“Svozil showed that as the second-youngest player on the team he could still contribute at both ends of the ice. While the Czech’s couldn’t break the shutout on the overpowering Canadians, Svozil played a key role in keeping the score in check and breaking up the Canadian offensive chances. An agile skater, Svozil does an excellent job utilizing his edges and timing to shut down the attack, keep a good gap, and completely take away space from oncoming attackers. He was able to slow the attack by the top of the circles and utilize his active stick to separate the opponent from the puck. I would have liked to have seen him keep his feet moving during this though as once he poked the puck away he was often at a standstill and needed support from a teammate to collect the puck and move it out of the zone. His acceleration was mediocre in these instances and I would have liked to have seen him be more effective at getting possession of the puck rather than just separating opponents from it. Excellent skater that showed off some good speed and an ability to find skating lanes while moving from outside lanes to the inside lane and entering the zone with control. Couldn’t quite break the puck into the slot but it was a good drive and showed off his ability to create on the fly and through traffic. As he gets bigger and stronger Svozil should become tougher to play against and harder on the puck, but as a young player in this tournament, I was impressed with his poise against the Canadians in this game.” – Dylan Galloway

“Peart has had an impressive season, winning Mr. Hockey as Minnesota’s best HS player before stepping back into a USHL lineup in Fargo and immediately establishing himself as a defender to be relied on in all situations. Peart is a smooth and athletic skater, showing great lateral movements and stride power in his backwards mobility. His acceleration is slightly hindered by his developing foot speed, but he has good awareness and is shifty and elusive under forechecking pressure. He is a solid puckhandler and is adept at beating the first forechecker to break the puck out of his own end. He is not afraid to carry the puck into the offensive zone in transition, but he is a crisp outlet passer and routinely creates favorable rush opportunities with two-line pass attempts. Peart’s lateral skating allows him to keep a tight gap when defending the rush, showing a good active stick and a proactive defensive stick to pressure puck carriers before the puck gets deep into his own end. Doesn’t shy away from physical contact in defensive zone battles and he can show a physical edge along the boards, but prefers to use his stick to disrupt cycle chances. Can get caught puck watching in his own zone, as he can tend to lean towards creating offense rather than switching coverage on broken plays.” – Joseph Aelong

“Shows really good speed thanks to a long, full stride. Doesn’t win the race as a defender cuts off his path but sticks with it and battles the puck away. Applies good pressure on the forecheck. His compete level noticeably drops in his own end, unfortunately, with the puck carrier coming in close and him not putting on hard pressure to force a turnover. The effort is much better in the OZ. Really strong shot. Good weight shift, releasing his knee, and good downward force. Accuracy matches, but this one is off the post – he goes on to score twice in this one though. Mishandles the puck after an entry, losing possession. Not the strongest puckhandler at times. A good pass springs a breakaway, nice vision to get that puck through. Again, good pressure in the OZ, would like to see that in his DZ engagement. Poor shot choice from the boards, would like to see him look for a pass or look to cut in. Twice on the same shift shoots from the outside. Great read off the shot against to slip behind the defender and explode, shows off his speed and accuracy in his shot. It’s also important to note that he has the ability to shoot off both feet, a very transferrable trait. Excellent job on the forecheck, gives them no room. Again, if he can show that effort in all three zones I think he’d be one of the better forwards in the class. But the defensive game and competitiveness are concerns. I’d also like to see him use his team more. Many times when entering the zone, he’ll try to do it all himself and either shoot or stickhandle into trouble. I do like his elusiveness, and ability to slip behind defenders on the exit and in transition. While it won’t happen as much at the next level, it shows his ability to read the defense. I would like to see him cut into the middle more in the offensive zone, he tends to stick to the perimeter often on the break in and cycle. Breaking into the middle of the zone will be key for him to utilize that shot at the next level.” – Josh Bell

“With not playing in just over a year, Gaudreau looked just as crisp as he was in his last league game. He hugged the posts tight with not much room in close for the puck to get through. He always stayed square to the play and had really good puck tracking skills. He kept his head on a swivel, always moving to see around his opponent who was blocking him. There were a few times where he’d have some good puckhandling abilities by stopping the puck out behind the net or slowing it down and passing over to his teammates coming in for the puck. In the midst of the game, I noticed how well he knew his crease. There was a rush in the defensive zone and he didn’t go past the top of the blue paint, which also helped him stay in position with very few times getting out of position. He was always able to come off as calm and collect even after getting scored on, being able to shake it off and be ready for the next shot that came his way. He stood tall and strong when he’d receive a shot on net and have his opponents hack and whack at him in their effort to get the puck free from him. He showed very good rebound control where he could almost always keep the puck in close rather than bouncing it out to the corner or top of the zone and was very good to kill his opponents momentum. Gaudreau was able to read the play as it developed and in my opinion is similar to Jack Campbell of the Toronto Maple Leafs in how athletic and composed he is in net. His positioning was also pretty good where he was all over the net space and his zone moving low and high in the net and deep and close in his zone.” – Olivia McArter

“Pinelli had a good game against the Sting. In the first period, he had really good compete and was typically quick to the puck to try and gain possession. Pinelli was really good along the boards throughout the game and was often able to get the puck out and pass tape-to-tape to his line mates. He had really good play reading skills in this game. I noticed when his line mate gained possession of the puck Pinelli was able to see where the play could end up so he got there and was able to get into a scoring position. He has a hard shot and was able to capitalize on one of the shots he had during the game. I really like Pinelli’s skating. He has strong power strides and is able to keep up with the game play pace. He’s also good on his edges where he’s able to quickly switch his skating direction when he needs to. He has good puck possession skills and was able to take a hit while maintaining possession to get to the offensive zone. He has a good net front presence and is able to screen the goalie for his teammates to get a shot on net.” – Olivia McArter