Canada beat Slovakia down pretty bad in this one, which made evaluating the Slovakian side difficult. There are only so many conclusions you can draw when one team spends most of the game trying to survive against a Canadian roster that was faster, stronger, more skilled, and seemingly always in possession of the puck.

Games like Canada/Switzerland and Canada/Slovakia are a good reminder to temper the extremes when reacting to individual performances in a tournament like this. Tomas Selic is probably the best example from this game. I have a bunch of Summer Scouting profiles coming out in the weeks after the Hlinka and Selic is one of them. I like the player. I also thought he was incredibly ineffective against Canada. He struggled to get anything going with the puck on his stick, had trouble navigating pressure and didn’t really show many of the things that made me like him in the first place.

Does that mean I suddenly think Tomas Selic stinks? No. Canada is going to knife through just about every team in this tournament, with the United States being the only roster that looks capable of giving them a competitive game.

That doesn’t mean you throw the game away, either. Selic struggling against Canada’s speed and pressure is information, and it’s something I’ll keep in mind the next time I watch him. But scouting isn’t supposed to be a series of declarations where every good game moves a player ten spots up a ranking and every bad game sends him ten spots down. The more useful question is why the player struggled. Was Canada exposing something in Selic’s game that weaker competition couldn’t? Was he simply overwhelmed by a team that was overwhelming everyone? Is there something he can do differently the next time he faces that level of pressure? I don’t know yet. That’s why you keep watching.

The same thing applies in the other direction. Canada just beat the hell out of Slovakia, and there were probably twenty Canadian players I could have written glowing paragraphs about. They didn’t all suddenly become top-32 NHL Draft picks because they spent three periods running circles around an overmatched opponent. The plays still matter. The traits that allowed them to make those plays still matter. You just have to understand the environment they happened in.

That’s really what these game reports are supposed to be. They’re a record of what I saw that day, not a final judgment on who these players are.

Most Entertaining: Landon Dupont, RHD, Canada

Of all the games I’ve watched of Landon Dupont this summer, this was easily the most aggressive I’ve seen him play offensively.

Dupont has always had the skating and offensive ability to take over stretches of a game, but there have been times where I’ve wanted him to impose himself on the game more rather than simply taking what is given to him. Against Slovakia, he seemed much more interested in making himself part of everything Canada was doing offensively.

His goal was a perfect example. Dupont activated from the point, worked himself down into the right slot on the power play, received the puck and wrapped it around the goaltender. Later, he attacked down the right side again and found Kayden Stroeder for another goal. He also fed Kulemin two excellent scoring chances that easily could have added another assist or two to his night.

There were mistakes. Dupont got a little too enamored with the stretch pass at times and threw several that either resulted in turnovers or immediately killed possession. There was also a medium-danger opportunity where I wanted him to shoot and he instead tried to make another play.

But this is the version of Dupont I want to see.

He took a penalty that wasn’t particularly smart, but I did enjoy the edge he was playing with. Coming out of the box, he briefly decided he was a forward and immediately went right back on the attack. On another sequence, he skated completely across the neutral zone to take away what could have become an odd-man rush, turned the play the other direction, joined the offense again and created another opportunity for Liam Pue.

That’s the thing with Dupont. When he decides he wants to be involved in everything, he has the skating and skill to actually do it.

The passing decisions will need to get cleaned up, but I can live with some mistakes when they’re happening because Dupont is pushing the limits of what he can create. This was the most assertive I’ve seen him play all summer, and probably my favorite game of his because of it.

Okay…So Who Are You?: Robert Matula, F, Slovakia

Picking a Slovakian player for this category was difficult because Slovakia simply didn’t have the puck enough.

Robert Matula made the most of the opportunities he did get.

He was probably Slovakia’s best transition player in a game where successfully getting through the neutral zone against Canada was an accomplishment. Matula had a really nice end-to-end rush where he attacked with pace, showed some skill through traffic and finished with a spinorama backhand attempt. Later, he squeezed past a defender along the wall and sauced a pass into an odd-man opportunity. He’s a shifty little bugger.

What really caught my attention, though, was a smaller play later in the game. Matula went into a puck battle, gave the Canadian player a little shoulder to create separation, won possession and immediately made a good pass to start the exit.

That’s the type of play that makes me want another viewing because it wasn’t simply Matula skating fast with the puck in open ice. He created his own space, won possession and already understood what he wanted to do with the puck once he got it.

There wasn’t nearly enough Slovakian possession for me to walk away with a strong opinion on him, but in a game where most Slovakian forwards understandably disappeared for stretches, Matula kept finding little ways to make me notice him.

One Shift I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Brock England

There’s the Brock England game I’ve been waiting for.

England had shown pieces of this throughout the tournament. The skating was obvious. He was extremely aggressive on the forecheck. He could enter the zone with control and every once in a while he’d flash a high-level passing play.

Against Slovakia, all of it started connecting.

The shift that really got me was when he threw a backhand, looking-backwards, two-line pass directly to Edgar that was just chef’s kiss. On his next puck touch, he sauced another pass through traffic into a space where only his teammate could retrieve it. Earlier, he entered the offensive zone with control and threaded a beautiful cross-ice pass through traffic to Alexis Joseph for another dangerous opportunity.

I'm going to be thinking about this Brock England pass for a long, long time pic.twitter.com/sLmFdxsqGr

— Austin Brass (@AustinB_xB) August 6, 2026

His skating is also a cheat code.

There was a sequence where a Slovakian player had several strides on him and England erased the gap almost immediately. Within three strides he had caught him, stripped the puck from behind and sent Edgar the other direction.

This was England’s coming-out party for me because it wasn’t one skill carrying the performance. He defended, forechecked, transported the puck, created chances off the rush, made high-level passes and consistently found his way into dangerous areas.

A little bit of everything.

This Isn’t Going to Show Up on the Scoresheet: Jaako Wycisk

I think I undersold Jaako Wycisk after the first game.

Not enough that I need to formally apologize or anything, but enough that I’m paying considerably more attention now.

Wycisk is a big forward who can skate, which already gives him an interesting foundation, but against Slovakia I started noticing how much more skill there is in his game than I initially gave him credit for.

He made a nice soft pass into a scoring area for Stroeder early in the game. Later, he powered his way down the right wall before finding a teammate for another dangerous opportunity. He also worked a nice little give-and-go with Benjamin Veitch that resulted in another chance.

None of those are plays that are going to dominate a highlight package. They’re just good hockey plays.

What I kept noticing was how rarely Wycisk forced things. In the cycle game, he seemed to understand where the next available play was and moved the puck there. If he had space to attack, he attacked. If somebody else was in a better position, he moved the puck. Combine that with good hands for his size and enough skating ability to participate in transition, and there may be more offensive upside here than I initially thought.

He even got sprung for a breakaway coming out of the penalty box, although he couldn’t finish it.

Wycisk didn’t have the loudest performance on Canada, and there were plenty of players who did more damage on the scoresheet. But every time I noticed him, it seemed to be because he had done something that made the next play easier.

Those are usually the players I want to keep watching.

Other Notes

Cameryn Warren, F, Canada: Less dominant than the first game, but still showed why I’m so high on him. On one entry he somehow accelerated while doing a toe-drag, which seems like it should violate some sort of rule, and suddenly he was in alone on a breakaway. He also used a change of pace to manipulate the defender and open a passing lane to Schultz in a scoring area. Warren is slippery with the puck, but what makes it work is that the hands and skating aren’t operating independently. He can change his feet, his speed and the position of the puck at the same time, which makes it extremely difficult for defenders to get a clean read on what he’s doing.

Ryerson Edgar, F, Canada: The most complete 2027-eligible player I’ve seen at this tournament. His edges are ridiculous and he can change direction in a blip, which makes him incredibly difficult to handle around the net. The play I liked most actually started defensively. Edgar stepped up at the blue line, physically separated his man from the puck, helped create an odd-man rush and then followed the play all the way down the ice to bury the rebound. He also made a beautiful one-handed pass to England in transition and scored on a dirty-area tip late. He just keeps impacting plays in different ways.

Brock Cripps, RHD, Canada: Really good game. Cripps carried the puck well in transition and had several creative passing sequences, including going down to his knees and leaving a puck for Warren in a high-danger area. I also liked a neutral-zone step-up where he timed his pressure with the reception of the pass and physically separated the puck carrier. That’s an important play for Cripps because I’m already pretty comfortable with the offensive skill. I’m much more interested in seeing how often he can kill plays before they become defensive-zone problems.

Alexis Joseph, F, Canada: Took a while to get going and then had a really strong third period. He showed some nice stickhandling through the neutral zone, found Cripps trailing on a rush that eventually became a goal and picked up an assist finding Edgar on an odd-man rush. He also got behind the defense for a breakaway and completely whiffed on the shot. He’s had some very noticeable struggles to start this tournament, but it was good to see him end on a high-note here.

Charlie Murata, F, Canada: Scrappy little player who seems perfectly content doing all the annoying things required to keep possession alive. He supports the puck well down low, works in the cycle and gets opportunities because he’s willing to go retrieve pucks and stay involved in traffic. He also made a great aerial pass coming out of the penalty box that sprung a breakaway. There isn’t one overwhelming tool here, but he keeps finding ways to participate in productive sequences.

Malik L’Italien, LHD, Canada: Had a bad retrieval where he didn’t recognize the pressure coming and turned the puck over, but I continue to really like the way he thinks with possession in the offensive zone. He’s constantly searching for little pockets of space to move into or passing lanes he can attack rather than simply moving the puck to the first available option. He made an excellent outlet that eventually led to a goal. The flashes are there. I’m still waiting for the game where I get see him try to take over.

Kayden Stroeder, F, Canada: It’s not always pretty, but it sure is effective. Stroeder drove the net and drew a penalty, scored on the power play, then had a pretty ugly transition sequence where he lost the puck before immediately going back on the hunt for it. Canada eventually recovered possession, Dupont found him and Stroeder scored again. That’s kind of the Stroeder experience. Some of the skill plays can get clunky, but he doesn’t remove himself from the play when something goes wrong. He goes and gets involved again. Nearly finished the hat trick from the right slot later.

Benjamin Veitch, F, Canada: I still can’t believe he’s 2028 eligible. Big forward who skates really well, has good hands and, importantly, seems aware that being large is occasionally useful in hockey. He created a turnover on the forecheck that immediately became a slot chance, got sprung for a breakaway by Dupont and generated a couple more dangerous looks using his combination of speed and power. He’s obviously incredibly early in the evaluation process, but there is a lot to work with here.

Quinn Norman, LHD, Canada: Quiet game compared to the opener. He made a few nice passes in the third and showed the same patience coming down the left wall that caught my attention previously, holding onto the puck and waiting for something to develop rather than immediately throwing it toward the net. Didn’t get enough of it in this game to add much to the evaluation, but the processing with possession continues to be interesting.

Maddox Schultz, F, Canada: Still hard as hell on pucks. On one sequence he knocked a player down, took the puck and immediately turned it into offensive-zone possession. Schultz was giving and receiving contact all game, but what continues to interest me is how quickly he can move between the physical and skill portions of a play. He can engage somebody along the wall, come out of the contact with possession and immediately make the next play rather than needing to reset himself. Another sequence where he combined the grit-and-skill stuff down low eventually led to Pue’s goal.

Liam Pue, F, Canada: Some really slick stuff again. He made a great pass into the dangerous area for Warren’s goal, then later put the puck around a defender, retrieved it himself and immediately turned into a shot from the slot. He had another sequence where he moved the puck through a defender’s stick and got off a very quick release that hit the post. There were a couple entries where he lost possession, but the skating, hands and ability to create something immediately after beating the first layer of pressure are obvious.

Oliver Botka, LHD, Slovakia: Basically invisible after showing some interesting things in the first game, although playing defense against this Canadian team was roughly the hockey equivalent of being asked to empty the ocean with a bucket. I still saw the quick edges and hands on a couple retrievals, but Canada didn’t give him much room to actually use them. He tried one stretch pass that got picked off. I’m mostly throwing this game out and moving on.

Patrik Rychlik, F, Slovakia: Picked up a loose puck around the net and buried it. He also had a nifty move to beat a defender in the offensive zone but couldn’t make the second play afterward. There wasn’t enough possession to learn a ton, but he was one of the few Slovakian forwards who occasionally created something after receiving the puck rather than immediately being swallowed by Canada.

Samuel Pisarcik, F, Slovakia: Small and thin, but there are some interesting tools. He snaps the puck well and made a good blue line-to-blue line pass that created one of Slovakia’s better opportunities. I also liked a defensive-stick play where he disrupted possession and immediately turned it into an entry going the other direction. That’s the type of sequence I’m looking for from the Slovakian players in a game like this: not necessarily sustained dominance, because that wasn’t happening, but whether they could turn the few moments they won possession into something useful.

Oliver Ozogany, F, Slovakia: Did some good work finding space away from the puck and had a nice move from the wall to get himself into a dangerous backhand opportunity. Later, he had possession around the goal line with enough time to survey his options and immediately threw a low-danger shot on net. That’s one I’d like back. Getting yourself into space is useful; what you do once you’ve created that space is the considerably more important part.