World Championship: Seven Players Who Could Draw NHL Attention

For non-NHL players at the men's hockey World Championship, this is their big opportunity to catch the eyes of scouts for a potential contract down the line.

Every year, players use the World Championship to showcase themselves to NHL scouts. It’s not simply draft-eligible prospects, but more often, it’s players with previous NHL or North American experience hoping for another shot or late-blooming Europeans waiting to be discovered.

Compared to previous years, there are slim pickings at this World Championship in terms of true NHL prospects who have aged out of the draft, but that doesn’t mean teams won’t find depth or diamonds in the rough.

Here’s a look at some players who could draw NHL attention this year or in the future.

A former QMJHL defensive rookie of the year and all-star, Hlavaj has an NHL frame standing 6-foot-4 in his crease. Hlavaj has shown steady progress in recent seasons and is stepping from Slovakia to Czechia to play with Plzen this season. He’s been strong for Slovakia in net at the worlds, and at 21, he has plenty of time to develop as a goaltender. It might not happen this off-season, but a strong year in Czechia and another World Championship appearance could put Hlavaj’s name into the discussion for a contract.

Aside from the 2019-20 season when Grimaldi scored 31 points in 66 games, and the shortened 2020-21 season when he played in 40 games, the undersized forward hasn’t had a long-term shot in the NHL. He was one of the best players in the AHL this season, racking up 73 points in 70 games. He’s recording more than a point per game at the worlds for Team USA, showcasing his shifting hands and deceptiveness with the puck. Yes, he’s 5-foot-6, but at worst, an NHL team should be calling on Grimaldi to bolster their AHL ranks to play alongside their prospects.

Beketayev just finished his first season in the KHL, and it was a good one. The 25-year-old blueliner, who stands 6-foot-4, recorded 21 points in 64 games for Barys Astana. Alongside Valeri Orekhov, a 23-year-old blueliner who could also draw attention, Beketayev is playing big minutes for Kazakhstan and facing top-line matchups during every game. He’ll never be a top-four blueliner but could add bottom-pairing size if his development continues.

With so much hype around Filip Chlapik when he was drafted 48th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2015, he was an unfortunate victim of poor development. Chlapik was rushed to the NHL, and it showed. At the AHL level, he showed glimpses of his promise, but at the NHL level, he was not used in a way that helped him grow as a player. Now 25, Chlapik has two productive and stable professional seasons under his belt. He hasn’t made an impact for Czechia at the World Championship so far, but the skill he possessed has never gone away.

The 6-foot-3 right-shot defender had a breakout season in Liiga that earned Matinpalo his first call from the Finnish national team at any age group or level. Matinpalo doubled his offensive output with Assat this season, and at 24, he looks like he’ll only continue to get better. To be clear, his game is a long way from NHL-ready, but another season of trending up in Liiga could shift the conversation.

After his last two seasons in Europe, it’s surprising an NHL team hasn’t tried to bring Michael Spacek back to North America already. He followed up 46 points in 49 games in the SHL with 50 points in 50 games in Switzerland this season. A former fourth-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets who spent three full seasons in the AHL, Spacek is still only 26. He’ll be back in Switzerland again next year, but there’s nothing to say Spacek won’t take one more crack at the NHL in the future.

Lammikko is no stranger to North American hockey having played in the OHL, AHL, and 159 games in the NHL with Florida and Vancouver. As depth, the 27-year-old could still offer something to a North American team. He’s signed next season to play in Switzerland, where he notched 24 goals in 52 games this season, the best total of his professional career.