Otters' Spence ready to show CHL's dominance at Prospects Challenge
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Malcolm Spence is looking to prove that the Canadian Hockey League is the dominant development system when the best NHL-eligible prospects from the CHL take on the U.S. National Under-18 Team at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge beginning on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old Erie Otters winger is going into the two-game series knowing that it will be another chapter in the long-standing hockey rivalry between Canada and the United States.
“I know it’s really the CHL, but a lot of guys are looking at it as Canada versus the U.S.,” said Spence. “The CHL and USA Hockey want to prove that their junior league is the best. We think the CHL is the No. 1 junior league in the world but we’re looking over there at the U.S. National Development Program, who have had a lot of success in past years.
“I think it’s cool that they transformed [the annual prospects game] into a more competitive thing where they have us in a group rather than just playing each other. We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure we come out on top in those games and try to prove a point.”
Traditionally, the United States and Canada have not been able to send their best players to events at the same time due to the timing of their schedules.
USA Hockey puts out their best roster at the Under-18 World Championship when the CHL playoffs are ongoing, while Canada sends their top NHL prospects to the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup at a time when the United States’ U18 team is changing over their roster.
“It’s kind of cool we get to have the opportunity to play them because you’re used to playing the same guys in the OHL,” said Spence. “We have a lot of guys who were lucky to play for Canada and still not have a chance to play against [this particular] USA team. It’s nice for us to play competition that we don’t get to see all the time.”
Spence has been a key part of Canada’s victories at the under-18 level over the past two years. He recorded two goals and five points to help Canada win gold at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
The 6-foot-2 winger also served as an alternate captain for Team Canada at the Under-18 World Championship last April, recording three goals and seven points in a gold-medal winning performance.
Spence has been able to share those major moments with Otters teammate Matthew Schaefer and the two are going to be teammates once again at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge.
“I find it really special to have someone to go through [these things] with, it makes you feel less alone to have someone with you,” said Spence. “Off the ice he’s one of my best friends and it’s been nice to go through the process with him. He’s a different person than me who’s going to have a different path, but it’s nice to go through some of the same obstacles together.”
Spence is in the process of another strong season with the Otters that has him third on his team in scoring with 11 goals and 29 points in 22 games. He has helped Erie to fourth in the OHL’s Western Conference with a 13-6-3 record.
Going into his draft year, Spence had the luxury of picking the mind of Washington Capitals forward Dylan Strome on what the draft process is like and some of the trials and tribulations he gone through during his draft year.
“Strome played in Erie and had some of the same coaches so it’s nice to have someone who’s been in a similar situation with the same team,” said Spence. “[Erie] was a good team as well in his draft year so it was nice to pick his brain to see what his challenges were when he went through it and to see what went well and what didn’t.”
Spence understands there are pressures on him personally heading towards the 2025 NHL Draft, but his focus is on team success rather. He believes that if the team is successful, he will be taken care of individually at the end of the day.
“I spent time doing the typical things in the summer like getting bigger faster and stronger, but I’m approaching it like any other year,” said Spence. “The biggest thing is our team in Erie, which is really good. I think we made some strides this year and can really do some damage.
“Usually, team success leads to individual success for each guy on the team so I’m just trying to trend towards that.”