Marco Kasper

Rögle Ängelholm have a few young stars on their roster that could see themselves skating on North American rinks in the near future and one of those youngsters is 17-year-old forward Marco Kasper.

In six CHL contests, the Austrian-born centre has been extremely productive for Rögle, notching two goals and four helpers for six points. Kasper’s six points are tied for second on the team.

The agile forward is in his second season with the professional club after spending time in Rögle’s junior leagues and is currently ranked as high as 20th in next year’s draft. Additionally, Kasper's 63 assists earned him the EBJL Most Assists award during the 2018/19 season and he also claimed the SHL silver medal during the 2020/21 season.

Danjo Leonhardt

ICE club Red Bull Salzburg had little trouble advancing past the Group Stage. Excellent goaltending, disciplined defensive play, and an offense that could find the net provided the Austrian club with exactly what they needed to move on to the Round of 16.

Part of that offensive outburst was 19-year-old Danjo Leonhardt. Leonhardt's resume includes time in the German, Austrian, and even Czech leagues before joining Salzburg during the 2020/21 season.

Before suiting up for Salzburg, the German-born forward played for RB Hockey Juniors in the AlpsHL where he tallied 35 points in 32 games. He's also found his scoring touch in the CHL, albeit, not at such a frenzied pace just yet, recording three goals and one assist for four points which is good for sixth place in scoring.

Going forward, look for Leonhardt to be a key contributor to a club that has had an already promising campaign.

Jimi Suomi

If you’re looking for a deft defenceman with a puck-moving mentality, then look no further than Jimi Suomi of TPS Turku. The 18-year-old Espoo, Finland native is an offensive-minded D-man who can man the powerplay and produce breakouts with aplomb.

Unfortunately for Suomi, a poor performance from Turku in this year’s CHL meant that the young blueliner's talents were on limited display. Consequently, of the five games he did play in, he only managed one assist. But while the numbers aren't there in the CHL, in other leagues, Suomi has performed as advertised.

So far this season, the 178 cm 70 kg blueliner has notched 14 points in seven games for Turku’s U20 and continues to split time between the U20 club and the professional league. Suomi was ranked #52 by NHL Central Scouting coming into this year's draft.

Tobias Ancicka

Tobias Ancicka of Eisbären Berlin got off to a bit of an unlucky start in this year’s CHL, dropping a 5:4 decision to Tappara Tampere in OT. In his next two starts, however, the young netminder found his footing pulling off two huge victories over Swiss side HC Lugano to finish Berlin’s 2021/22 campaign with some pride.

His first win was a 6:3 final that saw Anicicka make some timely saves as Berlin's offense went to work, while his second came in a 4:2 contest, where the 186 cm German netminder put on a show in Switzerland stopping 30 of 32 shots.  

In 2019, The 20-year-old from Heilbronn, Germany was praised as a top prospect by NHL Central Scouting when he was projected to go as high as #7 in the NHL Entry Draft.

Despite their disappointing early exit, Ancicka has already tasted success with Berlin in their domestic league, winning the DEL championship in 2020/21. 

So far, he's off to an excellent start in the DEL, sporting a 2-1 record, including one shutout, with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.

That's our pick of the best young bloods of the Group Stage, but who do you think takes home the ultimate Young Star crown? Get voting!