U17 World Challenge 2026: The Standout Players

Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, Oakville ON, Nov. 1-7, 2026

An NHL scout gave us this quote this week: "Don't tell me what the player isn't, tell me what the player is." Players this young all have flaws, so the focus is on what you can build a game around.

Teams and players are ordered alphabetically.

Canada Red

Tanner Adams, F, Canada Red (No. 23)
There's high-end potential here. He made skill plays and delivered some of the biggest hits you could see. He played with a chip on his shoulder, but had the puck game to go with it. He was excellent before getting injured.

Thomas Boisvert, F, Canada Red (No. 17)
A speedy forward who crossed the line with pace and finished plays. He scored the quarterfinal game-winner on a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle and helped set up goals in the bronze-medal win. He won races, threw his weight around and brought a lot of energy.

Zaac Charbonneau, F, Canada Red (No. 14)
He showed poise and patience with the puck under pressure. Charbonneau was dangerous as a puck carrier, displaying several long rushes throughout this tournament. He also wasn't afraid to use his shot, which could beat goalies clean. There's definite upside here, and he played with a lot of confidence.

Mateo Ferreira, D, Canada Red (No. 2)
I saw Ferreira as a potential first-rounder from this group, and the tournament backed that up. He was a very solid two-way defenceman who did it all for Canada Red: he provided offence, was sound defensively, had good mobility and made smart plays. He carried the puck up ice, flew past forecheckers to gain the zone and, when the chance appeared, got a shot through or finished. He scored in the quarterfinal and showed a heavy shot throughout. He read the game well and consistently picked the right play. Good play after good play with him, all week.

Maxwell Fransen, D, Canada Red (No. 3)
A reliable defender with a good stick at the blue line, a nice pivot to defend zone entries and a great backtrack to break up a rush. He played physical in the corners and could step up to carry the puck through the neutral zone. He may not appear much on the highlight reels, but for a defender of his profile that isn't a bad thing. Steady Eddy.

Kash Kwajah, F, Canada Red (No. 8)
If Pue was the face of Canada Red, Kwajah was the heartbeat. Our notes used the same words again and again: speed, pace, intensity. He was a hard-on-the-puck forechecker who also had the patience to wait out a play behind the net and the skill to finish it. He scored one of the tournament's best goals, a power-play burst up the middle through three defenders. He also blocked shots, won board battles and made stretch passes, and any time Canada Red had a question, he seemed to be the one who answered it. Projected as a potentially very high-end pick by our scouts, he is a player we genuinely love. His next step is simply to keep playing this way against bigger, older competition while continuing to improve some mechanics. Can't say enough good things about this kid, he's the real deal.

Lucas Matheson, D, Canada Red (No. 22)
A two-way player who did it all for Canada Red: he provided offence, was solid defensively, had good mobility and made smart plays. He moved the puck well, with hard passes to the far blue line and a great outlet across two zones, ran the power play from the point and competed. Several notes called him heart-and-soul. He is showing early signs of being in the 1st round conversation to open next season.

Liam Pue, F, Canada Red (No. 13)
The Canada Red captain is regarded as a high-end player for his draft class, and the tournament showed why. He was a complete forward who won pucks on the forecheck, made plays out of the corner and saw backdoor options most players miss. His shot was his signature, especially from the top of the circles, and he finished the week with a pair of goals in the bronze-medal game. Away from the puck he was better than his offensive reputation: good stick, good awareness, willing to finish checks. He went through a stretch early without a goal and kept finding ways to help, which is usually the sign of a good player. He has placed a focus this season on off-puck play, and it's already shown improvement since the Hlinka Gretzky tournament in August.

He came out after a heartbreaking semifinal loss with his head held high, proud of his teammates and talking about how much of an honour it was to wear the C. He then responded with his best game of the tournament with a medal on the line in the Bronze Medal Game. He did everything a Canadian captain should be expected to do and represented what a Canadian captain should be. We hope he's started getting used to wearing the red maple leaf, because he is going to be wearing it for a long, long time.

Canada White

Kane Cloutier, F, Canada White (No. 9)
A speedy forward who can make plays at pace. He could take the puck end to end, used his speed to create chances and responded to an early penalty in one game by scoring twice. He also showed improved discipline by not retaliating in another. One of the more high-upside forwards at this tournament.

Madden Daneault, F, Canada White (No. 21)
A finisher with a quick shot and a willingness to go to hard areas, Daneault was a regular on the high-powered White top line, and was a tonf of fun to watch playing with Maddox Schultz. He had a knack for finding loose pucks around the net and putting them away, and he played his own zone with good angles, body position and leverage. A battler who refused to back down from any fight. Love the way this kid plays the game.

Jacob McKinnon, F, Canada White (No. 26)
A relentless forechecker who went hard down low, finished his checks and won the puck back. He had speed through the neutral zone, stole pucks (including shorthanded) and played with enough skill to be a regular on the top line. His aggressive forecheck sparked a goal in the bronze-medal game.

Declan McNally, D, Canada White (No. 7)
Big, strong and physical, with a good pinch and a hard shot. Our notes flagged high defensive upside. He blocked a rocket one-timer in the quarterfinal and the whole bench tapped him for it. Maybe not a ton of flash with this player, but there's certainly plenty of substance. The type of defender that NHL teams love.

Maddox Schultz, F, Canada White (No. 19)
Plain and simple, the best player at this tournament by a wide margin. Schultz is not tall, but his lower body is extremely strong. He shielded defenders off the puck and protected it in a way that was reminiscent of a young Sidney Crosby. On top of that he showed legitimate high-end vision, and several of his passes drew the same reaction: only he saw that. He fired a heavy shots, backchecked, hit, and he scored a hat trick in the quarterfinal win over Finland that swung the game. Emotion was part of what drove him, and he was absolutely relentless.

Adrian Sgro, D, Canada White (No. 2)
A shifty, mobile defenceman who was more than comfortable carrying the puck: fast rushes through the neutral zone, blistering shots from the slot, and quality instincts in the offensive zone. He set up several of Schultz's goals and scored on the power play in the bronze-medal game. He also blocked shots on the penalty kill.

Jace Voortman, F, Canada White (No. 14)
A high-IQ forward who consistently made the smart play. He scored on the power play, set up goals for Daneault and Cloutier, and slid across to save a goal on a 5-on-3 kill. The coach trusted him in key situations, and had extremely high praise for him in interviews.

Czechia

Lucas Andrejko, F, Czechia (No. 29)
A playmaker on Czechia's top line alongside Zelezny and Cutta. He made really nice passes from behind the goal line, set up Michalek and assisted on one of Zelezny's goals in the opener. He stole pucks and generated dangerous shots. Was noticeable each game.

Matyas Cutta, F, Czechia (No. 20)
He had a great tournament, with two goals in the semifinal win over Canada Red that made him a Player of the Game. He could rush the puck through the neutral zone, beat the defender and shoot, and he found teammates from behind the net on slick passing plays. All over the ice for Czechia, and a very toolsy draft prospect.

Jan Dvorak, D, Czechia (No. 5)
Czechia's second-most noticeable defender in the tournament, behind Michalek. He brought a good physical presence, showed good skating ability, and has a hard shot from the point that gets through traffic. He sometimes played a little overzealous, and tightening up that edge is how he gets to the next level. Has a lot of Pro tools, it's just a matter of harnessing them.

Matyas Michalek, D, Czechia (No. 6)
Michalek was Czechia's top defender and one of the tournament's most mobile defencemen. He walked the line with shifty feet, changed his angle around checkers and got pucks through traffic, a habit noted in game after game. He joined the rush with really good speed and anticipation, made cross-ice stretch passes and, at the other end, kept good body position against fast forwards. He has the potential to be the first defender off the board in the 2028 Draft Class if his development stays on this incredible trajectory.

Dominik Zelezny, F, Czechia (No. 21)
Zelezny had some of the best hands in the tournament. He could dangle three defenders in a row, shield the puck while flying through the neutral zone, and put a pass over a pair of sticks to a teammate on a breakaway. He opened the tournament with a hat trick, scored a lovely forehand-backhand-forehand deke in the semifinal and was a constant threat on the way to the gold-medal game. He was a skill-first forward who also had a nose for soft ice. Czechia's best offensive player and one of the most talented players of the week.

Finland

Niilo Jokinen, F, Finland (No. 14)
A Player of the Game against Canada White. He was flying all tournament, with a ton of pace and great hands. He scored twice in the quarterfinal and had a nose for the net.

Hannu Packalen, F, Finland (No. 29)
A shooter with a laser of a snapshot and an absolutely sick finish on a power-play goal against Canada Red. He also made dangerous individual efforts on the power play.

Jesper Torkell, F, Finland (No. 20)
A hard worker who battled in front of the net and in the corners, kept pucks in at the blue line and gained the zone on the rush. He shot hard, hit the post in the quarterfinal against Canada White and I have several notes about his positive effort level.

Aamos Vahvaselka, D, Finland (No. 6)
A very strong prospect who did a lot of things well. He was a two-way player with good speed, a heavy point shot and a goal in the quarterfinal. A little undersized, but he did not play like it.

Eddie Wallin, F, Finland (No. 22)
Skilled and shifty, with nice hands noted early and often. He had puck skill and confidence, though he looked a little small. He danced through the neutral zone with speed and set up goals for Packalen and Maenpaa.

Sweden

Isak Alvudd, F, Sweden (No. 15)
A playmaker with a finishing touch. He scored against Czechia, then opened the scoring against Canada Red in the quarterfinal. He fed Zetterberg for another goal and was always looking for the cross-crease option. Strong showing for him.

Wilson Boumedienne, F, Sweden (No. 24)
Sweden's most consistently noticeable player. He got through the neutral zone with a lot of speed, danced through traffic and kept making dangerous plays when his team needed a goal. Canada's defenders had a hard time containing him on the rush. A quick, dangerous forward who kept trying to create goals for his team.

Ludvig Langermo Neuman, F, Sweden (No. 28)
Really fast, with a nice dangle. Alongside Boumedienne, he was one of Sweden's most noticeable forwards. He scored a shootout goal against Czechia on a forehand-backhand-forehand deke that fooled the goalie, and he kept creating backdoor chances. Played a lot better than his point totals suggest.

Anton Toivola Henriksson, D, Sweden (No. 3)
Massive and very strong at 6'6", 216. He used his long reach to break up speed rushes, hammered forwards in the corner and had a big one-timer from the point. A physical presence that has some intriguing tools.

United States

Joey Cullen, F, USA (No. 34)
Cullen had the softest hands on the American roster and used them to control the offensive zone. Our notes kept returning to the same word, shifty: the inside-out moves at the blue line, the toe-drag across the crease, the way he could dance around the zone, stickhandle through an entire team and draw every defender to him before delivering a perfect pass. That playmaking was what made him special.

He was also a finisher. He scored against Canada Red, Finland and Canada White, including two top-shelf goals, one wired from the circle after nifty stickhandling and one cleaned up off a rebound on a broken play. He had a hand in goals throughout the week, with points in the final and a standout role on the power play. A creative puck-carrier with a quick finish who thought the game like a playmaker, and a big reason the Americans left with gold.

Drew Daley, D, USA (No. 43)
A two-way defenceman who activated from the blue line, walked pucks down the wall and got to the net. He scored in the Finland and Canada White games and assisted on a power-play goal in the final. He also read plays well and intercepted several passes on the defensive side of the play.

Cameron Evans, F, USA (No. 52)
The American captain did all the little things right. He was a hard-working forward with speed down the wing, won pucks and made the plays that helped his linemates. He was rewarded with the empty-net goal that sealed gold. Excellent motor, and a deserving captain of this squad.

Mason Martin, G, USA (No. 31)
The most standout goalie from the tournament, the gold-medal goaltender shut out Czechia in the final with a 30-save night, stoning the Czech attack no matter what they threw his way. Just a day earlier he made 44 saves against Canada White in the semifinal, including a series of high-quality blocker and glove stops on legit scoring chances. He was big in big games.

Maverick McKinnon, F, USA (No. 47)
The gold medalists had several good players, but McKinnon was the one we kept coming back to. His puck control was extremely high-end: he could dance around the offensive zone and seemingly do whatever he wanted with the puck, protected it well and had excellent edge work with a wide, stable base. He drove play off the boards, saw cross-ice options and could hit a teammate with some creative passes. One of those players this week you didn't have to look for - he made himself stand out.

Carter Morris, F, USA (No. 46)
A finisher who made the most of his chances, with a catch-and-release shot and a highlight-reel goal in the semifinal. He also scored twice in the gold-medal win over Czechia. An important part of a deadly USA attack.

Dean Stevens, F, USA (No. 49)
Creative and opportunistic. He scored twice in 38 seconds against Canada Red, found the soft spot on the goalie against Finland and set up Morris's opening goal in the final. He also showed good possession skills in the offensive zone.

Brooks Suter, D, USA (No. 44)
A puck-moving defenceman with strong two-way play who contributed a goal and 5 points in 4 games. He stole pucks and started the rush throughout the week, had a heavy point shot through. He was especially effective defending the Czech counterattack in the final.

Jack Trupiano, F, USA (No. 33)
A pure shooter with a hard one-timer and a nose for the net. He scored a hat trick against Finland and continued to shoot with confidence against Canada Red and Canada White. He kept plays alive at the blue line and brought a heavy presence to the wing.

Full Scouting Reports available at PuckBunker.com