The United States will return home from the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship in Russia with the Silver Medal. The red, white and blue was unable to repeat, falling, 3-2, to Finland in Sunday's Gold Medal game. Right wing Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) finished the tournament as the second leading goal scorer. The NTDP U-18...
The United States will return home from the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship in Russia with the Silver Medal. The red, white and blue was unable to repeat, falling, 3-2, to Finland in Sunday's Gold Medal game.
Right wing Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) finished the tournament as the second leading goal scorer. The NTDP U-18 forward, who previously played prep hockey at North Yarmouth Academy, had seven goals in seven games. Projected to be selected in the top half of the first round of June's 2018 NHL Draft, Wahlstrom also added two assists.
Goaltender Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) played in five of the seven games for the U.S. The Boston College commit, playing up during his U-17 year, finished the tournament with a .900 save percentage. The big, athletic, technical goaltender is considered a first round prospect for the 2019 NHL Draft.
Center Jake Wise (North Andover, Mass.) had a goal and four assists in seven games. The former Central Catholic star has seen his draft stock rise since returning from an injury in January. Wise will be matriculating to Boston University to join the Terriers in the fall.
Knight wasn't the only player from the U-17 team to make the move up for this tournament. He was joined by four other teammates, including Jack Hughes, who led the tournament in scoring and was named the MVP of the U18 World Championship. Hughes had five goals and seve assists. He's uncommitted, but there is speculation he could accelerate and join his brother at the University of Michigan in the fall. Either way, Hughes is likely to be the first player selected in the 2019 NHL Draft. His father Jim and mother Ellen played college hockey at Providence College and University of New Hampshire, respectively. While his father was working in pro hockey, he spent some of his childhood vacationing at Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire.
