2027 NHL Watch List: Hlinka Gretzky Standouts

I try not to put too much stock into any international tournament, and that especially holds true for one at the very start of a hockey season well before most regular hockey leagues begin their pre-season. There's a lot of time between now and the draft, and there are plenty of examples of guys who look good in a small handful of games while most everyone is starting rusty, but don't really maintain any momentum through the rest of their seasons.

That said, it's not like there's nothing to gain from watching the Hlinka. It's not full information, but there is some information. So I'm interested in the skills I saw from these players and how much of it will translate through this season, so they're the first ones making my watch list.

Jaakko Wycisk

This is gonna sound weird because he tied for the lead in points for the tournament, but I don't even care that Wycisk had 10 points in 5 games – including 7 in the semi-finals and finals. He's a 6'1", 190 lb wrecking ball who plays with a ton of energy, playing the whole tournament on the third line for Canada. He was a menace without the puck, on the forecheck, along the boards, down low, pressuring defensemen, causing turnovers. He got points because he did all the little things to get the puck, and then when he got the puck he had the skill to make a play with it.

Wycisk's skating is apparently an issue but I didn't really see it limiting him much. If he keeps up that level of play in the OHL for Guelph, who will be hosting the Memorial Cup this year, he'll take himself out of Toronto's range with Colorado's first rounder that I will just assume winds up being a late first rounder (if they keep it). Which makes me sad because I can't remember falling in love with a prospect in their draft season faster than I have with him, he's exactly the kind of player I want.

Gavin Burcar

Burcar led team USA in points with 9 in 5 games, including 5 goals. Like Wycisk, he played mostly on Team USA's third line but also got time on the powerplay. He played center, and did it well. I would say that Wycisk seems to have more play driving and all-around offensive skill, but he brings the same kind of energetic and smart two-way play and they each have similar size and strength. What stood out the most was Burcar's absolutely lethal wrist shot. His release was lightning fast, with power and accuracy to beat goalies clean from all angles and from distance. Despite showing more goal scoring and very similar point production, I got the feel he's more likely to wind up not being too high a first rounder as Wycisk.

Brock England

Wycisk came on really strong after the first couple of games for Canada, but there were two others that I also loved watching all tournament. He's a bit smaller than the other two mentioned above, but at 5'11" he's not tiny and he doesn't shy away from contact or dirty areas of the ice. He reminds me a bit of Ehlers in his profile, but with more physicality – he will need to get stronger though, and growing another inch to be a legitimate six footer wouldn't hurt him at all. He is a very shifty and agile but also has elite speed and uses it well. He skates fast but also works hard, keeps his feet moving, forechecks aggressively with his speed, throws his weight around like a little psycho, and has enough strength to protect the puck against bigger defensemen. If you loved that highlight of Trevor Moore on the Leafs laying out Zdeno Chara in the playoffs, you'll love England.

Camryn Warren

Another smaller guy who still plays a good game I like. Warren is 5'10" and 159 lbs, and is another guy that skates fast, works hard, and plays at a high pace. He's not as physical or as fast as England, but I'd say he plays a smarter and more agile game. He may also have more skill with the puck too. He can dangle and he is a good playmaker, but he also plays as a good disruptor on defense to create turnovers and has decent contact-skills, but he doesn't have the same strength as England already does. I can see him winding up as a second or even later round pick unless he grows in both height and muscle before the draft comes, even with his skill and smarts.

Luca Santala

He's a 6'2" center/winger from Finland (he played both in the tournament) with a late July birthday, and he's committed to join the London Knights as an import player this coming year. He started the tournament slow but was much better the longer it went on, and really looked strong in close areas, along the boards, and in supporting the offense with a good sense of playing with contact. He could have had a few more points, especially goals, with quality chances he created but weren't scored, but still finished with 6 points in 5 games on a more balanced Finland squad. His skating apparently is a concern, but he has this season and beyond to work on that and I don't think it's a huge limitation as of now.

Malik L’Italien

A+ name, L'Italien is a 6'3" left shot defenseman who was on Canada's top pair with uber-prospect Landon DuPont. He definitely played a second-fiddlerole, but I thought he played it well. He has above average skating and good size, and he uses both well defensively – he was a capable rush defender, didn't look lost when he handled the puck, and flashed some offensive skill a few times as well. I think in this tournament, playing with DuPont, he was definitely deferring and playing more of a defensive role, but I get the impression his game opens up a bit more in the QMJHL where he's probably The Guy himself.

Lenni Kokkonen

Finland's top defenseman in the tournament, he looked like a pretty classic Finnish defenseman. He was a good skater with fluid mechanics, but not necessarily great speed that I could tell. He looked good with the puck both in terms of carrying and passing it. He had very good breakouts and didn't seem to panic very easily in the face of aggressive forechecks. His defense looked hit and miss, but with a 6'2" frame and skating I think it could be at least average – again, hard to tell in a 5 game tournament.

Cooper McAslan

Another London Knights guy, McAslan is a 6'1" right shot defenseman who played most of the tournament on Canada's third pairing. Their defense group, aside from DuPont, was more about being balanced and versatile than having major star power. McAslan fits that mold, showing good flashes on both sides of the puck – he had some good defensive plays, some good offensive plays, and didn't look to have major issues or errors that I could tell. He has very good four-way mobility and was one of their go-to penalty killers, but had limited offensive or powerplay deployment. Like L'Italien, I think his usage was down to the role he was asked to play on a very deep team, and not indicative of what he can or cannot do as The Guy when he returns to junior. Mind you, London isn't exactly known to have a shallow talent pool and brings their defense on slower than most junior teams, but he's a guy I want to watch.

Oliver Botka

Botka was someone I actually noticed this past spring, as he played on Slovakia's World U18s squad despite being having a younger birth year, and he played a lot. At the Hlinka he was more of The Guy, playing on their top pair, getting heavy minutes and in all situations. He's 6'1" and has a high level of mobility, some good offensive upside as you can see from his highlight reel goal against Sweden below, and the thing I cared about the most is how much of a machine he was on retrievals and breakouts. He seemed to be tipping more on the offensive/on-puck side of things, but his defense didn't look bad by any means. He's at least starting the season in Slovakia by the looks of things so I can see him going under the radar compared to others, but I'll be following him and I'll bet he winds up on Slovakia's World Juniors squad in some capacity.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!