This Week’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup Kicks Off The 2026 NHL Draft Season

Top prospect Ethan Belchetz has been a standout for Canada at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. (Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

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The medal contenders are set for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. It’s guaranteed to be North America vs. Europe playing for gold.

The tournament’s two semi-finals will take place on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, with TV coverage on NHL Network in the U.S. and TSN in Canada. In Brno, Czechia, Canada will face the United States while Sweden will take on Finland in Trencin, Slovakia.

The winners will play for gold on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET, also on NHL Network and TSN, while the bronze-medal game goes at the same time in the other venue.

Held every August, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup marks the beginning of each year’s draft prospect season. Presented by the Czech and Slovak hockey federations along with Hockey Canada, the tournament alternates between Europe and Alberta each year, and features some of the best under-18 hockey talent in the world.

This year is a European edition, with games played in Czechia and Slovakia.

While not an official International Ice Hockey Federation event, the current tournament structure excludes Russia, which remains banned from IIHF competition following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The eight-team field for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup was split into two groups of four for the round-robin, which ran Monday through Wednesday.

Canada emerged from Group A with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record, while Sweden did the same in Group B.

By beating Czechia 4-1 and getting to overtime in a 4-3 loss to Switzerland, Finland collected four points to claim second place and reach the medal round in Group A. Team USA comfortably beat Slovakia and Germany but saw a 3-1 lead evaporate in a 5-3 loss to the Swedes, landing them second in Group B.

That sets up the Czechs and Slovaks to play for fifth place earlier on Friday in Brno, while Switzerland and Germany square off for seventh.

Round-Robin Standouts

The Swedes put up the most impressive stat line during the preliminary round, outscoring their opponents 22-3 on aggregate. Marcus Nordmark, whose father Robert Nordmark played 236 NHL games in the late 80s and early 90s, led the way offensively with nine points. His teammate Elton Hermansson was right behind with four goals and seven points. Both players are early projections as first-round picks in the 2026NHL draft.

In net, Swedish goaltender Milo Tjarnlund delivered shutouts against Germany and Slovakia. Douglas Nilsson got the tougher assignment against the U.S., shutting the door to allow Sweden to come back from a 3-1 deficit and earn a 5-3 win.

As the other undefeated team, Canada outscored its three opponents 19-4, but had to rely on some third-period outbursts to run up those offensive numbers. In their opener against Finland, the Canadians were locked in a 2-2 tie until late in the second period. Against Switzerland on Tuesday, they were up just 1-0 before the floodgates opened in the third. The situation was the same as they closed out against Czechia on Wednesday.

In net, Gavin Betts of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs earned the shutout against the Czechs.

Offensively, Ethan Belchetz, a 6-foot-5 forward with the Windsor Spitfires, has arguably been Canada’s most dominant player so far. He has five points, as do Adam Valentini of the OHL’s Kitchener Ranagers and Mathis Preston from the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The Ruck twins, Liam and Markus, who play for the reigning WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers, have also stood out, as has 2027 draft-eligible defenseman Landon DuPont.

Team USA Names to Note

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is an interesting tournament for the Americans. The roster does not include any players from the U.S. National Team Development Program, which will play together as a team at the IIHF’s World U18 Championship next April.

This group is comprised of players from the USHL, U.S. high schools and Canadian leagues including major junior and Junior A leagues such as the BCHL.

This year, the U.S. team is captained by forward Luke Puchner, who’s attending the renowned hockey prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s in his home state of Minnesota.

Through the round robin, the U.S. offense has been led by South Jersey’s Blake Zielinski, a 2027 commit to Providence College who is set to return to the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers this fall. Zielinski tallied six points during the preliminary round.

Who Else is Missing?

Gavin McKenna is a top prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft who is not taking part in this year’s tournament. McKenna, who’s projected to go No. 1 next June and will suit up for Penn State University this fall, won gold with Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and also played at the 2025 U20 World Junior Championship as a 17-year-old. This summer, he was part of Canada’s roster at the World Junior Summer Showcase.

Sweden’s Ivar Stenberg and Viggo Bjorck are also expected to be high 2026 picks, and skated at the Summer Showcase. Like McKenna, both were also part of the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Stenberg was a standout, tied for third in tournament scoring with 10 points as Sweden took the bronze medal.