the center position with a high intensity, two-way approach. His skating stride is a bit too hunched over but he is still able to generate good speed and has decent lateral agility. He can transport pucks through the center of the ice but doesn’t possess high-end puck skill or playmaking ability. He’s at his best when he’s making short, effective passes through the neutral zone and playing low-to-high in the offensive zone. Even though he’s listed at 6’0, 183 pounds he gets pushed around too much at the u20 level in Germany for my liking. He will get pushed off the puck too easily as well as bumped off of rush lanes off the puck. If he can get to the dangerous areas of the ice off puck in the Hlinka he could end up with a good tournament.” – Austin Garret
Lua Niehus
DOB: March 26, 2005
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 154 lbs
Position: Left Handed Defenseman
Team: Jungalder Mannheim (DNL U20)
Hometown: Utzendorf, Switzerland
Draft Year: 2023
“Good reach in tight pressure to extend the puck away from the attacker when looking to shake free and pass to a teammate. Will look to try a backhand pass along the boards should he get into a tight puck battle along the boards and wants to try to get the puck to his teammate further up the boards and closer to the blue line. Looks to pinch up for a loose puck and then skates up to the red line to try a shot from the corner. Does have shifts where he skates up and wants to pass to the slot, but no one is there and he gets trapped in the corner by an attacker. I would like to see Niehus improving his positioning as there are moments in which he over commits to an attacker at the point with the puck, skates towards him and bends down to attempt to block the shot but the attacker shoots above the stick and gets the puck to high danger.” – Josh Tessler
Kevin Bicker
DOB: January 29, 2005
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 174 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Jungalder Mannheim (DNL U20)
Hometown: Schwabach, Germany
Draft Year: 2023
“Ancillary viewings of him through Brandl: just wanted to add his skill and skating popped off the screen more than a couple times watching Brandl. It wouldn’t shock me for him to be one of the more impressive forwards to come out of the Hlinka for Germany.” – Austin Garret
Switzerland
Valdemar William Hull
DOB: January 2, 2005
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 190 lbs
Position: Center / Left Wing
Team: Gottéron (U20)
Hometown: Fribourg, Switzerland
Draft Year: 2023
“I appreciated his attention to detail on the defensive side of the puck. He is always supporting down low as the centreman ensuring play can’t develop towards the front of his net. Hull is constantly surveying for threats, tying up sticks and marking attackers to deny passing lanes. On the offensive, he is able to use his size to play through contact especially by winning space in front of the net where he will frequently score from.” – Jordan Malette
Leo Braillard
DOB: July 5, 2005
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 165 lbs
Position: Forward
Team: Biel-Bienne (U20)
Hometown: Not Listed / Switzerland
Draft Year: 2023
“Braillard is a shooter, and shooters shoot. I see flashes of solid transitional play as well as strong skating mechanics, but I do worry about him being absent a lot of the time if he isn’t in a position to take a shot. Braillard is a natural goal scorer that can finish in a variety of ways, so he’s a player to keep an eye on for the Swiss team in this tournament.” – Matthew Somma