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Each Country’s Top Prospect Available for the 2025 NHL Draft
Photo Credit: Rena Laverty / USA Hockey
In the not-so-distant past, the only cultural diversity you would find in an NHL locker room would be the Canadian providence from which the players hailed. But that is not the case anymore because the love of this game is now so vast it has stretched to all reaches of the world.
To the point where, it’s not out of the ordinary to have players from several different nations coming together on a single roster. That’s why most teams now are having to hire interpreters to follow these players around so that they can translate what the coach is asking of them.
But this is not a bad thing because, I believe, with the addition of each country’s prospects bringing with them their own particular style of play, this game not only continues to get more exciting but it is metamorphosing before our eyes into something even better.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the best player each country has to offer to see which nation will reign supreme in the 2025 Draft.
BELARUS
Belarus is a small landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of only nine million people. It gained independence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. And, although they may not have the lengthy list of former NHL players that other countries have to boast about. They will soon, given the fact that over the last couple of years, Belarus has been able to produce players like defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who was just taken second overall this summer by the Chicago Blackhawks.
With that being said, one Belarusian player that I think you should keep an eye on this year is Yaroslav Bryzgalov. Yaroslav is a skilled forward who has chosen to take a similar route to that of Levshunov in that he decided it was in his best interest to come to play stateside this season to prove to both himself and prospecting NHL franchises that his game could translate well to not only the North American style game but that of the NHL.
To do so, this 6’3, 205-pound, still very raw prospect has agreed to play for the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers this season. With that, the Bucs stand to gain a forward who scored 21 goals and 48 assists for a total of 69 points in 52 games played last year. And, if those stats weren’t exciting enough, the fact that he was able to do so while maintaining a +44 average on the year should be.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: Late 2nd RD.
CANADA
This one is a toss-up between Porter Martone and Michael Misa. I can tell you I’ve literally sat here and watched hours and hours of tape on these two players and still cannot definitively say that if put in the position of going up to the podium on draft day to select one over the other, I would be comfortable in doing so.
That’s because both players are simply outstanding! Each managed to score well over a point per game last season in the Ontario Hockey League at just 16 years of age. And with that, there’s no doubt in my mind that each player will one day, sooner rather than later, have their faces plastered all over banners and billboards throughout their respective NHL club’s city.
So, I’ll let you pick your favorite.
Porter Martone– who plays for the Brampton Steelheads (who were previously known as the Mississauga Steelheads), is a 6’3, 196-pound power forward who is able to create his own offense by dangling through the competition. (Note: this could be an enticing trait to have for a franchise that is in the middle of a rebuild and might not have too much to surround him with at the moment).
Because of this skill and many more, Porter was able to light the lamp a total of 33 times last season and managed to assist on another 38 to finish with 71 points. To boot, Martone also managed to sustain a +25 average for the year.
Michael Misa– who plays for the Saginaw Spirt and stands in at 6’1 and 185 pounds, is more of a speedy, opportunistic forward who is at his best when playing with others who can cycle the puck on the power play or put home one of his passes that he serves up to them on a silver platter.
Not to be outdone, last year, Misa scored 29 goals and 46 assists for a total of 75 points. Not to mention the fact that he netted another five points in five games played to help his team win the CHL’s 2024 Memorial Cup Championship.
Were you able to decide between the two? Yeah, me neither.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: Both players have Top 5 overall potential
Czechia
While some might argue that the best Czech player out of this draft is forward Dominik Pavlik or defenseman Radim Mrtka. I believe that the diminutive Adam Benak will prevail over all others.
The main reason for that is that Benak (unlike any of the others listed above) was willing to come over and play in the USHL this season for the Youngstown Phantoms so that NHL clubs will have ample opportunity to scout him this year.
And for good reason. Benak is an elusive, offensive-minded player who can beat you any way he deems necessary. To prove that at just 16 years of age last season, Adam was able to score 29 points in 29 games played versus U20 competition in Czechia, and he just managed to surpass all others that came before him in total points scored (21) during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: LATE 1ST Early 2nd RD.
Finland
Now that we turn our focus to Finland, the name that stands out above the rest for me is Jesper Kotajarvi. Jesper is an elite defender who moves very well and possesses a heavy shot. In terms of his play, he is wise beyond his years. Kotajarvi very seldom makes mistakes to the point that on the rare occasion that he is accused of making one, if you take the time and review the play, you’ll most likely conclude that while Jesper may have indeed made the turnover, it was only because the winger was not playing with his head up and therefore could not see Kotajarvi absolutely threading the needle right to where the tape of his stick should have been.
Finland has not been the prospect factory that it once was and, therefore, has not been able to provide Jesper with the kind of help he needs to truly thrive. Nevertheless, Kotajarvi is a special player who will indeed make whatever team that drafts him look really clever.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: 2ND RD. Pick
Germany
Now, although there doesn’t appear to be any gems like Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle, or Moritz Seider coming out of Germany this season, there are a couple of players from Deutschland who will be drafted.
The first of those players will probably be David Lewandowski, a 6’2 176-pound forward who was able to score 15 goals and 33 assists for 48 points in only 33 games last season playing against U-20 competition.
Still, David will most likely take a few years before he’s ready to come stateside, and that’s ok because he is not considered to be a first-round talent.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: Late 2nd or Early 3rd
Norway
Surprisingly enough, this Scandinavian country that is directly connected to prospect powerhouses Sweden and Finland has never really been able to produce many Norwegian-born players who could ever make it to the ranks of the NHL. But they have one this year.
His name is Mikkel Eriksen, and he is so good that if he works hard enough, his career (when it’s all said and done) could rival Norway’s own Mats Zuccarello.
Case in point: Last year, at just 16 years of age, Eriksen was able to post 2.04 points per game while playing up in Norway’s U-20 League. To reach that feat, he scored 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points in only 23 games played and averaged a +32.
Now, I get it if you are still kind of skeptical about his actual value because of the lack of competition he faces on a daily basis playing in Norway, but to prove that his play can match up against some of the best in the world at his age. Mikkel also managed to post a point per game at the U18 World Junior Championships last year, scoring four goals and one assist in five games.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: 3rd RD.
Russia
Although it can sometimes be tough to get this country’s prospects over here after drafting them, it is usally worth the hassle because Russia takes their hockey very seriously. From a very young age, when a player shows potential, Russia will do everything in its power not only to harness it but also to cultivate it.
This being the case with the young Ivan Ryabkin, who last season scored 58 points while playing in the MHL in his draft minus one season. To compare how good he is to other Russian players who came before him, we can take a look at another Russian Prospect named Ivan Demidov, who was taken fifth overall by Montreal this summer. Last season, while playing in his draft-eligible year, Demidov managed to put up 60 points in the same league. So, Ryabkin, who is essentially a year younger than Demidov, was only two points off his pace.
With that being said, it should come as no surprise to hear that Ryabkin has already seen playing time in the KHL (Russia’s top professional league) this season.
However, teams who want this young center should be aware because, like the Flyers’ Michkov was, Ryabkin is signed for the next few seasons. So, teams would have to be willing to either wait until the end of the 2026/2027 season when he is a free agent or somehow convince ($$$) his current club to grant him an early release from his deal if they want to utilize his talents before then.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: Top 5 Overall Pick
Slovakia
When I think of Slovakian-born players, I think of speedy wingers like Peter Stastny, Peter Bondra, Marian Gaborik, and Zigmund Palffy. But on the rare occasion, you can get a pretty good defenseman out of them like Zdeno Chara or Andrej Meszaros.
This being the case this season with the young right-hand shooting defenseman Luka Radivojevic, who was actually born in the USA, but resides in Slovakia and is Eastern European through and through.
Radivojevic is a mobile, offensively driven defenseman who can get back and play defense as well, which can’t be said for most offensive defensemen coming out in the draft nowadays. To prove this, all you have to do is compare Luka’s 33 points that he managed to score in Sweden’s J20 League last year to his league-leading +29 plus-minus rating.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: Late 1st Rd.
Sweden
The Swedes are a country whose list of all-time greats could stack up with just about anybody’s. And the next player in this country’s long line of succession may be a kid named Anton Frondell.
Anton is a forward who possesses both the skill set to dance through the opposition’s defense and the NHL-caliber shot that it takes to send that little piece of vulcanized rubber right past their goaltender like he is standing still.
Last season, Frondell spent the majority of his season playing in Sweden’s J20 League, where he scored 18 goals and 21 assists for a total of 39 points in only 29 games played. But, the knock on him will be that he is set to undergo knee surgery and currently has no timetable set for a return.
Now, with this not being his first significant injury, his draft stock will surely suffer, but trust and believe with him being this talented someone inside the top ten will still take a chance on him.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: Top Ten pick
Switzerland
-is another country that is underrated in terms of the prospects they put out. Mainly because it is not every year that they develop top-end talent, but when they do; watch out because they are going to be something extraordinary! Case in point: Nashville’s Josi Roman and the two Swiss brethren that play up in New Jersey former top 10 pick Timo Meier and 2017’s number one overall pick Nico Hischier.
This season just so happens to be one of those years. This time, their prized prospect comes in the form of 17-year-old goaltender Elijah Neuenschwander. For me, Elijah is a breath of fresh air. His style of play is not that of today’s typical butterfly goalie who stays down on the ice and continues to flop around, looking through peoples’ legs to try and locate the puck after a rebound. Instead, he is a bit old school in the sense that he chooses to stay up when at all possible, using his 6’4 frame to his advantage. He likes to challenge the shooter, and only when he has no other choice does he decide to go down into the butterfly to make a save. But you best believe once he has, Elijah immediately recovers to a standing position.
And, just to clarify, when I say immediately, I mean it has been a very looooong time since I’ve seen a goalie with his kind of reflexes and reactionary time. So, although this draft appears to have a few good guardians of the blue paint, I would have to say Neuenschwander might be the cream of the crop.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: 2nd Rd.
United States
No team in the world over the past ten years has been more dominant than the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Every year, this club seems to have five to ten kids on the team who not only get drafted but also get taken in the first or second round of the draft.
They’ve gotten so good, in fact, that this upcoming off-season, they just might have helped to develop yet another number-one overall draft pick. That’s right, the USNTDP helped produce former number overall picks like Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, and Patrick Kane.
Now, the next might just be a dynamic 17-year-old center named James Hagens. James is perhaps the most complete player in this draft class. He has the speed to skate through the opposition’s defense with ease, he has the sticking handling ability to get open and place a perfect pass right on the tape of an awaiting teammate. To go with all that James possesses the kind of finishing ability you’ve come to expect from a ten year professional.
Now, if you think I’m just blowing smoke, then let me go over some of his stats from last year. In 58 games played for Team USA last year, James was able to score 39 goals and 63 assists for 102 points. But that was just his offensive production. Hagens is also good in his own zone as well, seeing that he was able to maintain a +43 average on the year. But if that’s still not enough to convince you that James is already the consensus number-one overall pick before he even plays a single regular season game. Then this might. During the World Junior Championships U-18 tournament. Hagens was able to finish with nine goals and 13 assists for a total of 22 points in only seven games played. That feat was good enough to earn his country the silver medal and James the honor of being named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
With nothing else to prove in the junior ranks, James is set to attend and play for Boston College next season. The question now is, will he be able to match 2024’s 1st overall pick Macklin Celebrini’s success from last year when he played for Boston College and scored 64 points that helped him to win the highly regarded Hobey Baker Award? We will just have to wait and see.
CURRENT NHL DRAFT RANKING: 1st Overall
So, there you have it, proof that hockey is alive and well in all reaches of the world. As you just read, this upcoming draft is going to be a good one and why wouldn’t it? As this game’s popularity continues to grow around the world, so will the game itself. Every nation brings a little something different to the game, and nowhere is that more evident than when they all come together to play in the Melting Pot, that is the NHL.
Flyers Camp Battles that are Set to Ensue
Photo Credit: Zack Hill/Flyers
With the Philadelphia Flyers Training Camp set to commence on September 18th, I thought it was about time I brought you my annual article on what camp battles are set to ensue.
Now, while the Flyers roster may not have changed that much over the summer thanks to General Manager Danny Briere being able to work out deals to bring back Travis Konecny, Bobby Brink, Garnet Hathaway, defenseman Yegor Zamula, and Russian netminder Ivan Fedotov, he did decide to switch some things up by buying out veteran forward Cam Atkinson and terminating the inflated contract of Ryan Johanson in order to make room for their star prospect Matvei Michkov to be able to come over from Russia after he was granted an unexpected early release from his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg back in late June.
With that being said, as far as the camp goes, the roster of attendees is already pretty well set, so let’s dive in and try to break down each position to find out if we should expect any surprises to make this club’s opening night’s roster.
Centers
To start, I thought it best to begin with the position that could benefit the most from some assistance. As Briere has previously alluded to, he is not exactly happy with his core group of centers. The reason for that is despite Sean Couturier, Morgan Frost, Scott Laughton, and Ryan Poehling collectively making around $15 million of the team’s $83.5 Million salary cap last year, not one of them was able to score more than 13 goals on the season; which I guess would be fine in theory if they were all the shutdown defensively responsible two way centers that the club makes them out to be, but in reality only one of them finished last season as a plus player.
Who are some of the outliers that may be attending camp that have a chance to make the club you may be asking? Well, some familiar faces like Jon-Randall Avon and Rhett Gardner, who played the majority of the year with the Phantoms last year, will likely be in attendance. Still, if I’m being honest, neither of them overly impressed me last season.
This is the reason why the team may have decided to go out and draft the speedy center Jett Luchanko from the OHL’s Guelph Storm with their first-round pick. Not to mention, the team selecting center Denver Barkey in the third round the previous summer, which, with his success last season, is turning out to be one of the steals of the draft. But, even though you can expect both of these prospects to receive extended looks during Training Camp, they most likely will return to the OHL next season for some more seasoning before getting the chance to turn pro, possibly in the spring.
In a similar boat is Massimo Rizzo, who, after winning his second National Championship with the University of Denver, decided to turn pro and join the ranks of the Flyers. But given the fact that he is inexperienced at the pro level, I would expect that management would like to see him gain the most experience/playing time that he can, which most likely means he will spend most, if not all, of next season, playing in the AHL.
So, who does that leave us with that could make the club’s opening night roster or at least be viewed as a ligament call-up option in case the injury-prone Sean Couturier or another dot dweller on the NHL roster goes down with an injury? Well, I think it will come down to a battle between the Flyers’ newly signed 28-year-old 6’4, 205-pound Latvian-born center Rodrigo Abols. Who has a year of experience playing in the AHL before heading over to play in Sweden’s top league, the SHL, for the last four seasons. If you’re not familiar with Abols’ game, despite his size, he is not the most physical of players, but he does surprise a lot of people with his speed and his play in front of the opposition’s net.
The other name to watch as far as faceoff men go is Anthony Richard. Anthony is a 27-year-old center that the Flyers signed this off-season. Richard comes with both AHL and NHL experience and is best known for scoring a combined 55 goals and 122 points at the AHL level over the past two seasons alone. I should mention that these massive totals came despite him being called up to play a part in each of the last two seasons in the NHL with both the Bruins and Canadiens, respectfully.
Now, while neither of these players should be considered long-term answers for the Flyers, they are decent options for this season, considering the team is playing up against the cap right now. With that being said, if needed, one or both of these players should be able to help the Flyers finish out the year and get them to the off-season, where their previously mentioned talented draft picks may then be ready to take over.
Wings
The Flyers have a wealth of players in this position who shoot right-handed but are currently deficient in players who are able to shoot left-handed. This makes the fact that they let their 2022 fifth-round pick Alex Bump, who shoots left-handed and scored at a near-a-point-per-game pace for Western Michigan University last season, walk away from their Development Camp this summer without a contract in hand seem a little crazy to me.
Be that as it may, the Flyers returning locks at wing are, of course, the newly resigned $70 million man, Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Joel Farabee, Garnet Hathaway, Nicolas Deslauriers, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink.
But let’s be honest, who most fans are most excited to see play this season is their newly signed star prospect Matvei Michkov, who has already been seen practicing and working out at the Flyers facilities alongside fellow Russian Egor Zamula. This comes after Michkov had just had a season in the KHL where he scored 19 goals and 22 assists for a total of 41 points in 47 games played. So, it should go without saying that the 19-year-old Michkov, who was taken number seven overall in 2023, will likely be forced to learn on the Fly with Philadelphia as they would not want to take the chance of sending him to Lehigh Valley to have some goon trying to make a name for himself take a run at him.
Whose left that could fill in if needed this year, you may be asking? Well, the Flyers would have hoped that prospects like Elliot Desnoyers, Samu Toumaala, Alexis Gendron, or Zayde Wisdom would have taken a step forward in their progression last season. But to me, all of them left a lot to be desired.
So, I think it will come down to two Swedish-born players who will battle it out for the chance to make the team or at least be a formidable call-up option. One of those players is Olle Lycksell, a versatile forward who has been developing within the team’s system for some time now. Olle, who was over a point-per-game player for the Phantoms last year, scoring 39 points in 38 games played, was also fortunate enough to spend 18 games up with the Flyers last season, where he registered five points.
The other Swede. to watch is the massive 6’4, 220-pound power forward Oscar Eklind. Oscar, who is 26 years old, was signed by the Flyers this summer after a season in the SHL, where he was able to score 17 goals and 11 assists for a total of 28 points in 48 games played. He is a player who uses his size to his advantage and scores most, if not all, of his points from five feet or fewer away from the crease, with you hearing that it should come as no surprise when I tell you that Oscar is very comfortable setting up shop in front the net. His goal is to screen the opposing team’s goalie. And being that he spends so much time there, Eklind has become exceptionally versed in the art of redirecting the puck and capitalizing on a nice juicy rebound.
It’s been a long time since the Flyers were able to benefit from a player with his type of skill set. And if you think back to when the team had guys who played a similar game, like Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell, Mike Knuble, and/or John LeClair, the Flyers never had a problem scoring on the power play. Because of this, I foresee the Flyers growing very fond of Eklind’s skill set. I predict that they might eventually call him up this season (yes, even before they call up Lycksell) because he could add that missing element to their league’s worst power-play unit.
Defense
There is no denying that the Flyers have spent a lot of time and resources trying to strengthen their blue line over the past couple of years. And, thanks to their efforts, they have managed to get a pretty solid group of players with whom they feel comfortable heading into this season. Those players whose names will be written in Ink to patrol the Flyers Blueline even before the first puck drop will be Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler, and the Stanley Cup-winning veteran Erik Johnson.
This leaves us with Egor Zamula as the most likely candidate to be the rotational seventh defenseman, who will come in and out of the lineup to give guys a night off.
But that is not the end of their defensive depth. The Flyers also have 2023 1st round pick Oliver Bonk in the system, who doesn’t really have anything else to prove at the junior level after scoring 67 points in 60 regular season games for the London Knights, who he ended up winning an OHL Championship with last season. And therefore, he should not be sent back down just to beat up on competition that is no longer challenging him. But I digress. Others who will be there are 2020 2nd-round pick Emil Andrae, Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning, Helge Grans, and Hunter McDonald.
So, if the Flyers are wise, they will give Oliver Bonk the most time in camp that they can to prove himself. But, if they do decide to send him back for his last year of Juniors, then the name that stands to beat out any of the other dogs in this fight would be 28-year-old Louie Belpedio.
To me, out of all the Phantoms’ defensemen that were brought up last season to play in a few games, Belpedio looked to be the most solid. Out of the 12 games he played with Philadelphia last season, he was the only one to offer the Flyers something in all facets of the game. Offensively, Louie scored two goals and two assists during his short stint with the Flyers last season. He was also sound defensively, playing mistake-free hockey on his way to finishing as a plus player with a +6 average. Not to mention, he is the only one on the back end who managed to show off how skilled he is when it comes to the art of fist-to-cuffs.
So, to me, while Bonk looks to be undoubtedly part of this team’s future, the amount of playing time he needs to continue to develop and thrive at the NHL level is not there. So, don’t be surprised if Belpedio finds himself holding down his spot for a while.
Goaltending
With the sudden departure of Carter Hart last season, most of us thought that the team would be doomed. But lucky for us, the Flyers’ 24-year-old goalie Sam Ersson managed to step up and be a workhorse for the team down the stretch, playing in 51 games last season.
And now with the long-awaited addition of the Flyers’ 6’8 netminder Ivan Fedotov, who has previously single handily carried Russia to an Olympic Silver Medal and won the KHL’s version of the Stanley Cup, the “Gagarin Cup”. With this addition, the Flyers once again seem to have a legitimate ONE-and ONE-A pairing in net.
As for the other goalies at Camp Cal, Petersen and his $5 million salary will likely be banished to the AHL again this season in order to lessen the financial burden on the team.
Prospect Carson Bjarnason, who management was impressed with at Development Camp, will be there as well, but don’t be shocked if he heads back to Juniors for another season.
So, I guess the real story comes down to whether the 22-year-old netminder that the team drafted back in the third round of the 2021 Draft, Alexei Kolosov, reports back to Philly as he’s being ordered to do so or not. If you didn’t hear, Kolosov was apparently unhappy with how he was treated when he came over at the end of last season, so much so that Alexei has made it known that he doesn’t wish to return despite him being contractually obligated to.
Lucky for us, Briere has a plan in action in case Kolosov is serious about his refusal to return. That plan is for Danny to invite 25-year-old netminder Eetu Makiniemi to camp on a tryout basis. Makiniemi, who was initially drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017 in the fourth round, has played professionally in his home country of Finland in the Liiga, as well as over here in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL levels. And although he has limited NHL experience, playing in just two games last season for the San Jose Sharks, he did manage to put up some very respectable numbers during those outings with him, posting a 2.13 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage.
So, in my mind, Makiniemi and Kolosov are the players to watch in net. Because there is not only a real possibility that if Kolosov does not return, Makiniemi could make the Phantoms roster, but that Eetu might prove to be a better call-up option than Petersen, seeing that when Cal was called up last season to play with the Flyers, he averaged an abysmal 3.90 goals-against-average and a .864 save percentage.
Well, that about sums it up. As in recent years, Training Camp for the Flyers is going to be a proving ground of sorts for some new guys who will be battling it out for their chance at either making the big club or setting themselves to be the number one call-up option moving forward at their position. But don’t count out other prospects who have been here from the pre-Briere era because they may sense that their time is running out for them to make a lasting impression and use that to fuel them to work harder and make the club. Regardless of how it all unfolds, it is bound to be entertaining! So, I would suggest you find your way up to Voorhees, NJ, come Sept. 18th and watch how it all plays out.
One USHL Rookie who will set the League on Fire This Year
Photo Credit: Andy Devlin | Hockey Canada Images
With each passing season, it seems as though the United States Hockey League (better known as the USHL) is gaining more and more esteem.
That’s because although it has stayed true to its roots of being the top-feeder league, Division One NCAA teams have come to depend on to fill their rosters. Over the last couple of years, it has managed to evolve into one of the more elite Junior leagues in the world. So much so that if you include the United States National Team Development Program (which is now a full-time affiliate), it has now been known to annually produce dozens of players that are taken in the first couple rounds of the draft.
With all that being said, it should come as no surprise to hear that even foreign-born players who have NHL aspirations are starting to migrate over to try and prove that their game is one that will translate well to the North American style of play.
This is the case of one USHL rookie named Adam Benak, who hails from Czechia and is due to join the Youngstown Phantoms this season.
Now, if you are not familiar with Adam, let me fill you in. At first glance, you’ll notice that he is a diminutive center who only stands at 5’7. But let me assure you what he lacks in size; he more than makes up for in speed and skill.
This was made evident by his play in the last two Hlinka Gretzky Cup Tournaments. While getting the rare chance to represent his Country on the world stage at just sixteen years old, Benak managed to explode onto the scene in the 23-24 tournament when he opened a lot of eyes, scoring two goals and eight assists for 10 points in only five games played, which for his efforts his team received the Silver Medal.
But with him falling short (no pun intended) of achieving a Gold Medal last year. Adam came into this year’s tournament (that was held on Aug. 5th-10th up in Edmonton) with the mindset of win or die trying because he ended up breaking the tournament’s all-time point record by scoring another four goals and seven assists that, when combined with his totals from last year adds up to an incredible 21 points!
And, to try and put into perspective just how grand that accolade is, with him operating at an over a two points-per-game pace in this tournament, it puts him in the same company as players like Matvei Michkov, Jarome Iginla, Alexander Ovechkin, Nathan Mackinnon, Rick Nash, and Tyler Seguin whom all previously made quite the name for themselves in this tournament.
Now, as far as what you can expect from Adam this season with the Phantoms, I predict that given the fact that guys won’t be that familiar with this elusive offensive-minded center, we could see this young man put up point totals that rival Phantoms’ legendary alumni Kyle Connor’s 14-15 campaign when he netted 34 goals and 46 assists for 80 points.
Yes, I am dead serious! Benak is an exceptional player who should hear his name being called by a team in the first round of next summer’s draft. But, of course, don’t just take my word for it; find your way up to Youngstown this season and take in a game to see if my prognostications come true.