The 2026 Men’s U18 World Hockey Championship will be fondly remembered for the outstanding crowd support from the host cities Trencin and Bratislava, Slovakia. All of the games were well attended but the ones that included Team Slovakia or Team Czechia stood out the most. Hockey in Europe mirrors the same atmosphere people are used to when watching soccer. The fans are beating drums and chanting songs throughout, making it a unique experience for the competing athletes.
With the NHL Draft Lottery set for Tuesday, here are some draft-eligible prospects who stood out for me over the course of the U18 tournament in Slovakia:
Alexander Command, 6-foot, 186 pounds, left shot centre
Command was outstanding for Sweden and a big part of the reason why the group came together towards the end of the U18 tournament. He’s a complete player who can be used in a variety of roles.
Command averaged nearly 20 minutes per game of ice time in the medal round, won over 65 per cent of his draws, and finished seventh overall in tournament scoring (3G-4A). He was tasked with matching up against top-six forwards in the process and was easily the most dependable all-around player for Sweden. Command battles in traffic, finishes his checks when first on the scene in the offensive zone, extends plays and is always willing to block shots.
He’s on the rise and could end up having his name called in the top 10 of this draft class.
Wiggo Sorensson, 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, left shot centre
NHL Central Scouting has Sorensson rated as the 84th skater in their European prospect rankings. He was one of the top producers for Sweden at the U18s (4G-2A) and easily outplayed several other players ranked ahead of him from other teams at the tournament.
Sorensson plays fast. He’s explosive in transition with the puck on his stick and willing to drive the net off the edge offensively. Sorensson was deployed in all situations for the Swedes and averaged nearly 19 minutes per game of ice time.
In addition to his offensive output, Sorensson ended the tournament with a plus-6 rating. He’s a name to keep a close eye on at the draft in June. Teams value players who can be used in a variety of roles, play at NHL pace, and can be trusted defensively when not producing offence.
Elton Hermansson, 6-foot-1, 181 pounds, right shot winger
Hermansson has generally been ranked inside the top 20 of the first-round this year and his performance at the U18’s will not only solidify his standing, but very likely elevate it by the draft.
Hermansson tied for the scoring lead at the U18s with 4G-8A. He got between 16-23 minutes per game of ice time, with all of his shifts coming at even strength and on the power play. Hermansson has undeniable skill and vision. Like Sorensson, Hermansson is a threat off the rush and hard to check. What I appreciated at the U18s was Hermansson’s willingness to battle along the boards and engage in the hard areas during Sweden’s most difficult games in the medal round.
Here’s an example of Hermansson engaging with 6-foot-4, 190-pound Canadian defenceman Lucas Ambrosio along the boards. He kicks the puck loose before making himself available on the half wall. Once he resets, notice Hermansson’s agility creating space and identifying how to attack the crease. Once Ambrosio moves his stick to the left it opens up a passing lane for Hermansson to expose:
Patriks Plumins, 6-foot-3, 216 pounds, left-catching goaltender
Plumins’ stats line at this tournament speaks for itself. He was outstanding for Latvia and provided the group a chance to medal.
Tracking, drafting and developing future NHL goaltenders is far from an exact science but the foundation Plumins has to work with is attractive. His combination of size, coordination, lateral explosiveness and overall battle stood out for me. He’s the 18th-ranked goalie in Europe according to Central Scouting.
There will be teams doing their due diligence to find out more about Plumins and his plans for future development. I fully expect to hear his name called in the back half of the draft in June…especially for a team that has multiple picks in any of rounds 4-7.
Adam Goljer, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, right shot defenceman
Goljer captained Team Slovakia and led by example. The bulk of his ice time came at even strength and the power play, but he did provide some secondary penalty-killing as well. Goljer averaged over 20 minutes per game of ice time and ended the tournament with 2G-3A and a plus-6 rating.
Most of the games at the tournament were played at a breathtaking speed, and I was interested to see how Goljer would adjust to that speed. There have been moments this year when I had some concern about his small area agility and open ice pace, but he definitely put my concerns to rest at this tournament.
Goljer’s hockey sense stood out for me. His routes to defend and kill plays defensively, combined with his puck management on the power play, were mostly sound. I’m projecting Goljer will be selected in the back half of the second round at the draft.
I don’t like to make a habit of being too hard on a young prospect who’s only 17 or 18 years young, but part of my process includes being transparent about concerns I have about some of the players in the draft.
Marcus Nordmark, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, left shot winger
Nordmark has been hovering around the top 10 of my list for the majority of the year. There’s no doubt he has the potential to contribute in a top-six role at the NHL level from a skill perspective, but his overall approach needs to evolve for him to have success.
At times, Nordmark displays elite offensive skill. When he corals pucks in his zone and attacks with speed through the neutral zone he isn’t shy about taking the play to the net. He’s as much a shooter as he is a distributor and he has the hockey sense to identify his check and play with defensive detail when he’s mentally dialled in.
The fact of the matter, however, is Nordmark is wildly inconsistent. There are moments I envision him producing elite level offence, but they are masked by some of the extracurricular nonsense he gets himself involved in. He has a habit of taking a useless penalty, or lacking the required shift-to-shift competitiveness that is required at the NHL level.
I’m sure a team will step up and take on the risk of drafting Nordmark earlier than I would in the first round, but their player development staff will be tasked with coaching him up before he arrives in the NHL. I hope Nordmark understands what is required. He’s the kind of prospect who could be a boom or bust, in my opinion. Nordmark contributed 3G-1A in six games at the U18 tournament. He was whistled for 28 penalty minutes.
