• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
Bring on the World Under-18 Championships!
That's right, the long-awaited tournament is here, and the rosters were finalized on Wednesday. A total of 87 players profiled on this site will be competing in this tournament. Yes, the biggest names are missing -- Rasmus Dahlin, Andrei Svechnikov, and Filip Zadina are skipping this event -- but the next several days offer an opportunity for many other projected first-round picks to improve their draft position. They have the eyes of all NHL scouts upon them.
Who's going to win this tournament? Here's a prediction: Home-ice advantage will be huge for the Russians, who will likely experience the thrill of winning gold in front of their own fans. The real reason Russia is a favorite is because of goaltending. Amir Miftakhov and Daniil Isayev era easily the best tandem in this event.
Look for some outstanding goaltending in these games. Sweden's Olof Lindbom, Finland's Justus Annunen, the Czechs' Lukas Dostal, Team USA's Drew DeRidder, and Canada's Kevin Mandolese are also in the mix. All of these goalies will be drafted. Hopefully, that will also be the case for Wednesday's three top performers listed below:
MARC DEL GAIZO -- Although his Muskegon team was eliminated from the USHL playoffs, defenseman Del Gaizo turned in a No. 1 star performance with two goals and an assist in a 5-4 OT loss to Chicago. The Massachusetts-Amherst recruit opened the scoring on a power play at 3:03 of the second period, and scored again for a 2-2 tie just under seven minutes later at 9:59. He later assisted on a goal at 6:12 of the third period to make it 3-3. Through his three playoff games, Del Gaizo scored four points. The two goals and three points in Game 3 were both playoff career-highs. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)
BLAKE McLAUGHLIN -- Ranked No. 24 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, McLaughlin hasn't been scoring at the torrid pace he set during the first half of the USHL season. He has picked it up in the playoffs, helping Chicago eliminate Muskegon 5-4 in overtime. The Minnesota recruit's goal and assist were key to the victory. He assisted on a goal at 3:47 of the second period for a 1-1 tie and later forced the OT with his own tying goal at 15:54 of the third. That gave him goals in back-to-back games for the first time since March 30. (Note: Ninth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
BRANDON SAIGEON -- Saigeon, who turns 20 in June, slipped through the 2016 and 2017 drafts, but he'll be hard to pass on this year. His two goals, assist, five shots and six-for-seven performance on face-offs made him the No. 1 star of Hamilton's 6-2 win over Kingston that opened the OHL Eastern Conference finals. His power-play goal 52 seconds into the middle period made it 3-0 and stood up as the game-winner. Only 11 seconds later, Saigeon scored again for a 4-0 lead at 1:03. Less than two minutes after that, he had the primary assist on the 5-0 goal at 2:58. He now has 10 goals and 14 points in 11 playoff games.