Aaron
Vickers
May 1, 2023

Here’s who took home hardware at the U18 Worlds

Will Smith certainly brought it to the 2023 IIHF U18 Worlds.

And no, he wasn’t alone.

But he brought it best.

Smith, sixth in FCHockey’s Midterm ranking for the 2023 NHL Draft, was named the most valuable player at the 2023 World Under 18s after pacing the showcase with a tournament-leading 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists). Smith, an anchor on Team USA’s gold medal run, was also named best forward and landed himself on the media’s all-star team.

Smith was one of several high-end members of the 2023 NHL Draft to showcase themselves incredibly well on the international stage.

Gabriel Perreault and Ryan Leonard, Smith’s linemates, rounded out the top three in scoring. Perreault finished with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) and Leonard netted 17 points (eight goals, nine assists). Each is a first-round talent for the 2023 draft, with Perreault landing No. 22 and Leonard at No. 25 in FCHockey’s Midterm ranking, and the trio combined with Smith were all named as Team USA’s best players as selected by the coaching staff.

Otto Stenberg of Sweden, ranked No. 21, finished with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists), and highly touted blueliner Axel Sandin Pellikka, No. 12, led all draft eligible defensemen with 11 points (two goals, nine assists).

Here’s a look at the awards handed out at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship:

IIHF Directorate Awards

AWARD PLAYER CTRY
Best Goalie Noah Erliden SWE
Best Defender Axel Sandin Pellikka SWE
Best Forward Will Smith USA

Media All-Star Team and MVP

POS PLAYER CTRY
Goalie Noah Erliden SWE
Defender Axel Sandin Pellikka SWE
Defender Cole Hutson USA
Forward Will Smith USA
Forward Dalibor Dvorsky SVK
Forward Otto Stenberg SWE

Best Players of each Team

COUNTRY PLAYER POS PLAYER POS PLAYER POS
Canada Macklin Celebrini F Matthew Wood F Calum Ritchie F
Czechia Michael Hrabal G Vojtech Vochvest D Eduard Sale F
Finland Jesse Kiiskinen F Aron Kiviharju D Kasper Halttunen F
Germany Nico Pertuch G Norwin Panocha D Julius Sumpf F
Latvia Davids Livsics F Eriks Mateiko F Peteris Bulans D
Norway Stian Solberg D Jorgen Myhre F Ole Indergaard F
Switzerland Leo Braillard F Rico Gredig F Daniil Ustinkov D
Slovakia Samuel Urban G Maxim Strbak D Dalibor Dvorsky F
Sweden Noah Erliden G Axel Sandin Pellikka D Otto Stenberg F
United States Will Smith F Gabriel Perreault F Ryan Leonard F

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