<p>PLYMOUTH, Mich. – It’s time for some summer hockey.</p>



<p>The World Junior Summer Showcase kicked off game action at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth on Sunday, with USA’s icing split-squad teams against Finland and Sweden. All four teams spent time trying to get some chemistry together ahead of a week of tight action, but it was still an interesting day of play as the federations aimed to get an early look at what their World Junior Championship rosters could look like.</p>



<p>The first game saw USA White take home a 3-2 win in a comeback effort over the Finns. They trailed twice, but seemed to find their footing in the second half and did a good job of preventing high-danger chances in front of goaltender Carsen Musser, who replaced Sam Hildebrandt in the second half. It was a messy game from both sides, as they both tried to find their footing in a mid-summer matinee.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="155"></div>



<p>In the second game, it was a total blowout. Gabe Perreault led the way with two goals in a 7-2 victory, with the Americans scoring early and often in the one-sided affair. Max Plante had a goal and an assist, Paul Fischer and Zeev Buium both had a pair of assists and Brandon Svoboda, Lukas Fischer, Oliver Moore and Brodie Ziemer tallied a goal each. Trey Augustine and Hampton Slukynsky nearly secured the shutout, but Slukynsky, in particular, was outstanding in the third period, only for Isac Hedqvist and Jack Berglund to score to end the shutout in the dying minutes.</p>



<p>Here’s a look at the top players from Day 1 in Plymouth:</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-usa-white">USA White</h2>



<p><strong>#38 Cole Eiserman, RW (New York Islanders):</strong> Good news: he still hits everything that moves. Eiserman is one of my favorite prospects and shouldn’t have fallen as far as he did. Today, he played just about everything, from the power play, penalty kill and even some key defensive zone matchups. I also have to imagine he was near the leaders in hits per game. </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="178"></div>



<p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong>#28 Quentin Musty, LW (San Jose Sharks):&nbsp;</strong>Musty was one of my favorite players at this event a year ago because of how often he generated offense, and he looked up to the challenge today.</span> He was the best player on USA’s top line, getting a couple of close looks and even some nice hits out there, too.</p>



<p><strong>#2 Colin Ralph, D (St. Louis Blues): </strong>Ralph had some good break-up plays around his own net and he brought the physicality, too. I also thought he did a good job of making sure the puck stayed in the offensive zone when he was on the ice, which as a defenseman, is a good thing. Ralph makes a ton of smart play reads, so I was happy with how he looked.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Finland</h2>



<p><strong>#10 Janne Peltonen, D (Chicago Blackhawks): </strong>Peltonen isn’t going to wow you with skill or much offensive production, but he seems to always be in the right spot at the right time. The 2023 seventh-rounder is a big, mobile blueliner who gets into scoring lanes just to help take away time and space. </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="182"></div>



<p><strong>#24 Joona Saarelainen, LW (Tampa Bay Lightning):</strong> At 5-foot-9, Saarelainen is definitely small. But, man, he loves the puck on his stick, and he scored twice today to keep the momentum flowing after a pair of assists in the games against Switzerland and Czechia last week. Saarelainen hasn’t had many off nights in my viewings, finding ways to consistently generate offense – and today was no exception. </p>



<p><strong>#18 Heikki Ruohonen, RW (Philadelphia Flyers):</strong> Ruonhonen made a nice pass to Joona Saarelainen for the 1-0 goal, kicking things off with a bang. Given it didn’t seem like they used that lone often, I thought Ruohonen made an impression most times he hit the ice, bringing speed and good on-ice awareness. </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">USA Blue</h2>



<p><strong>#36</strong> <strong>Gabe Perreault, LW (New York Rangers):</strong> Mark my words: Perreault is going to rip apart the World Juniors in the winter. It’s not that bold of a prediction by any means, but this kid just wants the puck, knows what to do with it and makes it happen. He had two goals playing alongside Boston College teammates James Hagens and Ryan Leonard, with his long-time chemistry with Leonard shining through, as expected.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="194"></div>



<p><strong>#10 Oliver Moore, C (Chicago Blackhawks):</strong> If I wanted a young hockey player to learn about skating and work ethic, I’d show them Oliver Moore clips. No matter the game, no matter the score, no matter the situation, he gives it his all out there. I still can’t believe the Hawks got him when they did because a player as versatile and difficult to play against as he deserved to go so much higher. His goal that made it 7-0 was pretty, and he scored that because of his speed.</p>



<p><strong>#14 Max Plante, LW (Detroit Red Wings):</strong> I wanted Plante to shoot the puck so much more than he did last year, so it felt good to see him score on his first shot of the game. He also nabbed an assist in a great first game against U-20 competition. I was higher on Plante than many others last year because of how well he passes the puck, but I’m glad we saw him get a few dangerous chances of his own, too.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="173"></div>



<p><strong>#2 Adam Kleber, D (Buffalo Sabres): </strong>Between some big hits, great defensive plays and some nice puck touches, I thought Kleber looked solid today. And that’s not a surprise, given how much I loved him at Sabres camp a few weeks back. He’s so competitive and he’s full of confidence, and he’s an absolute pain in the butt to get past. He was paired with Paul Fischer today, who took on more of the stay-at-home duties while Kleber continued to explore his offensive side.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sweden</h2>



<p><strong>#21 Zeb Forsfjäll, C (Seattle Kraken): </strong>It was hard to give anyone their flowers here, but at least Forsfjäll brought speed and energy to every shift. He could have easily backed down in the latter stages of the game when it was clearly a crapshoot, but he kept forechecking and keeping Augustine on his toes. I’ve had a love-hate relationship watching Forsfjäll the past few years, but I thought he played well enough here.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="158"></div>



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John Whipple and Melvin Fernstrom (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)