League Notes: 2026 Olympics, Men’s U18s, 2024 Draft
On today’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Darren Dreger dove into some more details surrounding a potential NHL return to Olympic participation in 2026. With the next edition of the Winter Olympics set to commence in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, it would be the NHL’s first time letting its players participate in the international event since 2014 in Sochi, Russia. After electing not to participate in the 2018 event, the NHL was on track to return to the Olympics in 2022 before concerns around travel and COVID insurance could not be resolved, leading the league to pull the plug on Olympic participation for a second straight cycle.
They appear on track to change that, with the NHL set to attend tomorrow’s IIHF meeting in Portugal with discussions around travel costs for 2026 on the agenda, per Dreger. Both the NHL and NHLPA have expressed a renewed vigor for international participation in recent months after former United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh assumed the lead post at the players’ association, quickly identifying a return to best-on-best international play as one of the players’ highest short-term priorities.
Some more administrative notes from the Insider Trading crew:
- The NHL/IIHF partnership remains a topic of discussion, as Dreger also reports the league is stepping up to host an IIHF tournament for the first time. In conjunction with USA Hockey, the NHL will host/sponsor the 2025 edition of the Men’s U18 World Championships, the last major showcase tournament for draft-eligible prospects in a yearly cycle. Normally held in mid-to-late April, it’s unclear in which American city the tournament will be hosted at this time. The United States last hosted the tournament in 2021 in Frisco and Plano, Texas, and captured their record 11th gold medal at the tournament in 2023. 2025 will be the fourth time the US has hosted the tournament since its inception in 1999.
- Lastly, Chris Johnston adds that the NHL is continuing to sort out logistical concerns regarding a venue for the 2024 NHL Draft, which is expected to take place in Las Vegas along with the 2024 NHL Awards. With the Vegas Golden Knights’ T-Mobile Arena seemingly unavailable for the Draft due to scheduling conflicts, Johnston reports the NHL has explored hosting next year’s draft at Sphere, the rather eye-drawing concert venue which boasts the largest LED screen in the world, newly opened by Madison Square Garden Company and New York Rangers majority owner James Dolan. It would certainly be a departure from normal procedure for the league, which has opted to host the Draft exclusively at team arenas, hotels and league offices throughout the event’s history.
Top Draft Prospect Aron Kiviharju Out Long-Term After Surgery
Per EliteProspects’ Lassi Alanen, top prospect Aron Kiviharju suffered an injury at practice that will require surgery. The recovery will hold him out for roughly four months. This will likely keep him from participating in the end of the year’s World Juniors tournament, one of the top events for U20 players.
This is a serious blow to Kiviharju’s draft year. Once considered maybe the outright best player in this draft class, Kiviharju’s esteem has stumbled following a slow start to the season. He’s scored two points through HIFK’s first seven games this year, including his first Liiga goal, while averaging just under 13-and-a-half minutes per game. That’s a slight bump from the 12:56 average time on ice he experienced in 21 Liiga games last season, although he still isn’t coming close to a top-four role with his pro team.
Kiviharju has added another two points in six games with Finland’s U20 national team this season. Playing against his peers internationally was where Kiviharju performed best last year, recording seven points in five games at the World U18 Championship tournament and 19 points over a cumulative 17 games with the national U18 squad. Finland didn’t bring the talented defender to the World Juniors last season, meaning this upcoming year would have been his chance to debut on the biggest stage. Missing out on that opportunity is a big blow, as many NHL scouts rely on the World Juniors to show how prospects sit relative to the rest of their age group.
With no World Juniors in sight, fans looking to see Kiviharju play internationally will likely have to wait until April’s World U18 Championship tournament. Even then, questions about how he can rebound from a long-term injury will likely surround any future performances. Once a top prospect in the class, Kiviharju could be at risk of sliding down draft boards with news of this injury. With a four-month recovery window, the 17-year-old defenseman won’t be back until February. And he’ll be a player to watch as soon as he’s back on the ice.
Featured image: HIFK on Twitter
Cole Eiserman Decommits From University Of Minnesota, Joins Boston University
1:55 p.m.: Later Wednesday, Eiserman announced on his Instagram page that he’s committed to Boston University, opening up the possibility for Celebrini and Eiserman to be linemates at the college level should Celebrini stick around for a second season. The move surely vaults an already strong BU team into the national championship conversation for each of the next two seasons.
1:20 p.m.: American-born left-winger Cole Eiserman won’t be playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota starting in 2024-25, per Evan Marinofsky of the New England Hockey Journal. The presumptive second-overall pick in next year’s 2024 NHL Draft has de-committed from the school and plans to join a university closer to his Massachusetts home.
Eiserman is already off to a hot start this season, leading the U.S. National Development Program’s U18 squad with five goals and eight points through four games. Across major public scout rankings early in the 2023-24 league year, he is the consensus second-overall choice behind Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini, who will suit up for Boston University this season despite not turning 18 until after the collegiate season is over in June.
After recording 86 points in 50 games with the USHL’s Chicago Steel in 2022-23, Celebrini could be one-and-done at the collegiate level with a strong freshman season. The same could be said for Eiserman, although he will spend at least one season after his draft year playing in college – initially expected to be with Minnesota. He’s taken a more slow-burn approach to his development.
That approach has paid massive dividends thus far for Eiserman, who’s racked up video-game goal totals in nearly every level he’s played. He scored 26 goals in just 20 games for the U18 team last season and scored 43 goals and 72 points in 40 games across a larger sample size for the U17 squad as well.
It’s been the same story internationally, too. Eiserman represented the US at both the 2022 World U17 Hockey Challenge and the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship, notching 12 goals in seven games at the former and nine goals in seven games at the latter. In fact, Eiserman has scored over a goal per game in every league and tournament he’s played in dating back to 2020-21 when his publically available stats began.
That all lines up to make this a consequential loss for Minnesota, who unexpectedly lost star pivot Logan Cooley this summer as he turned pro with the Arizona Coyotes. He’ll be replaced in the lineup by Chicago Blackhawks 2023 first-round pick Oliver Moore, but he’s a risk to turn pro after one season as well. It’s also an extremely consequential move for the NCAA’s Hockey East conference, which will likely gain Eiserman’s superstar talent for the 2024-25 season.