Norwegian forward Mikkel Eriksen caught my eye at U18 worlds and leads a handful of players from Norway who again hope to get drafted. It can be hard, at both U18s and the world juniors, to stand out on some of the lesser teams. Top prospects like
Marco Rossi and David Reinbacher haven’t been able to establish themselves at tournaments. But whenever Norway seemed to be making things happen inside the offensive zone throughout this year’s event, Eriksen, who is just days away from 2026 eligibility because of his Sept. 13 birthday, was often the driver. He’s a good skater. He’s got a quick release. He reads the play well. He showed he could hold pucks against older competition. He created looks for himself. I think he’s still got some learning to do on the defensive side of the puck but he stood out as much as you can within that group. I knew very little about him coming in but he looked like a draft pick and I’m planning to watch him in the fall with Farjestad’s J20 team.
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