As the preliminary round of the U18 Men's World Championship comes to a close, a player from the Saginaw Spirit is becoming a constant scoring threat
Out of the many OHL players representing Team Canada at this year’s U18 Men’s World Championship, one person is sticking out as one of the highlights of the tournament.
During the preliminary round, Saginaw Spirit captain Dima Zhilkin recorded at least one point in all three of Canada’s wins.
Zhilkin scored one goal in a 7-0 win against Finland and had a goal plus an assist against Latvia in a 6-0 victory. Then there was his game against Norway, which saw him score a hat trick along with an assist in an 8-0 win.
This puts the 17-year-old at five goals and seven points in four games. He leads the tournament in goals and has the second most points behind Sweden’s Elton Hermansson and USA’s Wyatt Cullen who are tied for the lead at eight points each.
Zhilkin scored 39 goals and 79 points in 63 regular season and playoff games with Saginaw this season. Despite the nearly three-week break from the Spirit’s last game of the season and Canada’s first game of the tournament, Zhilkin hasn’t missed a beat.
Dima isn’t eligible for the NHL Draft until next year but his strong performance in the OHL and the U18 Men’s World Championship might get some more eyes on him when scouts start watching players for the 2027 Draft.
In the meantime, all Zhilkin can do is continue to score points and try to help Canada win their third straight gold medal as the team moves on to the quarterfinals.