NHL Draft Notebook: 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
The scouting season is officially in full swing with the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup kicking off — and wrapping up — action this week.
The tournament, an unofficial welcoming of the new scouting season, featured a plethora of participants who could be well on their way to securing first-round status at the 2025 NHL Draft next June.
Here’s an extended look at some of their analysis in our latest scouting reports in notebook form from the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup:
SASCHA BOUMEDIENNE | D | SWEDEN | August 6, 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by Erik Sjolund
Sacha Boumedienne is a left-shot two-way defender who likes to transport the puck and contribute offensively. I like his playmaking; he has good awareness of his surroundings and often manages to create open passing lanes before letting go of the puck. It is also common to see him choose simple plays over high-risk alternatives in his own zone, which is a positive tendency for a young player eager to advance the puck forward. His skating is good; he isn’t the fastest player on the ice, but he is mobile and uses weight transfers effectively to shake off oncoming pressure and free up open ice to move the puck. He has a decent wrister and likes to shoot the puck. As soon as he has an open shooting lane in the offensive zone, he pulls the trigger. Sometimes it isn’t very effective since he releases from everywhere, even low-danger areas, but he excels at getting the puck on net. In those situations, I would like to see him assess his options a bit more to find a good balance between creating scoring chances and maintaining possession. He strikes me as a fearless player who doesn’t hesitate to play his game to the max. This can mean that he occasionally appears with the puck behind the offensive goal line and turns the puck over a couple of times a game, but he also contributes significantly offensively and can catch his opponents off guard with some unexpected decisions. It is a bit risky, but I believe that he will benefit from testing the limits and using it to calibrate his decision-making down the line. However, his puck control is a bit unpolished for this style of play at the moment. His puck receptions are too rigid at times, and he struggled to keep the puck on his stick while stickhandling a couple of times during this game. To be effective in his offensive efforts, he needs to improve his puck handling in the coming years. This was my first time watching Boumedienne play, and he looks to have so much fun being on the ice and going his own way. This mindset, combined with a number of intriguing tools, mainly offensively, makes me believe that he can develop into a good defenseman down the line. As of right now, he is a raw prospect who needs to find balance in his decision-making, improve his puck control, and iron out some junior mistakes.
ADAM BENAK | C | Czechia | August 5, 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by Joey Fortin Boulay
Adam Benak is one of the most electric players I’ve seen at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Generally the most dominant player on the ice when he plays, Benak is a highly-skilled playmaker who uses his quickness and control of the pace at an elite level to command plays and beat players. He’s incredibly fast and can really burst, but he’s not constantly going full throttle as he likes to switch gears sporadically to burn defenses. He’s so dangerous off the rush, driving the puck with authority and confidence. His transition game is built on give-and-goes and one-touch outlets, in which he gathers substantial speed and challenges defenders. Benak exhibits slick hands and exploits inside-outside moves incredibly well to get past players. Flashy as he is, he even tried a Michigan in the first game of the tournament. He’s also an exceptional distributor as he always seems to find the right man with his precise outlets. He displays creativity in the way he reaches his teammates, whether it’s an area pass, a board pass, or a saucer, it’s usually always tape-to-tape. An elusive player, he uses breaks and delays to perfection to gain space and make the proper play. As talented as he is offensively, Benak is also a tenacious player, fighting through pucks and helping his team to score with effort. He’s a great defensive player, even for his size. You can see him riding the middle lane, keeping an open and active stick, and supporting his defenders close for breakouts. He’s a rapid and relentless forechecker, displaying superb anticipation and causing many turnovers. The only legitimate concern with Benak is his diminutive frame, which could hold him from a high selection in his draft year. He’s also not known as a scorer, taking too much time to release on occasions and lacking finishing abilities to match his offensive prowess. Still, it was an incredibly dominant showing by Benak. He improved as the game went on and by the second half of the game, he was flying out there and making high-grade plays at all times. I’m unsure about where he projects to get picked in the 2025 draft, but I’m convinced he should at least be a first-round selection, if not a high one.
MATTHEW SCHAEFER | D | CANADA | August 5, 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by Donesh Mazloum
This was a dominant performance for Matthew Schaefer, and the Swiss had no answer for him at either end of the ice. On the offensive end, he was uncontainable, breaking free from his mark and scoring a couple of pretty goals as he maneuvered into the slot. Even when the defensive structure could see what was coming, he’d still find a way to shimmy and shake off coverage, explode into the open space, and rip the shot home. Rinse and repeat. His raw athleticism, mobility, and strength are all tools that should translate seamlessly to higher levels, and they serve as the foundation of everything he accomplishes at either end of the ice. His agility and deception on puck retrievals are top-notch, and he has the strength to power through contact even if the forechecker perfectly reads his intentions. The trap that many physically gifted defenders fall into is using their tools as a crutch and losing sight of the flow of a cohesive team breakout, and here again, Schaefer is ahead of the curve. He has a great feel for where the mismatch is on the ice and is quick to get the puck up ice, then finds the secondary layer that he can slot into as part of the attack. I think there is no question that Schaefer is one of, if not the best, defensemen available in this year’s draft, and I think he has true superstar potential in his game. He’ll be a fun watch all year.
MATTHEW LANSING | C | Team USA | August 8 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by Aaron Vickers
Matthew Lansing is a two-way forward who has very little weakness in his game, but the question for me will be whether or not he can develop a standout trait. He’s very reliable in all three zones and has the ability to flash skill, albeit a bit inconsistently for my liking. Defensively, Lansing presents a good stick when trying to negate passing lanes on the kill. He shows just enough micro-movements to discourage defensemen up top from trying seam passes. His anticipatory skills are really strong, whether it’s about breaking up a pass or play immediately or positioning himself to do so in a few seconds. He looks to finish his checks all over the ice, but at the same time isn’t a significantly heavy hitter. Lansing moves around the ice well and gets up and down the sheet quickly, but doesn’t have full-on separation speed to burn defenders. Still, over short areas, he can create space for himself from a standstill with the frequency and power in his legs. Offensively, Lansing keeps his stick on the ice and presents it well as a target for an outlet from his teammates, and is really strong in protecting the puck along the boards and down low. His release isn’t the quickest, but he gets his wrister off with plenty of velocity. He did put some nifty mitts on display on rare occasions but, again, I would love to see more consistency in his offensive-zone creativity and play-driving. Another issue, though not as problematic, is it felt as though Lansing was a little liberal in his shift length. The positive side of this is he didn’t seem to wear down over the course of a shift or a game, so his fitness and endurance appears to be a quality trait. Overall, there’s a strong two-way element to Lansings game — and he was used on both sides of special teams — but I was hoping for more to get excited about. He should be on the radar in the middle rounds of the 2025 draft at this point, and I could see an argument for as early as the third round for the college-bound forward after this 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup showing.
MICHAL PRADEL | G | Slovakia | August 5, 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by David Phillips
Michael Pradel’s size and speed combination make him an intriguing goalie option. He maintains his positioning well, and is quick to react and move to new shot locations or on changes in the play. He has a good foundation when it comes to his stance and save selection, opting for easy hand saves and chest saves when the time comes. Pradel should work on his footwork and recovery stages of the game however. He would struggle to get a good bite on his blade into the ice far too often, resulting in his technical abilities fading while attempting to recover from a save location. Pradel also had a tendency to lean back when recovering from shots, which results in him being less prepared for a second-chance opportunity. Pradel remains an interesting prospect, and I could see a team betting on his size/speed combo in the middle-to-late rounds of the 2025 draft.
CARLOS HANDEL | D | Germany | August 6, 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by Aaron Vickers
Carlos Handel, a right-shot defenseman, is best described as a two-way defenseman with the ability to affect the game on many fronts. His skating and heads-up play are what attract me most in his game. He’s not a high-end skater with impressive edgework and flat-out blazing speed, but his general mobility and overall timing when lining or sizing up opponents is strong. He’s able to time and squash plays routinely. He has a good understanding of when to bail out his partner and when to let him try to defend on his own during points of attack. In defending, I’m not sure he’s physically strong enough yet. He had issues dictating where forwards would go when they entered the offensive zone. His shoves and general ability to use his frame to dictate where they were going to go was lacking, too. He’s on the lighter side and the instincts are there, so this is more of a ‘now’ problem than something that can’t be fixed with a little weight training down the road. On offense, Handel can effortlessly take passes off the mark, using his feet to promptly place them perfectly on his blade, though is generally best described as an average to slightly above-average puckhandler. He makes intelligent, but safe plays with the puck, as there’s not a lot of dynamic elements in his game and he is more risk adverse than a player willing to try to execute a complicated play. His stickhandling and passing, again, are basic but mistake-free. Handel is not a playmaking defenseman and offers little offensively except as a facilitator to get the puck onto the stick of players that can make a difference. That said, he’s always skating with his head up and does foray into the offensive zone on the power play. He’s used on both sides of special teams and, on top of that, he’s an alternate captain for Germany at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, suggesting there’s some leadership qualities in his approach, too. Overall, Handel was one of few bright spots for me. His overall game is his meal ticket, as there’s not a standout defining trait that screams NHLer. He’d be worth a gamble for me in the late rounds of the 2025 draft just based on his all-round ability, effort, and heady play.
MAX WESTERGARD | LW | Finland | August 7, 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by Samuel Tirpak
Max Westergard is a fast, highly intelligent winger who excels in transition, using his speed and creativity to create goal-scoring opportunities for himself and his linemates. His creativity is limited in this Finnish defense-based system, which focuses on creating pressure defensively and not allowing top players to be as creative in order to maintain structural soundness. There is a lot to like about Westergard that I think would be fully showcased in Sweden with Frolunda. Speed and creativity are his two major assets that stand out. There isn’t much of a downside, outside of the obvious defensive flaws here and there, which would need fixing, especially his defensive zone coverage, or lack thereof. However, he is a great puck-hound in the neutral zone, a staple of Sweden-based forwards. In this game, Westergard was really active offensively, as is typical of him, creating offense upon entry on the left side whenever he could. There wasn’t much he could do against the tight Czech defense, but he was the only player on the Finnish team who was able to at least get through the entry and create something, which stood out as other Finnish forwards struggled even to get through the blue line with full or partial control. He was their best player in this tournament, as expected. He was involved in the majority of the scoring chances created by the Finns, scoring two out of their three goals. It’s extremely early, but Westergard is projected to be the best Finnish prospect for the 2025 draft in a weaker-than-usual class. He is a player who could really excite people with his dynamic play and creativity, and I anticipate a rise in public draft perception as people get more views on him.
MATIA BIRCHLER | G | Switzerland | August 5, 2024
PRELIMINARY RANKING: NA
Scouting report by David Phillips
Matia Birchler is a large and rangy goaltender who has learned to use his size to his advantage. Birchler’s impressive size allows him to seal off the lower half of the net nearly completely when in his butterfly. He contains his ice seal throughout micro adjustments and is quick to drop into the butterfly when needed. Birchler also showed strong goaltending mechanics in regards to both his footwork and his play in the post. He finds a good toe seal on the post when in his RVH, and makes sure there are no holes between himself and the post when in his seal. He must develop the speed of his game to reach higher levels, however. He is too slow in tracking the puck and reacting to plays, leaving late to his save which causes positional errors during his save process. Birchler’s size is sure to be an asset for any team that looks to him in the 2025 draft, and I look forward to seeing Birchler’s talents on display throughout this season.
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