Kyle Connor at Practice The Hlinka Gretzky Cup returned Monday with the annual international under-18 tournament taking place in Edmonton, Alberta over the next few days. The event is being directed not by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) but by a group made up of Hockey Canada, the Czech Ice Hockey Association, and the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. There will be some big name prospects involved in the tournament like early No.1 prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft Gavin McKenna and 2023 OHL Draft first overall pick Matthew Schaefer, who will both play for Team Canada. One of their teammates is Winnipeg native Peyton Kettles, who has been manning the blueline of the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL. The 16-year-old is making his fourth appearance with Team Canada and is coming off a decent first full season in Swift Current. He finished with a pair of goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 61 games. He impressed many when finishing 7th on the Broncos with a +19 rating that outdid others prospects already owned by NHL teams like Pittsburgh's Owen Pickering, Seattle's Clarke Caswell and New Jersey's Josh Filmon. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg9g0s4VoR0[/embed] Kettles's father, Kyle, played a key role in Peyton's success as he had experience of three seasons in the Western Hockey League before getting drafted by the Nashville Predators in 1999. Peyton will look to be drafted like his father as he is eligible for the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft due to an early September birthday but will need to show more if he wants to be looked at by more NHL rosters. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup will be a huge opportunity for him to propel his draft stock to the next level. Team Canada has a lengthy history of dominating the U18 tournament as they've won gold 24 times and have medaled a total of 28 times in the 33 years since the tournament was founded. The annual event has also been named the Nations Cup, the U-18 Junior World Cup, and the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament before changing the name to Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2017. Kettles scored a goal as Team Canada took care of Switzerland (10-0) in their first game with ease Monday night and will look to follow it up with another win Tuesday night when they take on Slovakia.
