For only the second time ever, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup is taking place in Edmonton. The 2024 edition of the annual under-18 international tournament runs today (Aug. 5) to Saturday (Aug. 10) at Rogers Place.
The tournament debuted in 1991, then known as the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Edmonton first hosted the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2018, when Canada beat Sweden in the championship game of the eight-team event.
Related: 5 Standouts from Hlinka Gretzky Cup
The overwhelming majority of players that will suit up in this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup are 2007-born, making them eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft next June. That means fans attending games in Edmonton will likely be seeing at least a couple players that at this time next year will be Oilers prospects.
To put things in perspective, about one-third of Edmonton’s projected 2024-25 opening night lineup played in this tournament before their respective draft years. Here’s a look at all the current Oilers with Hlinka Gretzky Cup experience.
Mattias Ekholm, Sweden, 2007
In 2007 Mattias Ekholm helped his country win this tournament for its first and so far only time, picking up one goal and one assist in four games to tie Victor Hedman for the Team Sweden lead in points by a defenceman. Ekholm was drafted 102nd overall by the Nashville Predators two years later.
Evander Kane, Canada, 2008
Evander Kane picked up one goal and three assists in four games in 2008, as Canada cruised to the gold medal, winning the first of a tournament-record eight consecutive championships. Ten months later, the winger was drafted fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers.
Jeff Skinner, Canada, 2009
Jeff Skinner led all players with six goals in just four games in 2009, leading Canada to the gold medal. Two of his goals came during Canada’s 9-2 thrashing of Team Russia in the championship final. The Carolina Hurricanes made Skinner the seventh overall selection at the 2010 NHL Draft.
Viktor Arvidsson, 2010
Viktor Arvidsson tied for most goals in the 2010 tournament, scoring five times in five games to help Sweden capture the bronze medal. It wouldn’t be until 2014 that he was drafted, when the Predators took a chance on the undersized winger with pick No. 112.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canada, 2010
Then a superstar junior forward, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins accounted for all the scoring during Canada’s 1-0 victory over the United States in the 2010 gold medal game.
Over the course of the tournament, the forward tallied five times in five games, matching the Swedish trio of Pontus Aberg, Arvidsson, and Joachim Nermark for the goal-scoring lead. The Oilers drafted Nugent-Hopkins first overall in 2011, and he has been an Edmonton fixture ever since.
Darnell Nurse, Canada, 2012
Before he was the second-highest drafted defenceman, selected at No. 7 by the Oilers in 2013, Darnell Nurse was part of a stacked blue line on a dominant Canadian team at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament: Canada went undefeated and shutout Finland to win gold.
Cam Dineen, United States, 2015
Cam Dineen led all American blueliners with two points and tied for the team lead with a rating of plus-3 at the 2015 tournament. He was selected in the third round, 68th overall of the 2016 Draft by the Arizona Coyotes, who since traded him to Edmonton in 2023.
Ben Gleason, United States, 2015
Ben Gleason was part of Team USA’s defensive corps with Dineen in 2015, when the Americans finished fifth. He wasn’t drafted, but eventually made it to the NHL with the Dallas Stars. He signed with the Oilers in 2023, and spent all of last season in the American Hockey League.
Philip Broberg, Sweden, 2018
Philip Broberg suited up for Team Sweden when the Hlinka Gretzky Cup made its Edmonton debut six years ago, and the blueliner left a massive impression in his future home rink.
Edmonton’s first-round draft pick (eighth overall) in 2019 led all defencemen in the tournament with three goals, including one game-winner, helping Sweden capture the silver medal.
Dylan Holloway, Canada, 2018
Dylan Holloway was just 16 when he helped Team Canada beat Broberg and Sweden in the gold medal game at Rogers Place in 2018. The forward, who Edmonton drafted 14th overall in 2020, had two goals and one assist in the tournament.
Roby Jarventie, Finland, 2019
Fittingly, the newest addition to the Oilers, who was acquired from the Ottawa Senators via trade on July 15, also has a history in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Roby Jarventie played for Team Finland in 2019 and scored one goal as the Finns finished fourth in 2019. He was selected with the second pick of Round 2, 33rd overall, by Ottawa in 2020.
The 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup gets underway at noon in Edmonton today with a preliminary round match-up between Slovakia and Sweden, and continues through Saturday (Aug. 10) when the gold medal game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. MDT.
