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2026 IIHF World Junior Championship

World Juniors Notebook: Canada Got By On Talent, Sweden's Nasty Power Play

World Juniors Notebook: Canada Got By On Talent, Sweden's Nasty Power Play

Canada looked human, Sweden's power play is scary and USA is still figuring things out. Chris Peters shares his takeaways from Day 1 at the WJC.

Dec 27, 2025 by Chris Peters
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ST. PAUL – The first day of the World Junior Championship provided some uneasiness for the top teams. Sweden needed a late goal to beat Slovakia, USA kept letting Germany hang around and Canada went back and forth with Czechia. Finland had no trouble with Denmark, but as is the case on opening day, there’s plenty that can be learned from it.

FloHockey will be on the ground at the World Juniors all week, covering the tournament. Occasionally, I’ll pop in here with some thoughts based on what I’ve seen at the event I’ve been covering extensively for the last 15 years now. 

Here are some of my key takeaways from Day 1 of the World Junior Championship.

Canada Is Human, But Talent Can Still Win Out

If you were to ask Dale Hunter his truest thoughts after Canada’s 7-5 win over Czechia, my guess is he’d tell you he wasn’t happy. But coaches will couch this early in the tournament. What I thought Canada’s opener showed was two things: They’re human, maybe not the unstoppable wagon they’ve been billed to be, and their talent still carried them anyway.

The win over Czechia was by no means pretty, but Canada had more skill and more depth of skill and that in the end won out. Czechs did not get the goaltending they needed in that game, but you also have to give credit to the skill and puck movement Canada displayed throughout.

Both of Zayne Parekh’s (CGY) goals were NHL-release goals. A lot of goalies aren’t stopping those shots, especially with the traffic that was created in front. Tij Iginla’s drag and shoot was picture perfect and Ethan MacKenzie’s eventual game-winner was well-placed. Canada's ability to score is not going to be questioned. Their ability to defend adequately however is going to be something that they have to work on significantly as the tournament progresses.

I don’t think Canada will be thrilled with the overall performance, but there’s going to be a lot of comfort in the fact that the skill level of this team man to man is potentially better than last year’s, which is a good thing.

USA’s Blue Line Is A Work In Progress

Team USA had beaten Germany 8-1 in a pre-tournament game, but at one point was ahead only 4-3 against that same Germany team in the second period of a World Junior game. The Americans are still trying to figure out exactly what they’re going to be and they haven’t even really settled on lines.

The blue line was a known issue coming into the tournament with some concerns about the overall depth. That showed a bit in the game against Germany. All three goals scored by Germany came with the third defensive pairing on the ice. Logan Hensler (OTT), a returnee from last year’s team and a first-round draft pick, had a couple of pretty tough shifts and was on for all three goals against. Meanwhile, Asher Barnett (EDM) was out for two goals against and Dakoda-Rheaume Mullen was out for one. 

Team USA is going to lean heavily on its top pairing of Cole Hutson (WSH) and Adam Kleber (BUF) who were excellent throughout the tame. Hutson played over 24 minutes in the contest, which is probably more than they wanted to play him against Germany.

Meanwhile, the second pairing of Luke Osburn (BUF) and Chase Reid (2026) were solid, but had a few more tense shifts. Also, Osburn started on the second power play, before they moved to Reid later in the game. That battle may be ongoing as USA’s power play was a trouble spot for both units.

I’d expect we’ll see E.J. Emery (NYR) draw in to USA’s lineup to give a different look on the blue line and see what happens from there, but USA’s D structure outside of the top pairing remains a work in progress.

Sweden’s Power Play Is Nasty

Sweden won 3-2 against the Slovaks and two of the three goals came on the power play, both scored by their top unit. Sweden’s first power play group is one of the better ones we’ll see in this tournament, if not the best.

Anton Frondell (CHI) is lethal from the right circle. His shot is such a weapon and teams have to respect it. He scored on a one-timer and then was able to open things up for a perfect pass to Victor Eklund (NYI) for their second goal.

Sweden’s first unit is Frondell on the right flank, Eklund down low, Jack Berglund (PHI) at the netfront, Alfons Freij (WPG) at the point and Ivar Stenberg (2026) on the left flank, often circling to create chances coming downhill. 

Having an elite power play has been one of the keys to this tournament. Many teams that have had the No. 1 power play in the World Juniors wins gold. This could be a major driving force for a Swedish team with legitimate gold-medal aspirations.

Czechia Is A Legit Medal Threat

The Czechs took it to Canada and at times were the better team. They needed a few more saves than they got and that could be the story for the tournament if they fall outside of the medals. They had Michael Hrabal for the last two years, who was a massive difference maker in net. Their current goalies aren’t at that level, but if they even play average, they could put the Czechs in a great position.

The fact that Czechia was able to put five goals past Carter George was impressive. Their top six is as good as any in this tournament, quite frankly. And their defense stood up well with Adam Jiricek (STL) looking especially good as the team’s No. 1 D. The fact they played as well as they did without a top-10 pick in Radim Mrtka (BUF), who could join the team later in the tournament if he heals up, says a lot about the quality of that group.

This is a team that both the U.S. and Sweden should be looking to avoid in the quarterfinals. That is not a team you want to see with momentum and perhaps a top-four defenseman back in a single-elimination game.

Finland Has Some Pieces To Compete

Finland is missing a big piece from their roster without Konsta Helenius (BUF) made available, but they’re moving on without him and they’ve got some good options in the mix. They earned a comfortable 6-2 win over Denmark and we’ll see how they fare in some tougher tests including a New Year’s Eve date with Canada.

Mr. Showtime Petteri Rimpinen (LAK) allowed two goals on just 10 shots, but that had to be a hard game for a goalie. I’m not worried about Finland’s No. 1 guy. He’s among the better goalies in the tournament and should have his best as the tournament progresses.

Centers Aatos Koivu (MTL) and Oliver Suvanto (2026) each scored in the game and they’re both going to have to step up big in the absence of Helenius. Meanwhile, two-time captain Aron Kiviharju (MIN) had two assists and led defensemen in ice time. I expect he’ll see an awful lot of ice in the bigger games.

Finland is always a tough out and they probably have just enough, but they could really use Julius Miettinen (SEA), who hasn’t been registered yet as he deals with being nicked up. If he can return, that’s a big piece for this team.

Saturday At The World Juniors

  • 2:00 p.m. ET - Slovakia vs Germany
  • 4:30 p.m. ET - Latvia vs Canada *Live Updates*
  • 6:00 p.m. ET - USA vs Switzerland *Live Updates*
  • 8:30 p.m. ET - Denmark vs Czechia

2026 World Junior Championship Teams

View the list of teams, by group, for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Group A

  • USA
  • Germany
  • Switzerland
  • Sweden
  • Slovakia

Group B

  • Canada
  • Czechia
  • Latvia
  • Denmark
  • Finland

Follow FloHockey's Coverage Of The 2026 World Junior Championship

FloHockey will be on site for complete coverage of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can expect game-by-game coverage of both Team USA and Team Canada from FloHockey's experts, interviews with key players and coaches and much more. Follow FloHockey's WJC coverage here.

NHL Prospect Coverage On FloHockey

The best, and most complete, coverage of the NHL minor league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don't miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.

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