For the first time since 2003, the USA has won the summer U18 tournament that’s now called the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, following a 5-3 victory over Sweden in the final on Saturday night in Trencin, Slovakia.
 
Since then, the Americans have lost in the finals four times. This year, they were due.
 
“We were the underdogs – no one expected us to win,” said victorious goaltender Brady Knowling, who plays in the U.S. National Team Development Program and could therefore be returning to Slovakia for the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship.
 
“We haven’t won since 2003. I think our team just wanted it. We just kind of gelled at training camp. We came out and played for 60 minutes really hard, and we got what we deserved.”
 
Sweden was the only team to beat the USA in this tournament. In the group stage, the Americans had a 3-1 lead but the Swedes came back to win 5-3, thanks to three power-play goals. In the final, the Americans turned the tables by striking four times with the man advantage.
 
“In this game, we learned that if you take penalties, it’s not going to be good for you,”  said Skelleftea AIK forward Marcus Nordmark, who led the tournament in scoring with 12 points. “The USA did a really great job to block the shots and the goalie was super good.”
 
The game began at a frenetic pace, with Elton Hermansson scoring just 10 seconds in for Sweden, and the score was tied 2-2 after seven minutes. The US led 3-2 after one period, 4-3 after two, and a late power-play marker by Nick Bogas put the icing on the cake.
 
Jack Hextall of the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms led the team offensively in the final with a goal and two assists.
 
“I’m so happy – so happy for my teammates, so happy for the USA – it’s awesome,” Hextall smiled after the game. He said about the semifinal and final, “These were probably the two biggest games I’ve ever played in.”
 
In the bronze-medal game in Brno, played concurrently to the final, Canada shut out Finland 3-0. Playing in this game was unfamiliar territory for the Canadians, who won 25 of the first 33 editions of this tournament, including the last three.

Spectacular semi-finals

The USA and Sweden made the final by winning their semi-finals in extra time.
 
The Swedes led Finland 2-1 but the Finns stormed back to lead 5-2. In the last 12 minutes, however, the Swedes orchestrated a comeback of their own. Nordmark scored his second of the game to tie it late in the third, then completed his hat trick with a brilliant overtime winner.
 
Not to be outdone, the USA led Canada 3-1 after two periods but the Canadians responded with a mighty push in the third, outshooting the Americans 20-3 and tying the score. After a scoreless 10-minute overtime period, the Americans scored on all three shootout attempts while Knowling stopped three of four Canadian shots.
 
Blake Zielinski, who led the Americans in the tournament with nine points, had two points against Canada and scored in the shootout on what he described as “a T.J. Oshie move,” going side to side before sliding the puck in.
 
“Just shooting the puck, playing hard, keeping it to our systems,” Zielinski said about his scoring success. “I’ve gotta give a lot of credit to the guys I’m playing with too (Hughes and Noah Davidson). I wouldn’t be here without them and we’ve just gotta keep it going.”
 
Canada got seven points each from highly-touted prospects Ethan Becheltz and Mathis Preston and outscored their opponents 17-2 in third periods, but at this tournament, anything less than gold is a disappointment for the Canadians.
 
“If you want to look at one part of our game, it was the third,” Canadian captain Keaton Verhoeff said after the semifinal loss. “But you can’t go out in the first two and play the way we did and expect to win. We put ourselves in a hole at the start and we weren’t able to finish the job.”
 
Although the Finns left without medals, giant winger Oscar Hemming of Kiekko-Espoo had a brilliant tournament with four goals and six points in five games.

New champions! 💯 USA defeats Sweden 5–3 to win the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. 🇺🇸#hlinkagretzky #hlinkamemorial #hgc25 pic.twitter.com/rMRRklnvOK

— Hlinka Gretzky Cup (@HlinkaMemorial) August 16, 2025

Placement games

In a meeting of the tournament co-hosts, Czechia beat Slovakia 5-2 to finish fifth.
 
The Czechs got a brilliant performance from 15-year-old defenceman Jiri Kachlir of Bili Tygri Liberec, who opened the tournament with a four-point game against Switzerland and finished as the team’s co-leader in points with Filip Novak.
 
While the Slovaks only managed one win and struggled to score in the tournament, a bright spot was the play of 16-year-old Oliver Ozogany, who scored four of the team’s six goals.
 
“I think for myself it went good, but for the team , we should be better in the next tournament and not take so many penalties – I think that was the key,” said Ozogany.
 
For the Slovaks, who have finished fourth at the last three straight IIHF U18 Men’s World Championships, playing in front of home fans in Trencin was a trail run for the spring, when they host the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s Worlds in Piestany and Bratislava.
 
In the game to decide seventh and eighth places, Switzerland defeated Germany 5-2.
 
For the Swiss, who were relegated from the U18 Worlds with a last-place finish last spring and will play in the 2026 U18 Men’s World Championship Division I Group A, this tournament had some bright spots. They trailed Canada only 1-0 after 40 minutes and then beat Finland 4-3 in overtime in the last group-stage game.
 
“Compared to the first two games, we stuck to the game plan way better and got it done in our end over 60 minutes and also in OT,” Swiss forward Yanis Lutz, who will play this upcoming season for the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, said after the Finland game. 
 
Next summer, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup is scheduled to return to Canada but should be back in Czechia and Slovakia in 2027.
 
Final order of finish:

1.  USA
2. Sweden
3. Canada
4. Finland
5. Czechia
6. Slovakia
7. Switzerland
8. Germany