2026 NHL Draft: Seven Prospects Either Boosted Or Hurt Their Stock At World U-18s

NHL draft lottery day means it's a great time to look at which prospects improved or worsened their stock at the Under-18 World Championship.

Sweden bounced back from a shaky start to claim the gold medal over the weekend. Canada and the United States had disappointing exits. Slovakia had a fantastic tournament on home soil, winning the silver medal. The Latvians surprised the world and made it to the semifinals. Czechia took home the bronze. 

Overall, it was quite an entertaining tournament with plenty of standout performers. The U-18s are one of the last major events that NHL scouts get to see before they start to finalize their draft lists and pinpoint targets.

Here are seven NHL draft prospects whose stock went up or down at the World Men's Under-18s.

The co-leader in tournament scoring was impressive throughout the event. His skill as a puckhandler and his dual-threat scoring ability were on full display. He had some moments of trying to be too cute or do too much, but in general, he was a big reason they wound up with the gold medal. 

Hermansson was already a first-round pick in the eyes of most evaluators around hockey, but this performance will surely secure that status for him, and it could make him a top-16 pick.

His skill and upside are evident. Whether a team thinks it can take out some of the lapses from his game will factor into where he goes in the draft.

Something just seemed off with Nordmark throughout the tournament.

He was lackadaisical and often followed up a high-skill play with a moment of underwhelming effort.

Nordmark showed flashes of high-end talent, but it really did seem to be just flashes. If someone can unlock him, he'll be a very good player, but it will take a lot.

As far as final impressions go, he didn't even finish the gold medal game, getting thrown out for flipping a piece of a broken stick over the glass. Whether it was on purpose or not, it was a less-than-ideal way to end his tournament. 

Coming into this tournament, Valentini's stock was down, and his play at the University of Michigan was largely undervalued because he originally committed to the OHL's Kitchener Rangers before leaving for Michigan right before training camp. His stock never seemed to recover from the perceived slight.

His impressive showing at the U-18s has certainly helped his stock come draft day. 

Valentini put his work rate and high-end IQ on display for Canada, consistently showing he was one of the team's most effective forwards. When many other lines struggled to drive play, Valentini drove a line that consistently made an impact.

He may be a bit undersized, but he's a dog on a bone with some very nice skills to go with it.

All season, Suvanto's offensive struggles could often be excused because he was playing against men, and the flashes we saw remained intriguing.

Unfortunately for Suvanto, his game just didn't look great at the U-18s for Finland. It just turned out to be a fairly underwhelming tournament as a whole for the top Finnish prospect in the class. 

Much like the Finnish team as a whole, Suvanto rarely looked dangerous with the puck. Defensively, Suvanto was as advertised. The U-18s were supposed to quell the doubts on Suvanto's offensive game, at least to a degree, but they did the opposite. 

It has been an up-and-down season for Lin.

His stock was through the roof, and he was discussed as a top-five pick early in the year.

After the holiday season, he was injured for a stretch, and his name toppled down draft boards. It wasn't even that he did anything wrong, but he just seemed to be passed by others.

The U-18s gave Lin the showcase to climb back up the board. 

Lin's prowess with the puck and deceptive playmaking were impressive throughout Canada's abbreviated run at the U-18s. His passing is impressive, and his feet looked quicker than they have all season.

Lin was arguably Canada's best defenseman overall. He and Verhoeff were each being double-shifted throughout their final game, and although they played well, they couldn't get Canada over the hump.

In a draft that doesn't have a clear-cut top goalie, Knowling came into this event with the chance to reach that status.

Instead, he had a very up-and-down tournament with more downs than expected. He was strong in a performance against the Swedes early in the tournament but looked shaky against Latvia, losing in the quarters in a massive upset. 

The quarterfinal disappointment isn't all on Knowling. The American defense in front of him was subpar, and he wasn't put in an easy position.

He may still be one of the top goalies drafted, but any chance of locking himself into that top spot seems to have evaporated with the Americans' medal round hopes. 

There may not have been a better under-the-radar player at the tournament than Sorensson.

Sorensson plays at a low level in Sweden, and he's hardly been discussed, but those who have seen him and like his game are quite high on him. His performance at the U-18s put those who haven't paid attention on notice. 

Sorensson was fantastic for Sweden, playing with pace and skill while showing he can be a difference-maker when playing with higher-end players.

He wound up having four goals and six points in six games. Sorensson may not have been on the radar before this tournament for some people, but he's firmly established himself as one of the more interesting swings in the mid-late rounds.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.