EDMONTON — Kevin Lowe was dialing back through his memories of the Ivan Hlinka tournament — rebranded as the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and being played outside Europe for the first time this summer, Aug. 6-11 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
“I believe it was 2011,” Lowe began. “A young, undersized guy was playing for the Americans, and I really thought this guy was one of the most exciting guys to watch. He was off the radar, and I thought, ‘How does this translate? He is amazing in this tournament, but can he play in the NHL?’”
Who was the player?
“His name was Johnny Gaudreau.”
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And so goes what has become, outside the World Cup or a return by the NHL to the Olympic Games, the highest level of best-on-best competition left in the hockey world. This is an under-18 tournament filled with the best 17-year-olds in the world — with no one lost to the NHL, like at the World Juniors. These are the eight best hockey nations on earth with rosters packed full of young men entering their draft year.
“It’s a tournament that really gets you ready for the season. It’s where you put yourself on the radar, with your draft year upcoming,” said Evan Bouchard, the Oilers’ No. 10 overall draft pick. “All the GMs are here, and it is really where they see you play first. It’s where you put yourself on the radar in the end.”
On the radar for the NHL Draft, and for this winter’s World Juniors.
“That’s the next step for me,” smiled Bouchard. “It would be really fun.”
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At this past weekend’s NHL Draft in Dallas, 19 of 31 first-round draft picks played in this tournament, and seven of the Top 10. Overall, 77 Hlinka grads were chosen, or more than two rounds worth of players.
The rebranding and relocation (every second year) of the Gretzky Hlinka is a Bob Nicholson production. The former head of Hockey Canada moved to the Oilers, and had the contacts necessary to secure a tournament around which a summertime hockey festival can be held.
Ticket prices start at $20 and organizers will curtain the arena the way they do for the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings. They’ll sprinkle some pre-tournament games around Central Alberta and place the Pool that does not include Canada in Red Deer.
Then they’ll come together for the semifinals and finals in Edmonton on Friday and Saturday night, and there you have it: the world’s most elite tournament for draft-eligible players, all packed inside a six-day summer window.
“It’s a phenomenal tournament. If you watch the World Juniors, it’s so close to it. It’s just younger kids playing,” said Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton’s first-round draft pick a year ago, who played elite hockey all the way up through USA Hockey’s ranks.
“It’s a huge mental step,” the Spokane, Wash., native said. “Seeing that you’re playing against the world’s best players, it’s really eye-opening knowing that you’re right there with them. It’s the same feeling going to World Juniors and playing against those kids.”
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That kind of confidence breeds a player who, by the time he turns 20 on Sept. 29, hopes to have proven he is the man for the open spot on Leon Draisaitl’s right wing this season in Edmonton.
Yamamoto’s junior career is over. Is he ready for the NHL?
“I really am,” said Yamamoto, who is still small at five-foot-eight but appears more muscular than he was 12 months ago. “I am taking this summer very seriously, trying to get bigger, stronger, and more mentally focused. I really want to make this team this year.”
A year ago Yamamoto got in the requisite nine games off the start of the Oilers season. But much like his teammates, he couldn’t bridge that fine line between getting chances and production, returning to the Spokane Chiefs with a bunch of fond memories but only three assists.
“When I came here I was a little starstruck,” he admits. “Playing against (Sidney) Crosby for the first time, my childhood hero, I think I gripped my stick a little too tightly. Now that I’ve played nine game, have been around the guys a lot more, I feel more comfortable.”
