The World U-18 tournament just wrapped up in Slovakia, Sweden took home the gold. This end-of-season tournament can be little known and fly under the radar compared to the other events on the hockey calendar like NHL playoffs, or the World Junior U-20 tournament but it serves an important chance for a last impression for the upcoming draft.
Such was the case with Harrison Brunicke. Brunicke’s stock was on the rise (ranked 67th among North American skaters mid-season by Central Scouting, up to 51st
by the end of year) and it was his performance at the 2024 U-18 that helped the Penguins make him the 44th overall pick in the draft. Brunicke registered four points in seven games, playing in a featured role helping Canada win the gold. At the moment of the draft, the pick of Brunicke so high above his rankings looked like a reach, but it was really a sign of the Pens being a little ahead of the curve and latching onto a rising prospect at the right time. The strong showing at the U-18 helped provide the information to the team that Brunicke was worth the pick in that spot.
This year’s big riser, however, might be out of the Pens’ zone.
Little Wyatt Cullen (who isn’t that little any longer after a growth spurt pushed him to 6’1), one of Matt Cullen’s kids always hanging around the rink, has been on a similar type of rise as Brunicke, but even more pronounced. Cullen ended up 13th among NA skaters in the end of season rankings, up from 23rd at midseason. Due to a strong U-18, he might even end up higher than when it comes to the draft as a potential top-10 pick in the NHL draft.
From Scott Wheeler at The Athletic:
I thought Cullen looked like the most talented/dangerous player in this year’s tournament with the puck on his stick. He showed handling (in both traffic and open ice), vision and deception, and blended it with his control of his inside and outside edges to twist, turn and maneuver his way around the offensive zone. He can try to play one-on-one a little too much, but he keeps his head and eyes up, the puck just glues to his stick, and his ability to attack on angles was very noticeable. He’ll go to the net and be direct in one sequence and then make a play on the perimeter on the next.
How the Penguins scout the U-18 could determine draft picks in the upcoming session. Slovakia’s captain, defenseman Adam Goljer, had a strong showing. Goljer was ranked 13th among international skaters, Wheeler mentioned Goljer could be headed towards his top-50 range – in a very similar move that Brunicke made two years ago. They’re also similar in frame (Goljer is listed at 6’3”, 194 pounds as a right shot). That could be relevant for a Pittsburgh team that holds two second round picks.
Another player to keep an eye on is Canadian defenseman Ryan Lin. Again from Wheeler:
Lin was Canada’s No. 2 D in the tournament, but I thought he was better than Keaton Verhoeff (not for the first time when they’ve played on the same team together). He really made a difference on their breakout with his first touch (which is always into his pocket), his pivots and the little plays he makes to beat the first layer and move pucks up ice into the hands of his forwards. He got more and more active offensively as the tournament went on, making plays, jumping in transition and attacking in give-and-gos off the line. He was physical and competitive and delivered a couple of big open ice hits. And when it was over, Canada had outscored the opposition 8-1 with him on the ice at even strength, and he was the only D named among their top three players of the tournament.
Lin ranked 16th among NA skaters but he might be right around the sweet spot for the Pens’ first round pick come the actual draft based off this strong tournament. Corey Pronman from The Athletic has Lin ranked as his 22nd player, with a comparable of Rasmus Sandin. Sandin was selected in the first round by Dubas in 2018, his first draft as the full-time general manager for Toronto.
The NHL draft can be wildly unpredictable with the CSB rankings more of a guideline than guarantee. Tournaments like the U-18 are very important launching pads for teams to analyze which draftable players might have a higher ceiling than some of the rankings indicate. The Pens seemingly got a hit with Brunicke, how they sort out the information for this current crop could help them make decisions in June to add more talent for the future.
