• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
The Five Nations tournament took a dramatic turn on Friday when Team USA stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Russia 5-4.
It was a tremendous game that suddenly left the Americans in the driver's seat to win it all by defeating Finland on Saturday. A number of draft prospects on both teams raised their stock with a full complement of scouts on hand. This was yet another reminder of the incredible depth of this 2018 talent pool.
Friday was not only a big day for the Five Nations, it was a remarkable day for some of the best 2018 hopefuls. There are 10 players on the list below, and four of them will likely be picked in the top 10 this June. As the NHL trade deadline approaches, teams would be wise to load up on draft picks. Just look at all the talent on this list:
EVAN BOUCHARD -- The London Knights captain and star defenseman kept rolling Friday with two goals and an assist in the third period of a 6-2 win over Kitchener. The game's No. 3 star helped set up a power-play goal just 47 seconds into the third for a 2-1 lead. He scored at 10:16 to make it 4-2 and added an empty-netter for his 20th goal of the season at 16:55. Currently riding a four-game points streak, Bouchard becomes the second OHL defenseman to score 20 goals this season. His overall 70 points in 54 games ranks him 11th in scoring and first among defensemen. (Note: 15th appearance on this list in 2017-18)
THOMAS ETHIER -- Ethier, a hulking 6-foot-4 left wing with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada scored twice in a 5-2 win at Victoriaville on Friday, earning No. 3 star honors. He has come on strong in recent weeks and will likely be drafted for his size alone. On Friday, he scored the game's first and last goals -- connecting at 2:20 of the opening period and 16:58 of the third. Ethier now has 13 goals and 28 points in 52 QMJHL games. This was his second two-goal effort in his last four outings.
BENOIT-OLIVIER GROULX -- The Halifax Mooseheads clobbered Moncton 12-5 on Friday, and Bo Groulx was the game's highest scorer with two goals and three assists. The five points and three assists were both QMJHL career-highs for the game's No. 2 star, who also finished with seven shots and a plus-5 rating. He started with the primary assist on a 3-3 tying goal at 17:32 of the first period. He picked up two more points in the second, assisting on a goal to go up 5-3 at 5:43 and notching the eventual game-winner for a 6-3 lead at 9:26. His third period featured a power-play assist at 1:05 to make it 10-3 and a goal to close the scoring at 17:08. Through 56 QMJHL games, he has 23 goals and 23 assists. (Note: Sixth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
JACHYM KONDELIK -- Kondelik scored twice in Muskegon's 5-2 victory at Cedar Rapids on Friday for the first two-goal performance of his USHL career. He opened the scoring at 9:36 of the second and made it 2-0 at 12:46. The Czech import has missed roughly half of the season with injuries, but has still managed seven goals and 17 points in 26 games -- with points in three of the last four. He'll play for the University of Connecticut in 2018-19. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)
K'ANDRE MILLER -- Defenseman Miller set the table for Team USA's dramatic 5-4 comeback win vs. Russia at the Five Nations tournament on Friday, delivering a goal and assist when the team needed it most. With the Americans trailing 3-0 late in the second period, the University of Wisconsin recruit rifled home a short-handed goal at the 19:00 mark to give Team USA life. He kept the momentum going with a primary assist on another goal just 54 seconds into the third. Others took over after that, but without Miller's spark, the Russians were poised to win. The goal was his first since Jan. 19, and he had not had a multi-point game since Jan. 2. (Note: Fourth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
ZACH SOLOW -- After slipping through the draft as a USHL player in 2017, Solow is making a great name for himself in the NCAA. The Northwestern right wing had a goal and two assists Friday in a 4-3 OT win at Vermont. Solow, a Florida native, scored short-handed at 2:56 of the first period to open the scoring. He later assisted on two power-play goals -- one at 4:56 of the first for a 2-0 lead and the other at 10:19 of the second to make it 3-1. This marked Solow's sixth multi-point game of the 2017-18 season, giving him a much better chance to be drafted in June. Playing for the Beanpot champion Huskies can only help.
ANDREI SVECHNIKOV -- The leading scorer at the 2018 Five Nations tournament is hardly a surprise. Russian sensation Svechnikov vaulted into the points lead with a goal and three assists in his team's heart-breaking 5-4 loss to Team USA on Friday. Svechnikov was in on all three goals that built up a big early lead. He assisted on the opener at 7:14 of the first period and helped make it 2-0 with another assist at 9:46. He needed only 13 seconds of the middle period to make it 3-0 on a beautiful breakaway goal, and he assisted on a power-play tally at 10:24 of the third for a 4-2 lead that did not last long. Through three Five Nations games, Svechnikov has four goals and four assists for eight points. He continues to make a run at Rasmus Dahlin for No. 1 status in June, but will almost surely be the No. 2 pick. (Note: 17th appearance on this list in 2017-18)
DAVID TENDECK -- Perhaps the greatest draft-prospect story in the WHL is Tendeck's rise to elite goaltender status. The Vancouver Giants netminder continued his dream draft year with 30 saves in a 2-1 win over Edmonton on Friday. Tendeck stopped all six Oil kings shots in the first period, 10 of 11 in the second, and all 14 in the third to claim No. 3 star honors. In back-to-back wins, he has stopped 77 of 80 shots for a .962 save percentage. Not bad for a player who already ranks second in the WHL with a .916 mark and third in the league with a 2.86 GAA. (Note: 11th appearance on this list in 2017-18)
OLIVER WAHLSTROM -- The best American forward in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft is Harvard-bound Wahlstrom, a hero of Friday's Team USA comeback win over Russia at the Five Nations tournament. Wahlstrom finished with a goal, two assists and 10 shots to power his team to the 5-4 win. He began his three-point third period with an assist on a goal at 0:54, cutting the lead to 3-2. He went on to assist on another goal at 11:04 to cut the lead to 4-3 before delivering the tying goal at 13:13. Tyler Weiss went on to score the late game-winner, but it was only made possible by Wahlstrom's heroics. He ranks second in Five Nations scoring with two goals and seven assists in three games. (Note: Seventh appearance on this list in 2017-18)
FILIP ZADINA -- The likely No. 3 pick in June's draft had two goals, two assists, and nine shots in Halifax's 12-5 rout of Moncton. The game's third star assisted on a power-play goal at 14:33 of the first period to cut the lead to 3-2. In the second, he scored at 16:52 to stretch the lead to 8-3 and picked up a primary assist one minute later at 17:54 on the 9-3 goal. At 1:05 of the third period, Zadina scored on a power play to make it 10-3. He now has 37 goals and 67 points in 45 QMJHL games, tied for second in the league in goals and ranking fifth in points. He leads all rookies in both categories and is only one goal away from Nico Hischier's total with the Moosheads last season. (Note: 18th appearance on this list in 2017-18 -- leads all players)