It feels like the 2026 draft just wrapped, yet the runway to 2027 is already opening. The scouting calendar kicks into gear on August 3, when the Hlinka‑Gretzky Cup gets underway at Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton. This year’s event could mark the end of a North American run, with the tournament expected to return exclusively to Czechia and Slovakia beginning in 2027 — restoring its traditional European footprint.
It’s unfortunate, strictly from a hockey standpoint, that Russia remains out of the field. This year’s class features a half‑dozen MHL standouts with legitimate first‑round potential, and their absence means scouts won’t get the rare apples‑to‑apples look at how those players stack up against the best of their age group (for the most part). It’s a missed evaluative window in a tournament built for exactly that.
By comparison, the 2026 class produced just 16 MHL selections, with only a single player hearing his name in the first round. Boston and New Jersey were the most active clubs in that pipeline, each dipping into the MHL twice — a modest but notable footprint in a year where the league’s draft impact was relatively subdued.
The tournament consists of two groups. Group A will feature Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia. Group B is made up of United States, Czechia, Finland and Germany.
From last year’s tournament, Canada set the pace with 16 players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft. Sweden followed with 10, the United States with 9, Finland with 8, Czechia with 5, Slovakia with 4, and Germany with 1. Switzerland, meanwhile, didn’t see a single player chosen.
In total, 70 of the 224 players selected at the 2026 NHL Draft – or 31% – were Hlinka/Gretzky Cup alumni from the past two tournaments.
The United States has never truly iced its top U‑18 roster at the Hlinka‑Gretzky, consistently opting to reserve its premier talent for the IIHF U‑18 World Championship in April — the event USA Hockey prioritizes as its flagship showcase for that age group. Only three players that played for the bronze winning WHC U-17 squad were invited to the US camp. And all four goaltenders invited aren’t eligible for the NHL draft until 2028. Despite that, the US won gold in 2025!
On the flip side, the CHL playoffs run straight through April, pulling several top Canadian — and even American — U‑18s out of contention for the IIHF event. The result is that a true best‑on‑best at this age group doesn’t really exist. Still, that shouldn’t diminish the value of the Hlinka‑Gretzky as an early scouting window. It remains one of the first meaningful chances to evaluate draft‑eligible talent in a high‑pressure environment.
This draft class is shaping up to be forward‑heavy at the top, with one major exception: Landon DuPont. Beyond DuPont, it lacks the kind of high‑end defensive depth that defined the early portion of the 2026 draft, leaving most of the premium real estate to the forwards.
That said, the back third of the first round is already trending in the opposite direction — a cluster of defensemen emerging as viable late‑first round options and giving the class a more balanced look once you move past the marquee names.
Here’s a look at all the rosters and some players to keep an eye on:
Milan Sundström, Douglas Johnsson, and Dorian Eklund Aspe have positioned themselves as early headliners for June’s first round — with Sundström already drawing top‑five buzz thanks to a blend of size, pace, and poise that’s made him one of the tournament’s must‑watch talents. Wiggo Forsberg and Oliver Sundberg aren’t far behind, both trending upward as evaluators get a longer look at Sweden’s depth.
There’s also a future‑focused wrinkle: Wilson Boumedienne, set to skate for the Fargo Force in the USHL, won’t be draft‑eligible until 2028. Even so, his arrival as a 16‑year‑old in this event should inject some fun into Sweden’s lineup and give scouts an early read on a player who’s expected to climb quickly.
For Bruins fans, the Swedish pipeline is already familiar. Boston grabbed Nils Bartholdsson from this program in 2025, following their 2022 selection of Kristian Kostadinski — a trend that underscores how closely the organization tracks Sweden’s development system.
Petr Tomek headlines the Czech draft class, but is ineligible due to age for this tournament and leaves the spotlight to the next tier of 2027‑eligible talent. Michal Hartl is the top Czech skater on site, with Dominick Byrtus and Adam Nemec close behind as part of a group looking to reassert Czechia’s presence after a quieter draft year.
Maxmilian Mareš and Dario Alessandro Blengino add further intrigue, each offering enough skill to warrant close tracking as the event unfolds as does defenseman Lukáš Kachlíř. And while Matyáš Michálek won’t be draft‑eligible until 2028, his skill set should make him one of the more entertaining under‑agers in the field, but unfortunately, he was injured in camp and will not participate. He was replaced by Jan Novák.
After a down year at the draft, Czechia is well‑positioned for a rebound in 2027. Even in 2026, their roster produced five selections — including two goaltenders, both scooped up by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Boston fans will remember the Bruins tapped into the Czech pipeline in 2015 when they selected Dan Vladar, who represented Czechia in 2014 and Jakub Zboril, who represented Czechia in 2013 and 2014. And of course, there was David Pastrnak who participated and selected a year earlier in 2014 – Pavel Zacha was a teammate of Pastrnak on that roster.
Oliver Ozogány has emerged as the early standard‑bearer for Slovakia’s 2027 NHL Draft class, a prospect whose rise has tracked alongside Dominik Štefan Domonkos — the highly regarded Slovak talent who won’t be draft‑eligible until 2028. The two not only headline their respective draft years, they will share a locker room in the USHL as teammates with the Tri‑City Storm.
They’re hardly alone. Matúš Válek, Richard Halaš, Tomáš Selic and Oliver Botka round out a growing cluster of Slovak names drawing attention as the country continues its steady climb in international prospect production. Goaltender Jakub Husár is also worth keeping an eye on.
And for Boston fans, at the 2026 Draft, the Bruins invested in goaltender Roberto Henriquez — a netminder who first flashed on the radar during his 2024 tournament appearance and now represents one of the organization’s more intriguing long‑term projects.
Max Calce — formerly known as Max Penkin — has separated himself as Germany’s premier prospect for the upcoming NHL Draft. Early boards already slot him inside the top‑15, and his resume backs it up: the first German player ever granted exceptional status to compete in the country’s U‑20 league, the youngest player to lead that league in scoring, and a 14‑game cameo in the DEL that showcased just how advanced his toolkit already is.
Behind him, Jonas Schwarz, Liron Pellizzari, and Nikita Bloch form a solid supporting cast of German hopefuls who should factor into the later rounds and give the nation one of its deeper draft classes since joining this tournament.
Germany’s presence here is still relatively new — they entered in 2021 when Canada withdrew, and the Russian sanctions have kept them in the field ever since — which explains why the Bruins have yet to draft a German player from this event. But with Calce headlining and the talent pool expanding, that streak may not last much longer.
Switzerland’s top 2027 Draft hopeful is Jonah Nuenschwander, a polished forward already logging two seasons against pros in the National League. He’s widely viewed as a first‑round talent, with early early projections slotting him firmly inside the top‑15.
Alessandro Domenicelli is emerging as another notable Swiss prospect — currently projecting as an early second‑round option with enough upside to push his way into the first‑round conversation. Daniel Fuchs profiles as more of a mid‑round candidate at this stage, but his toolkit is intriguing and could fuel a climb as the cycle unfolds.
Luca Santala may be the most naturally gifted offensive presence in Finland’s lineup, and his performance could go a long way in determining the nation’s ceiling at this tournament. Paavo Fugleberg also stands out as a key forward to track — a high‑impact piece whose game demands attention as does Miska Liljeberg.
Finland also possesses a trio of blueliners worth monitoring. Aaro Fräntilä and Roni Kuukasjärvi and Lenni Kokkonen.
The Bruins haven’t dipped into Finland often in recent drafts. Their last Finnish selection was Matias Mäntykivi in 2019, though he never appeared at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The more notable connection came in 2017, when Boston grabbed Urho Vaakanainen in the first round — and he did suit up for Finland at this tournament.
The top American draft eligibles — headlined by Carter Meyer, who departed the NTDP for the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, Nolan Fitzhenry of the NTDP and Sammy Nelson — who has aged out, will not be participating in the tournament.
Gunnar Conboy emerges as the marquee American draft‑eligible name to track in this tournament — a late‑first to early‑second round projection who should command plenty of attention. Brooks DeMars should also draw plenty of attention. All three U.S. goaltenders are 2028 eligibles, adding an intriguing long‑view wrinkle to their evaluation. And then there’s Joey Cullen, a blue‑chip 2028 prospect already trending toward top‑10 territory.
This isn’t the full star‑studded catalogue of American talent, but the group should stack up competitively — likely right there with Sweden and trailing only Canada in terms of drafted pedigree.
The Bruins have mined Team USA recently. Cooper Simpson, drafted in 2025, and Cullen McCrate, taken in 2026, both arrived with the benefit of 2024 roster experience. They’ve since doubled down, swinging a deal for Will Zellers to bring in another core piece from the 2023 group. Boston has also dipped into the UFA pool and scooped up undrafted Team USA players like Luke Toporwski and John Farinacci from the 2018 squad.
Landon DuPont is the obvious headliner — the consensus No. 1 pick and the centerpiece of Canada’s draft‑eligible talent. But the real story is the depth behind him. Outside of a small handful of exceptions, the entire Canadian roster projects to hear its name called in 2027, making them the team to watch if you want to evaluate the draft from top to bottom.
The Bruins rarely tap into Canada’s roster, and the history underscores just how selective they’ve been. Their last dip came in 2017 with the Jack Studnicka pick — a year that also featured Michael DiPietro, making it a bit poetic that the two were ultimately traded for one another. Before that, you have to rewind all the way to 2011, when Boston landed Dougie Hamilton. It’s been a sparse pipeline for the Bruins, and the long gaps highlight just how uncommon it is for the club to draw from this particular talent stream.
You can find the complete schedule here and purchase tickets here. TSN and RDS will broadcast the games in Canada in full. NHL Network will televise Team USA and the semi-finals, bronze and gold medal games in the US. There is no confirmation of European coverage at this time however, Hokejha TV (Czechia) and Slovakia’s YouTube channel have carried games in the past but usually when they were the host nations. In Sweden and Finland, you could watch previous tournaments on NHL Network through Fubo.
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