2024 World Junior Summer Showcase: 3 things learned on Day 9

Saturday was the ninth day of the World Junior Summer Showcase to help determine the rosters for the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, to be held in Ottawa from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- The United States' 5-4 shootout win against Canada on the final day of the World Junior Summer Showcase featured an interesting subplot: the battle between U.S. forward James Hagens and Canada forward Porter Martone, who could be the first two players selected in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Hagens (5-foot-10, 168 pounds) had an assist on a second-period goal by Quentin Musty (San Jose Sharks), showcasing his high-end playmaking skills. Martone (6-3, 196) didn't have a point but was able to display some of his abilities as a top-end power forward.

The rivalry is mostly friendly, dating to their youth hockey days when they played on the same spring team for several years, including a tournament in Italy.

"He's such a good player," Hagens, 17, said of Martone. "It's always tough getting out on the ice with him. He's a guy that kind of pushes you to your best. ... He's a guy that you can't really let have the puck because he makes plays happen. He's a special guy and a special player."

Martone, 17, said of Hagens, "Obviously he's an incredible player, and you just see that out there with the plays he makes."

The two likely will be intertwined throughout the upcoming season, including the chance for each to play at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.

"We're friends off the ice but when that jersey gets put on, there's no friends," Martone said. "We battle hard and we compete, so it's always fun going up against him."

Musty has unique insight from playing on Hagens' line at the WJSS and against Martone with Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League. He wasn't ready to play fantasy general manager at this point.

"I feel bad for those GMs that have got to make that decision," he said. "They're great players. It's fun to watch them. All you can really do is sit back and watch and admire how good they are."

Here are three things learned Saturday:

New skates would be great for Luchanko

One of Jett Luchanko's strengths is his skating, but the Canada forward impressed the Philadelphia Flyers development staff even more when they learned he was using skates that were more than two years old.

"It looks like he's just kind of floating on the ice a little bit, and then he told me that his skates are two years old and he hates wearing new skates," Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said. "I was like, 'Well, jeez, let's get you into some new skates. This could be incredible what you might be able to do.'

"So it's pretty comical on that side. He's skating with these worn down old skates and he's still just flying around the rink."

Luchanko uses an older model of Bauer Supreme skates but hasn't found a good fit with any of the newer ones he's tried.

"It's just tough to get out of them," he said Saturday. "I've tried a lot of different skates but I really like these ones, so I'm still working on it. Hopefully I can find something I like."

Luchanko has done OK in his well-worn skates. The 17-year-old scored a goal Saturday, and he led Guelph of the OHL with 74 points (20 goals, 54 assists) in 68 games before the Flyers selected him in the first round (No. 13) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

He's hoping his skate hunt leads him to a comfortable pair because he's not sure how much longer his current model will hold up.

"They're getting to the point where they're going to start breaking," he said. "Hopefully I can find a pair and maybe I can just get a bunch of them for my whole career. That would probably be the best possible option."

Golden opportunity for Nadeau

Bradly Nadeau played on Canada's top line for each of its two games at USA Hockey Arena here, including Saturday, when he and had an assist before scoring in the first round of the shootout.

But Nadeau, who signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on April 7 and made his NHL debut April 16, will have a chance to start the season with the Hurricanes. That opportunity likely would mean the end of his WJC hopes.

The 19-year-old never has played an international tournament for Canada, but he's not looking that far down the road.

"For myself, I'm just going to try to work hard and see where it goes from there," he said Friday. "Wherever I'm going to end up, it's just make sure I work hard and try to go to the next step."

Nadeau, selected by Carolina in the first round (No. 30) of the 2023 NHL Draft, said his lone NHL game so far was an eye-opener and showed him how hard he'll have to work to stick with the Hurricanes.

"Being around those guys ... you always feel like you don't do enough," he said. "You change your [training] routine, you start doing more and it was really good for me to kind of experience that and see what they do that I can kind of put into my game."

The main message Nadeau (5-10, 161) said he's received from the Hurricanes development staff is to get stronger.

"Those few months after the season ended, I feel like I've already progressed quite a bit, but obviously there's another month and a half here,” he said, “so I'll just make sure I keep going with that progress."

Pieniniemi learns from Letang

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman prospect Emil Pieniniemi spent about three weeks during the offseason skating and training in Pittsburgh, where he kept a close watch on Penguins defenseman Kris Letang.

The 37-year-old had 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists) and played all 82 games last season, his 18th in the NHL. The conditioning that takes certainly opened Pieniniemi's eyes.

"I just watched him working out, and he's way older than me and he's doing all his work very well still," the 19-year-old said.

Pieniniemi (6-2, 170), a third-round pick (No. 91) by the Penguins in the 2023 draft, knows he has to get stronger to be more effective as he moves up in his development. He said his time in Pittsburgh has helped him add a bit of strength but that there's more work to be done.

"He's done lots of physical work so he can defend better," Finland coach Lauri Mikkola said. "Many times he's going well into situations, but he doesn't have that much power yet. But he's defending better."

Pieniniemi had an assist in Finland's 5-3 win against Sweden on Saturday and three points (two goals, one assist) in four games at the WJSS. He's also nearing a decision on where he'll play this season -- with Karpat in Liiga in Finland, or with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League, which selected him with the No. 10 pick of the 2023 Canadian Hockey League import draft.

Adjusting to North American-sized rinks before he reaches the NHL would be advantageous, but so would staying at home and playing in the top men's league there.

"I think [the OHL] would be good for me, and in Finland that's good for me too," he said. "So that's a hard one."