The 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup is set to kick off on August 5th in Edmonton. The event will feature the top U18 players from eight countries – Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. It’s the first chance for many of the top names in the 2025 NHL Draft to earn their keep, sparking plenty of storylines worth following closely. We’ll break down three top storylines entering the unofficial start of the NHL scouting season.
The Top Storylines At The 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Can Team Canada Achieve Yet Another Three-Peat?
Team Canada sits unrivaled atop the Hlinka leaderboards, having medaled in 28 of the 32 tournaments since 1991 – including a seven-year Gold streak from 1994 to 2002 and an eight-year streak from 2008 to 2015. Moreover, Canada has won Gold at every Hlinka hosted in Canada – and they seem poised to uphold that prophecy this year. The Canadian roster is full of top-end NHL Draft talent, including the perennial Gavin McKenna – who recently broke Alex Ovechkin’s U17 scoring record at the World U18 Championship with 10 goals and 20 points in just seven games. McKenna is among the best prospects in hockey right now – and isn’t draft-eligible until 2026. He’ll be well flanked by defenseman Matthew Schaefer – potentially this year’s top defenseman – and backed on the depth chart by Jake O’Brien – a flashy, two-way centerman vying for his own first round love.
And while Canada’s top-end offense extends well beyond the trio – it’s their depth that pushes them to the top once again. The competition for the team’s fourth line could feature some mix of Emile Guite, Ethan Czata, Braeden Cootes, and Liam Kilfoil – a quartet of easy picks for this year’s top breakout candidate: Guite for his shot, Czata for his grit, and Cootes and Kilfoil for their high-speed playmaking. The whole group is backed by Jack Ivankovic, who proved his worth with a .915 save percentage in 25 OHL games last year, though some still remain skeptical about his 5’11” frame. Still, his athleticism should be the perfect flashy backdrop to a Team Canada team gearing up for another big tournament.
Who Will Emerge As Team USA’s Star?
Team USA is intentionally pigeon-holed at every Hlinka, opting not to roster any members of their U.S. National Team Development and instead picking the top options out of the USHL, NAHL, and youth hockey. That decision inspires the reoccurring question of who…
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