The 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase takes place this year in Plymouth, Michigan, the home of the United States National Team Development Program. The tournament runs from July 29 to August 4 and features four teams Sweden, Finland, and two USA teams split into USA Blue and USA White. Each team will play four games through the week-long event.
The Canucks have three prospects playing in the tournament:
Jackson Dorrington (USA White)
Hunter Brzustewicz (USA Blue)
Elias Pettersson (Sweden)

Game 1: USA Blue vs Finland

Today’s first game on the slate was Team USA Blue versus Team Finland. Canucks prospect Hunter Brzustewicz was situated on the third pairing with Jake Livanavage.
USA Blue started on the right track, it Oliver Moore (Chicago Blackhawks) with a good pass from behind to Gavin Hayes, who found Paul Fischer for the 1-0 lead. Not long after, Will Smith (San Jose Sharks) found Gavin Brindley in front to make it 2-0. American defenceman Seamus Casey then blew up Finnish forward Jesse Kiiskinen.
USA’s top line strikes again. This time, Brindley found Smith making it 3-0 USA Blue in the second. However, Finnish forward Leeni Hameenaho dazzled through the Americans’ defence-making and scored a beautiful goal to cut the lead to two. James Hagens then made a couple of quick jukes, and Danny Nelson was on the doorstep for the rebound.
That was the game’s final goal; Dorrington and USA Blue take it 4-1.

Game 2: USA White vs Sweden

The second game on the skate was Team USA White versus Team Sweden. This game featured Canucks prospect Jackson Dorrington on the fourth pairing for the Americans and Elias Pettersson, aka D-Petey, on the second pairing for the Swedes.
After a defeat on Saturday, USA White took the ice by storm in the first period. First, it was Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) firing home a feed from Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg Jets) to make it 1-0. Then US forward Charlie Stramel (Minnesota Wild) laid a monster hit on—Sweden forward Oskar Pettersson (Ottawa Senators), who went to the locker room immediately.
Then it was the dazzling Lane Hutson (Montreal Canadiens) evading the opposition to find William Whitelaw, who made it 2-0. American defenceman Eric Pohlkamp blasts a shot home from the point to make it three zip USA White. But wait, Hutson does it again, outworking the Swedes down low, and pulls it between his legs before firing home a wrist shot, arguably the most excellent goal he has ever scored.
Swedens Anton Johansson (Detroit Red Wings) fired home a shot on the powerplay to make it 6-1, which rounded out 40 minutes of action.
The Americans came out hard in the third and didn’t let off the gas, and it was Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers) flying out of the penalty box, getting control of the puck and ripping it home. Hutson then fed Frank Nazar (Chicago Blackhawks) to make it 8-1, and the onslaught continued as Gauthier recorded his second goal of the evening. But the Americans weren’t finished; Nazar records his fourth goal of the evening and makes it 10-1.
After coming off a 7-0 victory over USA White on Saturday, D-Petey and the Swedes just didn’t give their best effort tonight, which resulted in the massacre on the scoreboard.