Mutryn skated for several teams within the NTDP program in his draft year, amassing 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points and 89 PIM in 62 games for the U18 team, while also recording 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 25 USHL games.

Mutryn was drafted by Seattle in the 2nd round (38th overall) of the 2026 NHL Draft.

Casey Mutryn is just a really funny player. From his first shift the vibe I got of the RHC was just pure, unadulterated, frenetic energy. Unless he was defending in zone, or roaming in the slot for a scoring chance, the guy was just go, go, go. He’s such a high pace player for his size, my first reaction immediately went to Josh Anderson, but he seems to lean passer far more than shooter. He’s an explosive skater, who has tons of confidence carrying the puck through the neutral zone but almost immediately defers to a teammate as soon as he crosses the offensive blue line.

DRAFTPRO – 2024 U17 World Challenge Review

After losing to Canada White in the semifinals, in a game that showcased a Swedish team with no quit, scoring a goal with one second remaining to make the final 6-4, they went into the bronze medal game versus the USA with a chip on their shoulders. They were on their heels, with the Americans in control of the pace of play for the first 40 minutes of play. Yet, they exchanged scoring chances and goals with the US squad. In the third, however, Sweden began to push the Americans back, and took control of the pace, taking a one-goal lead late into the period. With less than four minutes remaining, team USA seemed to find new life, attacking Sweden relentlessly. With under two minutes left, and the goaltender pulled, Casey Mutryn was able to tie the game for the USA, taking it into overtime. Despite the late push by the Americans, Sweden made short work of them in overtime, as Elton Hermansson played the hero scoring the bronze medal-winning goal 16 seconds into the extra frame.

Notable Prospects:

Marcus Nordmark, RW (2026):

Nordmark was one of the biggest standouts for Sweden, he finished the tournament with two points per game pace with 5 goals, and 8 points in 4 games. It was his controlled puck movement on the power play that allowed Sweden to be one of the most dangerous offensive teams. The 6’0’’ winger is a shoot-first type of player, while his puck distribution abilities are on par with most of his peers, his strongest asset is his shot, and ability to get to the high danger areas of the ice to employ that weapon. He boasts a powerful and accurate snapshot, but he relies heavily, almost exclusively on his slap shot. He is strong on his skates and has an explosive first few strides. He maintains a wide base, making him hard to push off of the puck and allowing for more control, and he uses hip movements to maintain glide speed while keeping his head up looking for a shooting lane or to make a short pass, especially in a give-and-go scenario. His wide base is just one aspect of his puck protection abilities, he uses body position and reach to protect the puck. He is also highly capable of corralling passes, even in stride. When a pass is off the target he can adjust his feet and stick placement to receive the errant pass on his backhand or off his skates then quickly reset to take a shot in one fluid motion.

Axel Elofsson, RD (2026)

Elofsson fits the mould of a prototypical Swedish puck-moving defenseman. He is a defenseman blessed with excellent hockey sense and confidence. He never looks pressured when he has the puck, he looks like he is in his natural habitat. His shot isn’t overpowering, but he does get it on net through traffic regularly. His ability to lead the transition and his playmaking is what he excels in. He can make a no-look pass through tight seams, and use his skillful skating techniques, such as tight turns and pivots, to generate the openings he needs to get the puck to a teammate in motion with an accurate pass. He can take over a game in the offensive zone. The knock on Elofsson is his defensive game and size. He gets caught up ice at times and works hard to get back to his position as quickly as possible. He does well in one-on-ones as he uses his feet and stick positioning to maintain a good gap and angle forwards to the outside where he isn’t usually beat with speed. But his size is an issue as he does get knocked off pucks by larger opponents and he has difficulty defending the net front as well, two areas of his game that will need improvement.

Elton Hermansson, RW (2026):

The 6’1’’ 176lbs Elton Hermansson is one of the top scorers in Sweden in his age group. His skating lacks an explosive pop in the first few steps, but his top speed is excellent once he gets going. He is strong on his skates, making it difficult on defenders to knock him off the puck, he also has good edgework, and he can make direction changes, or stop-ups quickly to create space for himself. He is an exceptional puck handler, as he makes plays at top speed, is a threat in any one-on-one and can deftly corral any pass that comes within reach. He is creative with the puck as well, using deceptive body language and no-look passes to place an accurate pass through tight seems. But it is his shot that is his biggest weapon. He has a heavy and accurate shot. His shot toolkit is well stocked with catch and release, one-timers and a deceptively quick release on his snap and wrist shots. His hockey IQ is on display with an entrenched ability to separate from his checker, and then reappear in an open space in a high-danger area ready to accept a pass. Defensively he can position himself well and does backcheck, but there is room to develop this aspect of his overall game.

Viggo Bjorck, C (2026)

Viggo Bjorck is a prototypical playmaking center. The 5’9’’ 165 lbs forward is clearly a pass-first player, as evidenced by his team lead of five assists (and no goals) at the tournament in as many games. He is a competitive and intelligent playmaking pivot and has the skill set to be projected as a strong middle-six contributor at the NHL level. He will need to add size and start to shoot more often to keep defenders from seeing him as a one-dimensional offensive player.

He’s a cerebral player that can make reads at a high pace, and also predict a defender’s reaction so as to take advantage of any weakness in their game. He can make passes at a high pace of play and showcases some slick puck-handling skills. He’s a strong skater with good technique, and with some added strength can become even more dangerous. He can also be a power play quarterback as he directs traffic from the half-wall and makes efficient use of his time and space to generate scoring chances regularly.

USA (4th)

Team USA entered the tournament with six first-place finishes, nine second-place finishes, and three third place finishes, and has placed in the top three in seven of the last 10 appearances at the Under 17 World Hockey Challenge. Now that the tournament has come to an end it is no surprise that the top hockey powers continued their elite play with Canada White (gold), Canada Red (silver) and Sweden (bronze) medaling, and Team USA finishing fourth. But there were standouts on every roster. Finland was heavily reliant on defence and goaltending; Czechia had a small core of forwards they could lean on. But the top four had an embarrassment of riches at every position.

The USNTDP has become well known for developing high-quality hockey prospects while also being highly competitive, especially internationally, and this roster is no exception. Team USA used a more wide-open system than one would expect. This led to them giving up more goals than they scored over the five games played over the week-long tournament. The team was constructed to generate a quick strike offence, but that came at the expense of a suffocating defensive scheme that we have seen from previous US National teams internationally. Yet, as one of the youngest teams on average, it isn’t surprising to see that their defensive game is still more raw than their opponents.

After losing a one-sided game in the semi-finals to Canada Red, they went into the bronze medal game versus Sweden with a chip on their shoulders. They had control of the pace of play for the first 40 minutes of play, but exchanged scoring chances and goals with the Swedes. In the third, however, Sweden began to push the Americans back, and took control of the pace, taking a one-goal lead late into the period. With less than four minutes remaining, team USA seemed to find new life, attacking Sweden relentlessly. With under two minutes left, and the goaltender pulled, Casey Mutryn was able to tie the game, taking it into overtime. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, a missed opportunity at one end, leads to a goal at the other, and in this case, it was Sweden that was the beneficiary as they scored the bronze medal-winning goal 16 seconds into the extra frame.

Notable Prospects:

Casey Mutryn, RW (2026)

Casey Mutryn has excellent size at 6’1’’ and 172 lbs which he uses to his advantage. His skating has power and explosiveness in straight lines, but he also has excellent footwork and is strong on his skates. He has high-end awareness, using frequent shoulder checks, he sees open ice well, allowing him to read developing plays, and make decisions at high speeds. He is versatile, as he can play up and down the lineup, he is athletic, so he can play at a high pace consistently, and he has a high level of competitiveness, willing to battle for every inch of the ice. Sometimes, that compete does cause him to take penalties. He does use this to get into the high-danger areas where he can exploit any seams.

Mutryn is a fierce competitor, one who is willing to be a bull on the forecheck, throwing hits, engaging in board battles and pushing defenders to act quickly to force misplays. The Instat tracking comparison data is more robust for his USHL games, although that was where he played fewer games. We can still start to see Mutryn’s performance relative to his peers, as he was near the very top in scoring chances per game among USHL forwards (99th percentile) and hits (92nd percentile).

As he heads to Boston College in the fall, we will get a much better picture of his game against stronger, bigger and more experienced competition. His 6-3, 200 lbs frame will help him play his physical game despite the step up in opponents, and we will look to see if he can continue to be a solid playmaker. Mutryn is still raw, and will likely spend several seasons in the NCAA before we see him leap to the AHL, giving us plenty of time to watch his development.

Mutryn’s current power-winger style is enticing in fantasy. When a player’s offensive contributions are borderline replacement level, the fact that he hits a fair amount and generates penalty minutes (where positive) elevates him into ‘strong asset’ territory. Translatability will be the deciding factor if he can become an effective NHLer, and our first example of that is but a month away. There’s likely an NHLer here reminiscent of Jacob Melanson. Despite being a 50 goal scorer in the QMJHL, Melanson is in the midst of carving out an NHL role based on his physical play.

The passing is hit or miss. There are moments of these beautiful, snappy, cross ice breakout passes to a teammate in motion but like his playstyle, his pass also has a ton of pace to it. Sometimes too much, especially when it’s to a teammate in a close vicinity and it can lead to missed passes, bobbled passes, and icings.

I like the pace with which he plays, but the contact balance at his size just isn’t there. Mutryn will fly in, crashing into bodies, and beating opponents to loose pucks, but it didn’t always translate to winning possession back for his team. He’d often bounce off the opposing player he’s trying to lay into, and if he got to a puck, he was very easily moved off of it by smaller players. He’s a big player with super explosive skating that wants to play physical but hasn’t figured out the speed to power conversion just yet.

There’s a bit of real nastiness to Mutryn’s game, which would instantly make him a fan favourite if he finds a way to make it to the NHL, but there are some discipline concerns in my viewings, particularly when he gets frustrated. There’s lots of ironing out to do, and he hasn’t shown me much as a puck handler or net front presence given his size, but there are enough projectable traits to work with.

Overall, a fun, pacey player who clearly has a vision of how he wants to play… but the execution hasn’t been there.