Watched the U17 select team playing in the tournament over in Switzerland.
I thought this team looked very good. The results show that they destroyed the competition. I think that if all these guys can't make the NTDP then its a very strong age group for us.
I think the top players are Shaubagay, Whitelaw, Terrance, Nelson, Strathmann, Mania, and McCarthy. I wouldn't complain with including Briere, Yurchuk or Kiesewetter either. I would probably put Shaubagay in his own tier because he's the most talented of these players, but I could see why someone might put Terrance or Mania in the same tier.
Shaubagay looks like a clear first round type of talent. Similar type of player to someone like Samoskevich. I know there was some discussion if he was left off the NTDP or didn't accept the invitation. I have a really hard time believing there are 13 better forwards than this guy. Whitelaw reminded me a little of Caufield. Terrance is a little like Jack Hughes (the 2022 draft eligible one). He was a player that wasn't at the NTDP selection camp. He may have declined an invite because he was a first round OHL pick. I have a hard time believing a first round OHL pick is completely snubbed from the selection camp roster. Nelson reminds me of Chris Kreider.
Didn't have any obvious comparables for the defenseman that I was able to think of. Strathmann is a two way defenseman. Really good skater, pushes the pace. Defends well. Some puck ability, but probably not a PP1 guy. Mania is a two way defenseman. More offensive than defensive. Probably the most potential of the defensemen because he's not bad in any area of the game, and is a pretty skilled player that puts up points. McCarthy has excellent ability to move the puck and good size, but he's error-prone. Early to say, but I think he probably has more upside than his brother.
I don't think either of these guys were among the better players, but I'll mention them because they've been talked about in this thread in recent months. Lucas St. Louis isn't bad. I think he's a slightly better prospect than his brother. St. Louis is a very competitive defenseman. Pretty good defensively and skates well. Not much offense in his game and he's 5'10 without elite skating. Hard to see a guy like that being a high pick, but my initial assessment would be that he's more likely to be picked than Ryan was. I know Tanner Adams has been discussed as one of the better players, but I don't see the hype right now. He was mostly anonymous. I don't see many NHL tools.