The 2025-26 season will kickoff on Monday for hockey’s scouting world, as many of the top U18 prospects from around the world join in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The tournament is one of the top non-IIHF sanctioned events of the hockey season, and features talents from eight different countries — this year from USA, Canada, Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland. It’s often the first chance for top draft picks to show their strength among an increasingly competitive group of peers. That makes now the perfect time to again borrow from MLB Trade Rumors’ Big Hype Prospect series to break down some of the top names to watch when pucks drop this week.
Four Big Hype Prospects
Landon DuPont, RD, Team Canada (Everett Silvertips, WHL)
2024-25 Season: 64 GP, 17 G, 43 A, 60 TP, 26 PIM, +31
There is little question about who the top prospect at this year’s Hlinka tournament will be – and, ironically, it’s not a player eligible for the draft in 2026. Instead it’s 16-year-old Landon DuPont, a true star talent coming off the highest-scoring season from a U16 defender in CHL history — by more than 20 points. DuPont is cut from a different cloth in many ways. He’s fantastically smooth on the puck and uses clean, long, and quick strides to cut through all three zones and create layup scoring chances. His vision is sharp and he’s firm on every decision, creating a player truly capable of taking over games on his own. DuPont has a special drive to succeed that should be put on full display as he gets his first opportunity to represent his country overseas. It would be no surprise to see DuPont – the son of European hockey veteran Micki DuPont – race towards the top of the Hlinka leaderboards and soon the top of the 2027 NHL Draft class.
Keaton Verhoeff, RD, Team Canada (University of North Dakota, NCHC)
2024-25 Season (Victoria, WHL): 63 GP, 21 G, 24 A, 45 TP, 14 PIM, +23
It is a rare and lucky moment when a head coach gets to call Keaton Verhoeff their second defender. He brings every bit of the star-power that Canada has become known for at this tournament. Verhoeff is a towering, beefy defender standing at 6-foot-4 and 212-pounds — and yet, he’s another incredibly smooth puck-handler, with a special instinct for how and when to dip into the offensive zone. He plays a game that thrives on gut calls, but lives on fundamentals – and shows as much talent in defending the rush or blocking out the slot as he does in making flashy, high-speed cuts to the offensive net. Team Canada has already named Verhoeff their captain for this tournament – and among the top questions for the week ahead will be how they wield his physical upside next to DuPont’s snappy creativity. Verhoeff is entering the season as a top-two name in the 2026 draft class. He’ll get his first chance to fortify that standing at this tournament, before heading to the NCAA alongside Victoria teammate and Calgary Flames prospect Cole Reschny for the 2025-26 season.
Vilho Vanhatalo, RW, Team Finland (Tappara, Finland U20)
2024-25 Season (Tappara, Finland U18): 41 GP, 37 G, 21 A, 58 TP, 38 PIM
Prospect chatter surrounding Finland has quieted in recent years, but their 2008 birth year seems well equipped to pull the country back into the spotlight. They’re a heavy-hitting group that features players like Oscar Hemming, Eelis Uronen, adn Anttoni Uronen – all the younger brothers of NHL prospects (Emil Hemming, Dallas; Tomas Uronen, Vegas). But the group is headlined by beefy goal-scorer Vilho Vanhatalo, a ground-and-pound shooter with multiple ways to best his opponents. Vanhatalo is strong with a huge frame – 6-foot-4 and 200-pounds – and an athletic stance. He’s also quick to make decisions and jump to the next play – making him hard to contain in the offensive end. He squares up to passes quickly, and has a true heft behind his shot. That’s helped Vanhatalo reach fantastic goal-scoring heights already, including leading Finland’s top U18 in the stat last season. He also scored a team-leading three points in four games for Finland at the World U-17 Hockey Championship, and continued to lead the country’s U17 squad with 14 points in 17 games in other international tournaments. Where goals need scored, Vanhatalo finds his way – making him an interesting second-tier name for this tournament and the 2026 draft.
Brooks Rogowski, C/RW, Team USA (Oshawa Generals, OHL)
2024-25 Season: 66 GP, 11 G, 12 A, 23 TP, 9 PIM, -3
Brooks Rogowski may not be the true top name on Team USA’s lineup, but he’ll certainly be the hardest to miss. Literally. The 17-year-old stands at 6-foot-6 and 227-pounds, and seems well positioned to take on top-six minutes for an American squad looking for players to step up. Rogowski was relatively unrefined through much of his rookie OHL season last year, but has earned the close attention of scouts – and even a commitment to Michigan State University – since the season has come to a close. That’s largely thanks to a training regiment focused in on making him smoother and quicker driving down the ice, and consequentially strong performances at the USA U17-Selects tournament and Hlinka Gretzky Cup invite camp. Rogowski will play second-string to USA’s stars – like hard-nosed center and 2027 draft prospect Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and flashy speedster and 2026 prospect Jack Hextall. But when it comes to playing a physically-imposing game geared towards driving the net, head coach Bob Motzko will find all he needs in Rogowski. This tournament will mark the giant’s first chance to rocket up his draft stock.