Nazar showing he's healthy, productive at World Junior Summer Showcase

PLYMOUTH, Mich. --Frank Nazar couldn't remember the last time he scored four goals in a game.

It might be summer hockey, but the Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect said it's a nice step toward building his confidence for the season.

The 19-year-old had four goals and an assist in USA White's 10-1 win against Sweden at the 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena on Monday.

"Scoring four goals, you don't do it often so obviously it feels good," he said. "I got set up pretty nicely by my teammates, so I've got to thank them a lot for it. Obviously, the finishing part was there but they set me up pretty nice on some of those."

Nazar missed the first four months of his freshman season at the University of Michigan because of an undisclosed injury. He made his season debut Feb. 10 and had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 13 games, but said now he really feels like himself again.

"At the end of [last season], it was pretty close, but it wasn't quite all there," he said. "Obviously it was just getting up to game speed. But throughout the summer I've had a ton of good training sessions and I'm starting to feel more confident leading into this weekend, so I'd say it's a pretty good confidence booster going into next year."

Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg Jets), who played with Nazar at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and last season at Michigan, said his teammate looks like himself again.

"It's good for him to get that confidence back," McGroarty said. "He was big for us at the end of the year, but it's tough to hop into playoff hockey when you've been injured the whole year. Tonight was kind of his coming back party and I'm so happy for him. He deserves it. He's going to be big for us next year."

Nazar is hoping to parlay his good health to a good start to the season at Michigan and a spot with the United States on the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship team.

"The speed, the skill, he wants to be on the ice," United States coach David Carle said. "He executed at a really high level, scored in different ways tonight, which was great to see. We're very happy with him so far."

Nazar is just happy to be healthy at the start of a season.

"I was just talking with the Michigan guys and I was basically saying how this is my sophomore year but on the ice it's basically like my freshman year," he said. "I'm just going to go into it looking at it like that and try to build a good spot on the team and try to play good role."

Kiiskinen expected to be OK

Finland forward Jesse Kiiskinen (Nashville Predators) was held out of the final two periods of a 4-1 loss to USA Blue for precautionary reasons, according to coach Lauri Mikkola.

Kiiskinen was skating with the puck in the neutral zone when he was hit by USA Blue defenseman Seamus Casey (New Jersey Devils). Mikkola said he believes Kiiskinen sustained a jaw injury on the hit.

Mikkola said there was no thought of putting Kiiskinen back into the game, mostly because of the time of year.

"We are always caring for our guys," Mikkola said. "If they don't feel like they're 100 percent then they are out."

Smith and Perreault rekindle relationship

William Smith (San Jose Sharks) and Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers) didn't need much time to rediscover their record-setting chemistry.

Smith had two assists and Perreault had a goal and an assist while playing on the same line for USA Blue against Finland.

Perreault set the NTDP record with 132 points (53 goals, 79 assists) in 63 games for the Under-18 team. Smith was second with 127 points (51 goals, 76 assists) in 60 games.

"We've been playing together for so long," Perreault said. "And we're also really good buddies off the ice, so I think all those things kind of connect back to it."

They set up a goal by linemate Gavin Brindley (Columbus Blue Jackets) in the first period, and then Smith found an open Perreault for a power-play goal in the second.

"It felt good to be back together," Smith said. "We executed on those two, but we were just worried about winning more."

Smith and Perreault have been roommates during the WJSS, giving them a good chance to see what life will be like in a few weeks when they become roommates at Boston College.

"He's a fun roommate, always watching shows and having fun, joking around," Perreault said. "He's a really fun kid to be around, so I'm happy he's my roommate."

U.S. gets offensive

After scoring two goals in two games Saturday, Carle said it was good timing that the focus of practice Sunday for the U.S. was on offensive fundamentals.

Clearly the players were listening while the two teams combined for 14 goals Monday.

"I thought we executed better but we expected that," Carle said. "Second game in the summertime, another ice session under their belt. We gave them some things to work on and try clean things up. Certainly, the execution offensively was much better tonight. But I think it started a lot with our structure and then being able to break out and get some more clean exits and clean entries and puck possession because we were more connected coming up the ice. And then we were able to bury our chances that we got. It was nice to see from both groups."

Among the most impressive lines was one that featured McGroarty at left wing, Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers) at center and Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) at right wing. Gauthier scored two goals, Leonard had a goal and an assist and McGroarty had three assists.

"I thought it was their puck pressure," Carle said. "They stayed on pucks, they created turnovers and they got the puck back inside the dots quickly when that happened and were able to execute offensively. With that group it started with their puck-pressure game."