U-18 5 Nations Cup: USA - AOK

Even though the Gold Medal had already been clinched, the US put an exclamation point on its strong showing at the U-18 5 Nations Cup by beating the host Finns 5-3 yesterday, and finishing the tournament with an unblemished 4-0 record. McKeen's has a recap of the event, as well as brief notes on several prospects from a notable NHL scout. Jordan Schroeder.

Kyle Palmieri served notice to NHL scouts that he'll be a player to keep a close eye on next season, notching a hat trick in the team's final match. Danny Kristo added a pair of assists and finished the tournament with a plus-8 rating in four games.

Russia claimed silver in the tournament's final game with a 5-2 win over the Czech Republic. Vyacheslav Voinov, held pointless in three earlier matches, vaulted into the scoring leaders with a four-assist game, earning him the reward as Russia's top performer. Kirill Petrov added two goals and Nikita Filatov, a goal and an assist. Filatov led the tournament in scoring with eight points in four games (4-4-8), while Petrov finished fourth overall with six points (3-3-6).

Team USA clinched the Gold Medal with a 3-2 victory over Russia on Feb. 9 as the two unbeaten teams faced off for the first and only time. With no playoff format, total points decided the tournament winner after each team faced each other in a round-robin tournament.

Leading the way for the US was Jeremy Morin with two goals and Jordan Schroeder with a goal and an assist. Schroeder, who is not eligible for the draft until 2009, led the tournament in scoring with seven points after three games. He scored the game and tournament-winning goal at the end of the second period. Held pointless in the American's final contest, Schroeder ended up second in tournament scoring behind the highly touted Filatov.

In the other contest on Saturday, Sweden ousted the host Finns from medal contention with a 4-3 shootout victory. The Swedes had already been eliminated after starting with a 0-3 record, while the Finns entered the contest 0-2.

Only two European prospects are ranked in McKeen's top 30, and both did nothing to hurt their rankings at the tournament. Mattias Tedenby, who is rated 16th overall in McKeen's latest rankings, was named Sweden's best player in the first two games, and paced the Swedish attack with five points (2-3-5) in four games.

Russia's Nikita Filatov, ranked 6th overall by McKeen's, cemented his status as a top-ten prospect with his performance at the tournament

Filatov scored the winning goal as Russia ran its record to 2-0 with a 5-3 win over Sweden in earlier action. Filatov paced the victors with two goals and an assist, and for the second straight contest was named Russia's top player. Pavel Chernov continued his productive play with his third goal in two games, and Kirill Petrov (ranked in the second round by McKeen's) added two assists. In the contest against the US, Filatov scored the go-ahead goal for Russia at the end of the first period, but two goals by the US in the second period sealed the match, as neither team could find the net in the final period.

The Czech Republic were off to a strong start, beating the host Finns 3-2 to open the tournament and blanking the Swedes 4-0 on Feb. 7, but things came to a screeching halt in the team's third match

The American raised their record to 2-0 with a convincing 7-2 victory over the Czechs. The US attack was once again led by forward prospects that are not draft eligible until 2009. Schroeder and Palmieri each contributed a goal and two assists in the lopsided victory, while 5-foot-8 defenseman David Warsofsky chipped in a pair of assists. Danny Kristo added his second marker of the tournament late in the contest.

Scouting Notes

An NHL scout was kind enough to contact McKeen's shortly after he got back from the U-18 5-Nations Cup in Finland today. Here were his impressions on the tournament's most notable participants. From Team Sweden and Team USA.

SWEDEN

Mattias Tedenby (2008), F

- "He might be 5-8 if he's lucky. He looks like Yvan Cournoyer, but the other guys can skate faster than they did in Yvan's day. I know he scored a couple of goals, but empty-netters. He skates and flies around on the outside. He can really skate though."

Andre Petersson (2008), F

- "He's listed at 5-11 and looks 5-11. He's not a great skater, but good hands, good shot. He's okay - third or fourth rounder."

Erik Karlsson (2008), D

- "He's got jam and got some skill. He's a skilled guy. Offensive defenseman - he's a good player."

Henrik Eriksson (2008), F

- "Strong guy, pretty good skater. Not sure if he has pro-scoring skills."

Jacob Markstrom (2008), G

- "Big kid, still raw. He wasn't as good as he was in the summer. Let in a few goals but played pretty well. The best goalie in this tournament."

USA

Joe Cannata (2008), G

- "Good-sized kid. Pretty solid - a mid-round guy. Maybe the fourth."

David Warsofsky (2008), D

- "Pretty good at that level. He's just tiny. Don't know how much better he'll be at higher levels."

Robbie Czarnik (2008), F

- "Good sized kid. Above average speed straight ahead. Not as much talent as Kristo. Third or fourth round."

Vinny Saponari (2008), F

- "He's a soft kid. He's okay."

Danny Kristo (2008), F

- "He a great skater. He's a skilled guy, but not huge upside. Good two-way player .. more of a third-line guy. Don't know if he has the real dangle. Just didn't see him getting to the net much. Playing a great two-way game."

Sean Lorenz (2008), D

-"He's pretty limited. A defensive defenseman. Not really enough size for me for a defensive defenseman. He really has to work hard."

Ryan Hegarty (2008), D

- "Good skater, smart player. He's their best potential defenseman (USNTDP)."

Sam Lofquist (2008), D

- "A little bigger than Hegarty. Pretty limited though."

Jordan Schroeder (2009), F

- "He was great. He has the puck all game. Palmieri is very talented as well."

Ryan Bourque (2009), F

- "He's like 5-6 - he's good too like his brother."

Jeremy Morin (2009), F

- "He's going to be a player."

RUSSIA

Pavel Chernov (2008), F

- "Little centerman...not a great skater, but skilled."

Vyacheslav Voinov (2008), D

- "He was good, solid. He's a good player. He'll go in the second round. Pretty good defensively, strong, moves the puck well."

Kirill Petrov (2008), F

- "He shut it down when the going got tough. He's really good if you give him some room. He's a playmaker, and he is a good passer. He's strong on the puck but then won't finish them off. Moves okay, but no burst. Goes east west when he should be going north south."

Sergei Ostapchuk (2008), F

- "He's a little warrior."

Nikita Filatov (2008), F

- "He's a star...he really is. He's awesome. He showed that he cares, backchecked hard. He has great hands, skates well. He's a scorer…loves to shoot. He's got great hands around the net. The US beat them...but this guy, he played hard. You're (McKeen's) not wrong on this guy being sixth overall. I like him ahead of Beach...and you know I hate Russian guys. This guy's better than Beach, he's the second best forward in the draft...and actually might be more dynamic than Stamkos.. He can makes plays....wow. I heard he might have a four-year contract in Russia. You find that out at the combine. If you get this guy over next year you will have a helluva player. This guy's legit."

Andrei Loktionov (2008), F

- "Skilled, but disappears in tough games. The Swedes started hitting in the second period of their game, and he disappeared along with Petrov and most of them."

Evgeny Grachev (2008), F

- "More of a two-way guy."

FINLAND

Teemu Hartikainen (2008), C

- "Plays hard - likes to hit, but he pretty much has to line you up...not a great skater."

Rasmus Rinne (2008), G

- "He was terrible."

Tommi Kvisto (2009), D

- "He can really shoot the puck. He's a 1991..all the good players on Finland were underagers."

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czechs didn't really have anybody of note, although the scout did have this to say about Kubalik.

Tomas Kubalik (2008), F

- "I don't like him. Really has heavy feet. He tries though and he's big. He'll get drafted."

The Scout made a side excursion to see the German U-18 team play. Three players made an impression.

GERMANY

Jerome Flaake (2008), F

- "He's kind of a raw kid. He has the most upside on the Germans. Third round or higher."

Toni Ritter (2008), F

- "He really plays hard and is 6-3...maybe not as much skill as Flaake. Probably a third round guy."

Daniel Weiss (2008), F

- "Centers the top line with Ritter and Flaake. Low energy guy, has some skill...doesn't try to do to much offensively, plays a defensive role."

Not much else on the German team other than the top line.

Injury note:

Roman Josi (2008), D

- Swiss defenseman - "I heard he's injured," said the scout. "He pulled something in his stomach...may be out for the season."