Jakob Ihs Wozniak and what we learned on Day 1 of the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
EDMONTON, AB — Jakob Ihs Wozniak‘s hockey journey started Down Under.
Ihs Wozniak, a top prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft, was born in Australia before moving to Sweden as a toddler.
“My dad’s born in Australia, born and raised there, but my mom was from Sweden,” Ihs Wozniak told FCHockey. “She was kind of on a school trip to Australia in Adelaide, where I come from. She went to the golf course with her brother and they met in the pro shop there.
“They lived in Australia and after that we moved to Sweden.”
Perhaps surprisingly, it was father Adam and not mother Anna that introduced Ihs Wozniak to ice hockey, despite dad not being overly versed in the sport.
“I was pretty young,” Ihs Wozniak, who scored for Sweden in a tournament-opening 4-3 win against Slovakia on Monday, said. “My dad just took me to the rink and knew nothing about it, but he just wanted me to try it. Ever since that I just loved it.”
It’s been a good move.
Ihs Wozniak is one of Sweden’s top exports for the 2025 draft after amassing an impressive 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 36 games for Lulea in J20 Nationell. He also made his pro debut with two games in the Swedish Hockey League, and played for Sweden at both the 2023 World Under-17 Challenge and 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
He’s now starring with Sweden at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scoring against Slovakia in Sweden’s opener on Monday.
But the Australian roots remain.
“I think it’s cool,” Ihs Wozniak said. “With my dad I always speak English. It’s fun that it’s still there so we don’t forget it when we talk Swedish at home. My grandparents come visit every year. It’s very special.”
Sykora wants game, not name, to do the talking
Nicolas Sykora knows his name will follow him around wherever he goes.
But he wants his play to stand on its own.
Sykora, the son of 15-year NHL veteran Petr Sykora, hopes to be recognized for what he’s able to put out on the ice instead of his lineage off it.
“Obviously it’s awesome to have a dad that played many many years in the NHL and get the experience and teaching he went through,” said Sykora, who was held without a point in Team USA’s tournament-opening 2-1 loss to Czechia on Monday. “But honestly, through all the help he’s given me, I think that it’s my path now. I am grateful for all the help he’s given me, but I want to continue the family legacy and the name through myself now.
“But obviously it’s an awesome feeling to have a dad that shared that experience.”
Easier said than done for the 2025 draft eligible, though, parking the expectation of being the offspring of a 15-year NHL veteran who nabbed 721 points (323 goals, 398 assists) over 1,017 games with the New Jersey Devils, Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota Wild.
It’s nothing new for the younger Sykora, whose hockey journey has taken him through New Jersey, to the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League, and, eventually, Quinnipiac University.
“Everywhere I’ve been to, there’s always those people that assume I get to places because of him,” said Sykora, who had eight points (three goals, five assists) with Omaha last season. “I completely ignore it. I get places on my own. People might think ‘his dad played in the NHL’ but I don’t care. It’s me. It’s my name. I get places because of my work which will lead to me hopefully getting drafted or going to college.
“I want to be known as the player that affects the game in any way that he can. It’s kind of simple, but if I can be the guy that blocks a shot or be the guy to score a goal, an assist, anything possible to get the win out of it… I’ll do it.”
Top performances
Canada’s Cole Reschny paced all tournament scorers with five points (two goals, three assists) on Monday, but it was teammate and defenseman Matthew Schaefer who stole the show. Schaefer, one of the top blueliners eligible for the 2025 draft, scored two highlight-worthy goals as part of Canada’s 10-o opening-game romp of Switzerland. It did nothing but add to the resume he’s already built back in the Ontario Hockey League and with Canada at spring’s 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
Czechia goaltender Ondrej Stebetak had a memorable outing in a 2-1 win against Team USA, to say the least. Stebetak allowed a floater from center ice to beat him blocker side for the game’s opening goal, but still managed to slam the door the rest of the way — making 30 saves in total — to kick off the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on the right foot. Stebetak made the key saves at big moments, launching himself on watchlists as a goalie to monitor as his draft year season unfolds.
Filip Ekberg didn’t necessarily land himself a prime time role with Sweden but made the most of his opportunities to the tune of two goals — including an overtime winner — to propel his side to a nailbiter of a 4-3 victory in overtime to clinch a win. Ekberg both opened and closed the game with snipes but, more importantly, showed off some quick boots and individual offensive flair off the rush.
Quotable
“In practice it’s always fun to shoot on him because in my opinion, and this can be biased, he’s one of the best goalies I’ve ever played against and it’s awesome just going up against him because it makes you better and makes him better. Having him on your side is just so easy because you get to use the chemistry… we played Team Ontario, U17s, all that… so it’s pretty easy to work with him.” — Schaefer on Jack Ivankovic
Scouting report
Viktor Klingsell, from the opening whistle, was giving the Slovak defensive structure fits with his ability to feather passes cross-ice through coverage. His bag of tricks is seemingly endless — no-look passes to the trailer, behind the back dimes setting up one-timers, crisp tape-to-tape bullets through a maze, precise sauce passes over sticks, perfect draw weight into open space for teammates to skate onto. It feels like no player is truly covered when Klingsell is on the ice as he can hit the tape in the slimmest of margins. His ability to distribute is especially potent on the power play, where he utilizes the extra time and space to get heads moving laterally, causing confusion and opportunities behind coverage. While his playmaking is what stood out to me most in the contest, Klingsell is far from a one-trick pony. His awareness extends to finding opportunities for himself and has the stickwork to attack he net himself. From a physicality standpoint, he isn’t the tallest player, but he is already quite filled out and uses his strength to protect along the wall and buy time for his linemates to get open. Draft standing isn’t made in summer hockey but with performances like this one, it’s hard to imagine Klingsell falling far in the 2025 draft.” — FCHockey scout Donesh Mazloum