Scouting Notebook: Top performers from Day 1 of 2023 U-17 World Hockey Challenge
The 2023 U-17 World Hockey Challenge kicked off in Summerside and Charlottetown, P.E.I, with three solid games highlighting the action.
In the tournament opener, Czechia forced a late comeback from 3-1 to beat Canada White in the shootout. Canada Red needed the skills competition to solve their differences, beating Finland 3-2 off the heels of Gavin McKenna’s two-goal night. In the third game, USA skated away with a 5-2 win, but they trailed 2-1 at the halfway point before looking good offensively to close out the third period.
Day 2 will begin at 3:00 PM AT with USA and Czechia battling it out in the afternoon. The two Canadian teams will look for their first regulation wins at 7:00 PM, while Sweden and Finland will renew their rivalry at the same time.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Thursday:
Canada White
#18 Cameron Reid, D (2025): Very active on the puck. The catalyst for the first goal after drawing a Czech defender towards him before beating him to the far side and setting up a cross-ice pass. Landed a nice hit in the first period, too. Big thing here is how he reacts under pressure. Doesn’t let it get to him.
#11 Matthew Schaefer, D (2025): I’ve watched Schaefer a few times this year, but this felt like the most complete effort – as if he wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but playing his own game. He had a few blocks, was difficult to beat along the boards and had some solid passes along the way.
#10 Tyler Hopkins, C (2025): His goal was nice, and then he nearly scored the winner late in the third after blowing by a defenseman to create a mini-breakaway. Hopkins’ speed was killer, allowing him to slip past defenders and create his own chances. He was well all game long. Just wish he’d release the puck a bit quicker under pressure.
Czechia
#1 Ondrej Stebetak, G (2025): While Canada’s goaltender Jack Ivankovic received most of the praise in the early stages, Stebetak was rock solid when it mattered. He stopped everything sent his way in the third period and stopped a few high-quality chances in overtime.
#11 Jakub Frolo, C (2026): One of the youngest players in the tournament as a late 2007-born forward, Frolo had one of the best performances of any player with a three-assist effort. He just seemed to be everywhere all over the ice, even landing a few decent hits along the way. He’s been thriving against older competition in Finland this year, so his good tournament debut was no surprise. Frolo’s play reads are among the best I saw today.
#25 Matej Pekar, RW (2025): The undersized, but speedy forward had an excellent first showing. He scored and had a few other chances as the puck just kept finding him. I’d like to see him attack more in the defensive zone but he was easily one of the more noticeable players for the Czechs while skating on their top line.
Canada Red
#9 Gavin McKenna, LW (2026): Get used to hearing his name. The younger cousin of Connor Bedard, McKenna is already carving his own path as one of the top players in the WHL. So it was only fitting that he scored the first goal for Canada on a nice 2-on-0 play. But his second goal was even more impressive, chasing a Finnish defender down before stealing the puck and sniping it top corner. McKenna scored in the shootout for good measure, even though it didn’t count as a hat-trick goal. He’s special.
#7 Cole Reschny, C (2025): Reschny was a catalyst on the first Canadian goal, sharing the love with McKenna on the cheek give-and-go. Reschny spent the night stealing pucks, forcing turnovers and generating chances – the same things that made him so good this year as a WHL rookie. Add in the shootout goal and it was solid night for the team’s first-line center.
#31 William Lacelle, G (2026): This was easily the toughest competition Lacelle has faced all season long, and he got the job done. The Finns peppered him with chances through the first 40, but he never gave a bad rebound and rarely was out of position. Solid, effective goaltending from the U-18 AAA star.
Finland
#1 Patrik Kerkola, G (2025): If it wasn’t for Kerkola, this would have been a 5-1 game. He made 23 saves through the first two periods, including a handful of big pad stops along the way. The athletic goaltender isn’t big, but he makes up for it in pure mobility. A few more efforts like that will go a long way for the Finns.
#19 Benjamin Stromberg, C (2025): One of Sweden’s best players, Stromberg’s power-play one-timer at 42:54 brought the game back within one. He scored a goal that was waved off after he kicked the puck in, but he was one of the most active players around the Finnish net. He’ll need to do more of that along the way.
USA
#38 LJ Mooney, RW (2025): It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Mooney this year by any means. But his game-tying goal that made it 2-2 was exactly what we’ve come to expect from the skilled forward. He used his speed to put himself into a scoring position before somehow finding a small gap from a difficult angle and scoring. He had another great play near the end of the game on a 2-on-1 but just came short.
#50 William Moore, C (2025): One of the players I wanted to focus on the most, it was good to see Moore shine with a nice goal to put USA up by two. He can be so difficult to contain at speed, and he’s known for some quick, in-tight moves leading to goals. His deke around a Swedish defender that made it 4-2 was a beautiful goal. Hopefully we see more games like that tonight for Moore, whom many saw as a potential No. 1 pick in the OHL in 2023.
#36 Conrad Fondrk, LW (2025): With a goal and two assists, Fondrk had one of his better games of the season. He seemed to be everywhere, fighting for the puck at both ends of the ice. He’s one of the best USNTDP players for a reason – he’s always moving and generating chances.
#40 Harrison Boettiger, G (2026): Boettiger had to make a couple of big stops after falling behind 2-1, and that may have been the reason the Americans fought back in this one. After giving up the second Swedish goal, he was lights out, shutting the door on some significant one-timer opportunities. Wins are hard to come by against USHL competition for the U-17s, but he looked good today.
#59 Charlie Trethewey, D (2025): Trethewey’s tremendous season continues. He helped USA score its first goal when Jack Murtagh tipped in his point shot. He then assisted on Moore’s pretty goal that made it 4-2. Trethewey has an excellent release from the point and he made sure to show the Swedish defenders that tonight.
Sweden
#25 Viktor Klingsell, LW (2025): With both of Sweden’s goals today, Klingsell was on it for the Swedes. Even when the Americans kept Sweden to the outside late in the game, Klingsell found ways to break through USA’s defense and get shot attempts off. He’s been one of Sweden’s best players internationally over the past two years and today was no exception.
#3 Oliwer Sjöström, D (2025): The third period had its moments, but I thought Sjöström looked solid defensively today. He never pinched when he didn’t need too and didn’t try and get too fancy with the puck, either. Overall, a nice job.