International hockey returns to Plymouth beginning on Election Day

Some of the best hockey players for the 2023 NHL Draft will compete for five days at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth beginning on Election Day.

The Under-18 Five Nations Tournament will kick off on Tuesday when Team USA faces Czechia, which produced the top two players at the 2022 NHL Draft (Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens and Simon Nemec of the New Jersey Devils).

USA Hockey's team features the high-scoring line of projected U18 NTDP first-rounders Will Smith, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault. Smith leads the team with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 15 games followed by Perreault with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 15 games and Leonard with 21 points (13 goals, eight assists) in 13 games.

Smith, Leonard, Perreault and teammate Oliver Moore were A-rated players on Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list released on Oct. 25. Also on the A-rated list and expected to play in the Five Nations Tournament are Sweden's Otto Stenberg and Axel Sandin Pellikka.

The U.S. will also face Finland on Wednesday, Switzerland on Friday and Sweden on Saturday. All U.S. games begin at 7 p.m. Earlier games start at 3:30 p.m.

Day passes provide entry to both games on a given day. Tickets for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are $15 and $20 for Friday and Saturday. A weekly pass is $60.

The Five Nations marks the first international tournament played at USA Hockey Arena since the U17 Four Nations in December 2018, when Team USA took home a second-place finish. 

Five Nations schedule

(All games at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth)

Tuesday, Nov. 8

Finland vs. Switzerland, 3:30 p.m.

USA vs. Czechia, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 9

Sweden vs. Switzerland, 3:30 p.m.

USA vs. Finland, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 10

Sweden vs. Finland, 3:30 p.m.

Switzerland vs. Czechia, 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11

Czechia vs. Sweden, 3:30 p.m.

USA vs. Switzerland, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12

Czechia vs. Finland, 3:30 p.m.

USA vs. Sweden, 7 p.m.