Team Canada’s Alexis Joseph a towering force at Hlinka-Gretzky Cup

This ‘n that: Defenceman Lukas Kachlir, the Oil Kings first pick in the CHL import draft, had two fine goals for the Czechs in their loss to USA. He is signed to play for Bill Tygri Liberec in their Elite League right now but undoubtedly the Oil Kings hope, at 17, he maybe changes his mind and comes over to the WHL team if he’s not getting enough ice-time as a pro… Strange game for Landon DuPont, the best D prospect in the 2027 draft. No points in a game where his Canada team scored seven times…The Swiss goalie Ayden Huet, who got the start in net against Canada, is the son of the former NHLer Cristobal Huet, who played 273 NHL games with Los Angeles, Montreal, Washington and won a Cup ring in Chicago. The son had a rough outing, giving up four goals on nine shots before getting the hook after nine minutes… The son of local product and former NHLer Hnat Domenichelli Alessandro, who played in WHL Portland last season, had two assists for the Swiss team…. Neuenschwander is expected to go very high in the 2027 NHL draft, playing for Biel against men in his home country. Big question: at 14 letters, how do they squeeze Jonah’s whale of a name on a name-bar?… Germany’s top player in the tournament is 5-foot-11, 192-pound centre Max Calce, who got their first goal in the loss to Finland. He played his younger hockey in Mannheim like Leon Draisaitl. He was Max Penkin for years but he’s changed to his mother’s new surname. He will be a first-round pick, a high motor kid like Tim Stutzle in Ottawa. He has put up nice numbers with not a lot of equal skill support… Former NHL winger Niklas Sundstrom’s son Milan, another in a long line of high-end Hlinka centres, is the Swede’s best draft prospect. Strong at both ends of the ice. His offensive skills don’t wow people but he’s very responsible and will certainly go in the top 10-12 in next year’s NHL draft…. Schultz has an A on his jersey, clearly an acknowledgement of not only his leadership at 16 but the fact he’ll be the go-to guy on the 2027 Hlinka squad, and his Regina Pats winger teammate Pue, look like choreographer and finisher. Schultz could be top pick in the 2028 nHL draft because he’s only 16… The Czechia team ripped Canada 6-zip in a pre-tournament game but still took a major hit when their best Hlinka defenceman Matyas Michalek got hurt before the tournament. “He’s a 2010 birthday (only 16 years old) but he’s a stud. He’s 6’4”, a tremendous skater. He gives me Jay Bouwmeester vibes,” said Button… The Czechia team captain Adam Nemec, who will be playing for the Hyman family owned junior team in Brantford this season, reminds Button of Vasily Podkolzin when he was the same age. He had one of the Czech goals against USA. “Plays hard, heavy, in the guts of the action,” he said.