With two games played by each team at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the tournament’s leading scorer is Swedish right winger Marcus Nordmark with six points.

In Sweden’s opening 10-0 win over Germany, Nordmark tallied a goal and three assists. In the second game, in which the Swedes overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the USA 5-3, he had a goal and an assist.

“I love to score and I love to compete,” he said after an uninspired 8-4 pre-tournament loss to Finland. “I love to win. So if we lose a game, I need to get better the next game. I need to score.”

Since that loss to Finland, Nordmark has been scoring and Sweden has been winning.

Nordmark’s father is Robert Nordmark, a defenseman who played four years in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks and also won gold medals for Sweden at the 1981 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 1987 World Championship. Although a d-man, the elder Nordmark could put points on the board too, tallying 46 points in 87 regular-season and playoff games for the Canucks in 1988-89.

“He taught me that you need to work on your game to get better every day,” said Nordmark.

Swedish Prospect Elton Hermansson Looks Up To Peter Forsberg and Markus Näslund Elton Hermansson, a member of Sweden’s U-18 national team that is about to begin the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scored two goals in the team’s pre-tournament game on Saturday against Finland in Piestany, Slovakia. However, that output seemed a bit lost in Sweden’s 8-4 loss.

Nordmark along with Oscar Holmertz and Elton Hermansson and expected to be the offensive leaders of this Swedish team but the best 2008-born Swede of all isn’t at this tournament. Viggo Björck, Nordmark’s teammate with Djurgården and often his linemate on Swedish youth national teams, was instead deployed to play for Sweden’s U-20 team at the World Junior Summer Showcase. However, the pair appear destined to play together again with Djurgården in Sweden’s top U-20 league and again at the end of the year at the U-18 World Championship, back in Slovakia.

“Yeah, it’s real disappointing,” Nordmark said about Björck’s absence. “He’s a real great player.”

Björck and Nordmark are two of the latest prospects to come out of Djurgården. Like Anton Frondell and Victor Eklund in 2025, they’re projected to be first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft – as are Holmertz and Hermansson.

“I’m not focusing on that,” said Nordmark. “I’m focusing on the next game and next training. I need to play better.”

Canada And Sweden Remain Group Front-Runners With Second Straight Wins To lead off Day 2 of the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Canada and Sweden stayed perfect. In Brno, Canada beat Switzerland 9-1 in a game that was 1-0 after two periods and Sweden overcame a 3-1 deficit against the USA and won 5-3 in Trenčín.