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 |