U-18 Four Nations Cup - Part 1

McKeen's correspondent Rafik Soliman weighs in from Europe with notes on many prospects that participated in the U-18 Four-Nations Cup in Monthey, Switzerland. In Part 1, we look at several players from Team Sweden and Team Switzerland.

Team Sweden

With the best 1994-born Swedes on tour with the U-20 team, Sweden had problems adjusting and finished last with only one shootout-victory. Talent-wise, the team displayed some interesting players.

Christian Djoos (2012), D, Brynas IF

Djoos is a very calm defenseman .. he saw some PP icetime and showed poise and vision while he moved the puck from the blueline .. at even-strength, he played more of a defensive role and showed strong puckhandling abilities .. is 5-foot-11, but only weighs 146 pounds and he needs to get stronger, however he has a lot of room to fill out his frame .. looks very mobile on his skates, but acceleration could use an upgrade .. is currently playing for the U-20 Team of Brynas at the SuperElit League in Sweden.

Mattias Nilsson (2012), D, Leksands IF

At 5-foot-7, Nilsson was the smallest defensemen on the Swedish team, but one of the most active .. a speedy and shifty skater who was not shy to jump into the rush and sneak into the offense zone .. displayed good outlet passes .. showed nice creativity in the offensive zone while carrying the puck out of the defensive zone .. however, he is sometimes to risky and lost the puck and caused turnovers at times .. plays the game of an offensive defenseman .. the Leksand IF-product is playing this season in Sweden for the U-20 team in the SuperElit League.

Gustav Rydahl (2012), F, Frolunda HC

The defensive forward was captain of the Swedish team .. has a nice frame (6-2, 194) .. strong along the boards .. had a special move during faceoffs and was often sent away from the draw by the linesman because he moved to early .. is very effective in his defensive zone thanks to his long reach .. did not show much of an offensive upside during the tournament .. moved this summer from Farjestad to Frolunda to play in the U-20 SuperElit League.

Edwin Hedberg (2012), F, MoDo Hockey

Was among the better Swedish forwards on the team .. the 5-foot-11 forward has quick feet and decent acceleration .. possesses a hard and accurate wristshot, which he used often .. a scoring forward who also showed fine vision and played the pass when it was the better option instead of shooting .. displayed wonderful athleticism and is a good skater .. plays for the SuperElit League U-20 team of MoDo and already played 28 games in the U-20 league last season.

Andre Burakovsky (2013), F, Malmo Redhawks

The 1995-born forward was among the best forwards of the tournament and is not eligible until the 2013 NHL Entry Draft .. a slick scoring forward with soft hands .. showed some nice dekes and moves at full speed with his wonderful puckhandling .. has a hard and accurate wristshot .. astonished from time to time with his vision and nice passes .. his father is former NHL-player Robert Burakowsky who played briefly for the Ottawa Senators .. debuted this season with Malmo in the 2nd highest Swedish Allsvenskan League.

Team Switzerland

Like all teams, Switzerland was missing its best 1994-born players. However, the team surprised at the tournament finishing in third place with good play against Finland and a win against Sweden.

Lukas Sieber (2012), F, HC Davos

The 6-foot, 161-pound forward plays a power forwards' game and still has room to get stronger .. not shy to go to the front of the net, or battle along the boards .. is an average skater, but always plays on the edge .. has a good shot, but average puckhandling abilities .. is playing for the HC Davos in the highest Swiss National League, but is seeing limited icetime.

Luca Fazzini (2013), F, HC Lugano

Fazzini is a pure scorer with a hard wristshot .. has a nose for the net and is always looking for the shot, even if a pass would be the better option .. the 5-foot-9 forward has a small frame, but at 183 pounds, he is strong enuogh to battle against bigger forwards .. more of a puck hog .. a mediocre skater, who lacks foot speed .. he possesses soft hands and decent stickhandling ability .. work ethic is questioned, even by some of his coaches .. is already in his second season with the under-20 team of the HC Lugano.