It has been a challenging year for the NHLs amateur scouting departments.
Across the hockey world, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on playing schedules for draft-eligible players. A top feeder, Canadas Ontario Hockey League, finally announced in late April that it was pulling the plug on its season entirely, after months of trying to finalize a workable return-to-play plan. Elsewhere, seasons were shortened while virus outbreaks and government lockdowns caused unscheduled pauses.
Even when games were being played, travel restrictions limited scouts opportunities to log the crucial live viewings that are necessary for proper player evaluation.
It was hoped that this months IIHF U18 World Championship would finally deliver a degree of normalcy the worlds top 10 youth hockey nations going head-to-head, with scouts allowed in the host arenas in Frisco and Plano, Texas.
But two of this years most dazzling players arent old enough to be eligible for the 2021 draft. In fact, they wont be available for selection until the summer of 2023.
Through Mondays quarterfinal games, Russias Matvei Michkov had nearly lapped the field with 10 goals in five games, many of them spectacular. This, despite the fact that he turned 16 last December.
Russia will face Finland in one tournament semifinal on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET). If he can tally four more goals in the final two games of the tournament, Michkov will tie the all-time record of 14, held by Alexander Ovechkin (2002) and Cole Caufield (2019).
Meanwhile, Canada was the only team to go a perfect 4-0-0-0 in this years preliminary round. Their balanced attack has been anchored by draft-eligible prospects Mason McTavish and Francesco Pinelli, who each have 10 points in five games. But the real excitement has come courtesy of a pair of underagers. Seventeen-year-old Shane Wright, who is eligible for the 2022 draft, was named captain of Team Canada. And though he missed two preliminary-round games for precautionary reasons, he has posted seven points in the three games that he has played.
Then theres Connor Bedard. Only 15, he is 2023-eligible, like Michkov.
Bedard tallied two goals and three assists in his teams 10-3 quarterfinal win over the Czech Republic on Monday, and was named Canadas best player in the game.
He has nine points in five games as Canada prepares to face Sweden in Wednesdays first semifinal (5 p.m. ET).
Of course, the distraction of precocious young talent isnt the only challenge that draft talent evaluators face at the U18 tournament.
Even under normal circumstances, a 10-day sample wont provide a full snapshot of a players potential. Also, participation is also limited to players who are no older than 18 at any time in the calendar year that the event is held. Meanwhile, the age cutoff for the NHL Draft is Sept. 15 of the previous year. So, draft prospects for 2021 who were born between Sept. 16 and Dec. 31, 2002, are not eligible for this years tournament.
This year, that list is topped by a highly regarded trio from the University of Michigan who were all born in the fall of 2002: U.S. forward Matty Beniers and a pair of Canadians defenseman Owen Power and forward Kent Johnson.
Typically, many of Canadas top prospects cant participate in the U18 tournament, because the timing conflicts with the Canadian Hockey League playoffs.
This year, only the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is holding a postseason. So, Team Canada wasnt able to invite that leagues prospects with A-ratings by NHL Central Scouting, such as forwards Zachary Bolduc and Xavier Bourgault. But the Canadian roster does include OHL players, many of whom hit the ice in European mens leagues this winter, as well as Western Hockey League standouts like defenseman Dylan Guenther and forward Conner Roulette.
Another Canadian that scouts were eager to assess was forward Cole Sillinger. The son of longtime NHLer Mike Sillinger, Cole started his junior career with the WHLs Medicine Hat Tigers, then signed on with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL last fall while Canadas major junior leagues remained shuttered.
With 46 points in 31 games, Sillinger led Sioux Falls in scoring and watched his draft stock rise.
He planned to leverage that exposure with a spot on Team Canada at the U18 tournament, but Covid-19 had other ideas. After entering Covid protocol on April 19, Sillinger was ruled out of the tournament.
Also a surprise for scouts: they wont see Team USA in the medal-round games on Wednesday and Thursday.
USA Hockeys National Team Development Program is made up of a group of players that stays together for two years, playing against competition from both the USHL and the NCAA ranks and building toward this tournament.
Over the last two decades, the system has been effective. The United States has won a tournament-high 10 gold medals since 2002, and has delivered star turns over the years from players like James van Riemsdyk, Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield.
This year, it was expected that the challenges of Covid-19 would give the U.S. a bigger advantage than ever a group that played a schedule that didnt look much different from a typical campaign, and would be competing on home soil.
But Team USA was weakened by pre-tournament injuries to two potential first-round picks: Jack Hughes younger brother Luke, a defenseman, and forward Chaz Lucius.
Another potential first-rounder, forward Sasha Pastujov, stepped up leading Team USA with eight points and being named one of the teams most valuable players. But after being eliminated from the tournament following a 5-2 quarterfinal loss to Sweden on Monday, the Americans have been shut out of the medals at this tournament for the first time since 2003 the same year most of these players were born.
By missing the tournaments final two games, U.S. players like Dylan Duke and Sean Behrens, currently assessed Central Scoutings B rating, have missed out on an opportunity to deliver star turns on a big stage. A strong performance in a high-stakes game could have elevated their stock on draft weekend, another virtual affair thats set for July 23-24, 2021.
