• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
The Five Nations Under-18 tournament got under way in Plymouth, Mich., on Tuesday, and it was great to see dozens of NHL draft prospects on the same ice for two games.
Finland edged the Czechs in the opener -- a game featuring two of Europe's two hottest junior goaltenders. Finland's Justus Annunen squared off against the Czechs' Lukas Dostal, who was very impressive in defeat. The European goaltenders could end up being the story of this tournament.
In the day's second game, Team USA routed Sweden to emerge as the early powerhouse of this tournament. The Americans have an advantage, since they play together all season long as the U.S. NTDP Under-18 team, and that familiarity showed on Tuesday night. One team that could challenge the USA is Russia, which begins its tournament play on Wednesday.
Tuesday's list of top performances is brief, but it does include one Five Nations player. View it below:
BEN ALMQUIST -- The Mr. Hockey hopeful had a goal and an assist Tuesday in Victoria Holy Family's 6-3 win at St. Cloud Cathedral. The Fire, one of the top ranked high school teams in Minnesota, broke the game open in the third period, with Almquist doing much of the damage. He picked up the lone assist on a game-tying goal to make it 3-3 at 6:55 of the third, and then broke the tie with the power-play game-winner at 9:35. Almquist, a Wisconsin recruit, now has 27 goals and 51 points in 24 games, including points in four of his last five games. He is tied for 17th in the state iun goals and 22nd in points. (Note: Fifth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
TRISTAN COTE-CAZENAVE -- Victoriaville's goaltender is on a tremendous roll right now. Cote-Cazenave stopped 33 shots on Tuesday as the Tigres cruised to a 4-1 win at Quebec. The game's No. 2 star stopped nine of 10 shots in the first, all 12 in the second, and all 12 in the third. After allowing the game's first goal, he turned in 59:19 of shutout hockey for his fifth consecutive QMJHL win. He now ranks fifth in the league with 23 victories. (Note: Fifth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
BODE WILDE -- Wilde, a highly-regarded U.S. NTDP Under-18 defenseman, got a chance to show his stuff in a rink packed with NHL scouts on Tuesday. The University of Michigan recruit, ranked No. 22 on Central Scouting's list of North American skaters, scored a game-winning goal and added two assists in Team USA's 5-1 Five Nations win over Sweden. His goal, on a power play at 14:59 of the second period, put the Americans up 2-0. In the third, Wilde had two primary assists -- one on a power-play goal at 9:09 to go up 3-0 and the other on the game's final goal at 17:48. In a draft pool filled with high-end defensemen, Wilde is peaking at just the right time with points in five of his last seven games. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)