As the National Hockey League prepares to enter the holiday break, the Detroit Red Wings find themselves sitting in the playoff picture with just over half a season to go. The Red Wings have seen four players who were drafted and developed make their NHL debuts this season in Emmitt Finnie, Nate Danielson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Axel Sandin-Pellikka. 

Starting on Boxing Day in Minnesota, the famous World Junior Championship kicks off, a tournament that Danielson, Brandsegg-Nygård and Sandin-Pellikka all recently took part in. Danielson skated with Canada, and Brandsegg-Nygård played for Norway at the 2024 World Juniors in Sweden. Sandin-Pellikka was a three-time World Junior, playing in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 tournaments. 

Many other Red Wings prospects who are currently at different levels of development played in their own World Juniors whether it was Trey Augustine who is at Michigan State, Anton Johansson who is playing in the Swedish Hockey League with Leksands IF or Ondrej Becher who is in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins, this tournament has become a must watch for hockey fans around the world. 

This year, the Red Wings will be sending five prospects to Minnesota to compete in the 2026 World Junior Championship. 

Team USA

Max Plante will be skating in his second straight World Juniors when USA kicks off their 2026 tournament against Germany on Boxing Day. The former second-round pick in 2024 is off to a strong campaign at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, having posted 16 goals and 14 assists across 20 games. Plante leads all Collegiate players in points with 30 and has helped lead Minnesota-Duluth to number five overall in the NCAA rankings. 

At last year’s tournament in Ottawa, Plante posted one goal and two assists over six games en route to a championship for the Americans. Plante will look to play a bigger role at this year’s tournament after putting together a great first half at Minnesota-Duluth. 

Plante is a Duluth, Minnesota native, giving him extra motivation to perform in front of his home state’s crowd. 

Team Canada

Carter Bear will be skating in his first World Juniors when Canada opens the tournament with a matchup against Czechia on Boxing Day. Bear was the Red Wings’ first- round pick in June at the 2025 draft.

Selected 13th overall, Bear has posted 13 goals and 14 assists across 23 games. Bear tore his achilles tendon last March and worked his way back into game action early in the Western Hockey League’s season. Bear currently sits tied for fifth on his WHL team, the Everett Silvertips. 

In his draft season, Bear totaled 40 goals and 42 assists, in a season that Red Wings can be excited about as Bear continues to grow as a player.

Bear was scratched in Team Canada’s final pre-tournament game against Sweden, meaning he may have to work his way into the lineup as the tournament progresses. 

Team Sweden

Another player from Detroit’s 2025 draft class, Eddie Genborg, was selected in the second round, 44th overall. Genborg is currently in his second season playing in the Swedish Hockey League. In Genborg’s draft year, the forward posted two goals in 28 games in his first year at the professional level.

Genborg has taken a big step in his second year after switching from Linköpings HC to Timrå IK, having posted eight goals and seven assists in 26 games. 

The 6-foot-1 forward will try and help Sweden break its dreaded gold medal curse as they haven’t been champions since the 2012 tournament in Calgary. 

Team Slovakia

The Red Wings will be sending two players to Team Slovakia for the 2026 World Juniors. Goaltender Michal Pradel, who the Red Wings selected in 2025 in the third round, will be tasked with helping Slovakia break its medal drought. 

Pradel was selected by the Red Wings in the third round, 75th overall in 2025. Currently in his second season with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League, Pradel has posted a 9-9-3 record, 2.46 goals-against average and a 0.916 save percentage. Pradel is tied for the USHL lead with three shutouts. 

Pradel was recently named USHL Player of the Week after posting back-to-back shutouts against the Muskegon Lumberjacks, for the week of Dec. 8 to Dec. 14, giving Pradel momentum as he prepares to head to Minnesota. 

Joining Pradel on Team Slovakia is Red Wings’ fourth round pick in 2025, Michal Svrcek. Svrcek started the season with Brynas Jr. in the Swedish Junior League, where the forward posted six goals and eight assists through nine games before moving up to the Swedish-1 League. Through six games, Svrcek has failed to register a point. 

In Slovakia’s pre-tournament game against Latvia on Dec. 21, Svrcek skated on the team’s top line alongside Alex Gaso and Alex Misiak. Svrcek is one of only four drafted players to play for Slovakia at the 2026 World Juniors.Â