Hlinka Gretzky – USA & Canada Preview

The Smaht Scouting team has prepared scouting notes on several Canadian and American 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 European prospects, please click here.

Josh Tessler, Jordan Malette, Austin Garret, Paul Zuk and Matthew Somma contributed. Check out their notes below.

United States

William Whitelaw 

DOB: February 5, 2005

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 165 lbs

Position: Center

Team: Youngstown (USHL)

College Commitment: University of Wisconsin

Hometown: Rosemount, Minnesota

Draft Year: 2023

“Whitelaw’s impact at Shattuck, the USHL, and the Hlinka development camp has been hard to ignore. Despite being an undersized forward he plays a very gritty, pest role with a lot of skill. He’s hard on pucks and physical along the boards. In the Hlinka camp I thought Whitelaw shined brightest compared to his peers. His skill radiated on every puck touch and oftentimes had the people in the stands making audible gasps with his deft passing or nifty puckhandling. He’s at his best when he’s the puck dominant player on the ice. He was one of the best prep school players as an underager due to his speed and ability to move pucks up and down the ice to dangerous areas. In the USHL it took some time to iron out some of his high school habits. He moved to wing in the USHL and his defensive responsibilities looked a bit shaky to begin as he was more puck watching than scanning the ice. By the end of his USHL season he was once again the puck dominant offensive player who thrived in setting teammates up for chain linked plays. He’s one of the top forwards on the USA in the Hlinka and they will lean on him heavily to generate a lot of the offensive opportunities for their team. I hope to see him stick down the middle at the Hlinka as I thought it fits his skillset a lot more, and be prepared to have Whitelaw make a few highlight reel plays throughout the tournament.” – Austin Garret

Lucas St. Louis

DOB: March 30, 2005

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 161 lbs

Position: Left Handed Defenseman

Team: Dubuque (USHL)

College Commitment: Harvard University

Hometown: Old Greenwich, Connecticut

Draft Year: 2023

“Lucas St. Louis is a highly mobile and intelligent defender that will surely play a major role at the Hlinka for Team USA. There is this aura of elegance that comes along with Lucas’ game. He never tries to do too much or make things overcomplicated, but every play is calculated, efficient, and executed near perfectly. He is incredibly confident under pressure and can escape oncoming pressure without giving the defender a smidge of chance in a successful takeaway. On the defensive side, Lucas uses his stick constantly to deny passing lanes and keep dangerous passes from penetrating.” – Jordan Malette 

Quentin Musty

DOB: July 6, 2005

Height: 6’2”

Weight: 203 lbs

Position: Left Wing

Team: Sudbury (OHL)

Hometown: Hamburg, New York

Draft Year: 2023

“Musty is a big, power forward who played on the top line for Sudbury in his DY-1 year. He’s a bit of a heavy skater who struggles to generate speed with a short stride and poor edge work in crossovers, however he has plenty of skill and shows a unique ability to be able to play both on the perimeter and in the dirty areas in the offensive zone. His transition game is predicated upon one-touch passes as his skating doesn’t lend itself to end-to-end rushes, but once he’s in the offensive zone he’s a lot of fun to watch with his vision and his ability to get to dangerous areas of the ice. He dominated the Hlinka camp with his size and skill. He should be a big factor for the US forward group.” – Austin Garret

Andrew Strathmann

DOB: February 27, 2005

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 174 lbs

Position: Left Handed Defenseman

Team: Tri City (USHL)

College Commitment: University of North Dakota

Hometown: Beach Park, Illinois

Draft Year: 2023

“Strathmann caught my eye at the Hlinka development camp, especially in the Blue/White scrimmages at the end of the camp that were used to decide the final cuts. The first thing that sticks out with Strathmann is his aggressive, risk-taking offensive game. He’s a player that isn’t afraid to jump into plays, and to put himself in 50/50 plays that could end up leading to odd-man rushes against if they don’t pan out. He has great puck skill and was great at the Hlinka camp at finding passing or rush lanes to maintain control in defensive exits. His USHL tape from last year wasn’t indicative of the player I watched over the summer as he was very conservative and deferred to his very offensive leaning partners to do the heavy lifting in transition and the offensive zone. Strathmann poses the potential to be one of the better defenders in this tournament, but also there is the possibility that his risk-taking backfires.” – Austin Garret

Tanner Adams

DOB: September 2, 2005

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 170 lbs

Position: Right Wing / Center 

Team: Tri City (USHL)

College Commitment: University of Wisconsin

Hometown: Northport, New York

Draft Year: 2023

“Tanner Adams put up surprisingly good transition numbers in his USHL tape that I watched. He was a more effective transporter of the puck than Gavin Brindley, and was a super efficient passer moving pucks around the zone and into/out of the defensive and offensive zone. His improvement in generating offensive from the mid-March to the end to the end of the year was super impressive. His last two games I tracked were over 5 shots on net 5-v-5 and was involved in over 60(!!)% of his team’s successful transitions. His ability to make high-end plays in the offensive zone under pressure isn’t there yet like it is with Gavin Brindley, but it wouldn’t shock me to see Tanner Adams become a household name after the Hlinka for the 2023 draft.” – Austin Garret

Canada

Cameron Allen

DOB: January 7, 2005

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 190 lbs

Position: Right Handed Defenseman

Team: Guelph (OHL)

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

Draft Year: 2023

“The projected top 10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Guelph Storm defenceman Cam Allen certainly turned heads in his rookie season in the OHL. The Toronto, Ontario product racked up an impressive 37 points in 65 games as a 16/17 year old, and even earned First-Team All Rookie honours, as well as winning the OHL rookie of the year award. Allen has been named the Captain for Team Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he’ll look to showcase his strong two-way game to anyone watching. Allen thrives in just about every zone on the ice, as he’s not overly phased under pressure and can use his outlets to avoid any possible turnovers. He’s also extremely capable of getting his body or his stick in passing lanes to disrupt opponent’s offensive zone time. Allen also has a high hockey IQ, and seems to be a step ahead of his opponent’s decision making most of the time, which he uses to his benefit. Allen’s also strong at distributing the puck to his teammates and can dish out some lethal passes giving teammates easy goals. Not to mention his slapshot and wrist shot, both of which are extremely powerful and accurate. His ability to be deceptive and hard to predict in the offensive zone allows him time and space to make proper decisions and best set his team up to score. Look for Cam Allen to have a stellar showing for Team Canada.” – Paul Zuk

Zachary Benson

DOB: February 5, 2005

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 150 lbs

Position: Center

Team: Winnipeg (WHL)

Hometown: Chilliwack, British Columbia

Draft Year: 2023

“Elite competitor with flashes of high end skill and upside. I felt that Benson was the best player on his line with Conor Geekie and Mikey Milne with Winnipeg this past season. Benson’s skating is smooth with elite edge work and pace. Benson has top line upside given what he can do with the puck. There’s a certain deceptiveness to Benson’s game, as if he has the puck on a string. He can lead defenses both with his eyes, body language and stick. Benson has a similar offensive skill set as Matthew Savoie, but I see more of a dynamic element to Benson’s game. Both players can take control of a shift and be the driving force on their lines, but with Benson, there isn’t a single shift where I don’t see that dynamic play driving forward.” – Matthew Somma

Brayden Yager

DOB: January 3, 2005

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 161 lbs

Position: Center

Team: Moose Jaw (WHL)

Hometown: Dundurn, Saskatchewan

Draft Year: 2023

“Yager is a pure goal scorer with one of the best shot releases in this tournament. The puck leaves his stick in a flash and he’s an elite sniper whose shot is a threat from just about anywhere on the ice. Yager’s skating is above average and he can be a dangerous threat on the rush. Yager’s puck skills give him the ability to beat defenders one on one, which gives him enough space to get a shot off. He’ll be relied upon as the trigger man on Canada’s power play in this tournament. I’d like to see Yager be more of a creator of offense in this tournament.” – Matthew Somma

Calum Ritchie

DOB: January 21, 2005

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 174 lbs

Position: Center

Team: Oshawa (OHL)

Hometown: Oakville, Ontario

Draft Year: 2023

“Calum was my favourite forward at the recent Team Canada Hlinka selection camp and was able to develop great chemistry with Matthew Wood & Zach Benson. Ritchie was at the forefront for a ton of offense normally using his body to protect the puck and dominate in the cycle game. He is incredibly difficult to disposses from the puck and while in possession is always scanning for high danger passing lanes which enables him to be an effective playmaker. In camp, he was part of an effective powerplay unit that will play a major role in Team Canada’s success in the tournament.” – Jordan Malette

Riley Heidt

DOB: March 25, 2005

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 179 lbs

Position: Center

Team: Prince George (WHL)

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Draft Year: 2023

“Heidt profiles as a player with high end hockey sense and skating ability. He knows exactly where to position himself on the ice in order to contribute offensively and he constantly moves to keep himself in a position to create something. Heidt possesses a good shot, strong playmaking ability and soft hands, but where he’ll make his mark is on the mental side of the game. Few players can process the game as quickly as Heidt can, and even fewer are able to act on it.” – Matthew Somma

Tanner Molendyk

DOB: February 3, 2005

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 176 lbs

Position: Left Handed Defenseman

Team: Saskatoon (WHL)

Hometown: Kamloops, British Columbia

Draft Year: 2023 

“Molendyk is a bit of a loose cannon. He’s unpredictable in his own end and gets puck focused, but I do see flashes of high end skill in his game. There are no doubts about his skating, however. Molendyk is an elite skater with elite crossovers, acceleration, agility, and edge work. He’s a better skater than most of the defensemen that I tracked last season, and that included players such as Kevin Korchinski and Denton Mateychuk. Molendyk’s offensive game has been a bit inconsistent, but with the way he moves with the puck on his stick, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s a dominant player for Saskatoon this year.” – Matthew Somma

Colby Barlow

DOB: February 14, 2005

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 190 lbs

Position: Right Wing

Team: Owen Sound (OHL)

Hometown: Vaughan, Ontario

Draft Year: 2023 

“Colby is a quality producer off of the rush. He will skate after loose pucks in the neutral zone, win possession and then look to find shooting lanes in the offensive zone to exploit. He has the makings of a quality puck transporter from zone to zone to zone. Barlow wants to be the one that push pace, but doesn’t have the power stride to get himself in gear to generate a lot of separation. Since he doesn’t always gain the necessary separation that he needs, he will engage in tight pressure in the neutral zone and offensive zone. In those situations, he ends up looking down and losing confidence in his handling of the puck. So, over the course of his draft year, the hope is that he will acquire both the handling and the power stride to gain separation and put quality shots on net off the rush.” – Josh Tessler

Caden Price

DOB: August 24, 2005

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 181 lbs

Position: Left Handed Defenseman

Team: Kelowna (WHL)

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Draft Year: 2023 

“Price quickly made himself known at the Hlinka Selection camp and caught my eye in his first few shifts. While under control of the puck, he is highly confident and able to solve any problem or escape any pressure that comes his way making him extremely effective in successfully exiting the zone. He has the ability to shut down plays using both body positioning and stickwork to disposses the opposition and chain that disruption into a stretch pass up ice to a breaking teammate. He may not wrack up points or play a key powerplay role at the Hlinka, but at 5v5 he will be a big factor in ensuring the puck remains out of his defensive zone and into the attacking third.” – Jordan Malette

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