Welcome to The Athletic’s daily notebook for the 2026 World Juniors. All tournament long, prospects writers Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman will provide their standouts and takeaways from each day’s slate of games in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

That kicked off on Boxing Day with a four-pack of games featuring the tournament’s presumptive top five teams and a rematch of last year’s Canada-Czechia quarterfinal.

Sweden defeated Slovakia 3-2, with a late goal from top draft eligible Ivar Stenberg elevating the Swedes.
Finland topped Denmark 6-2. Wild prospect and team captain Aron Kiviharju registered two assists and was named player of the game for the Finns. Projected first-rounder Oliver Suvanto also scored.
USA beat Germany 6-3. Bruins prospect Will Zellers, who was a late addition to the team, scored two goals and three points.
Canada and Czechia traded leads in the best game of the day, with Canada narrowly prevailing 7-5.
Blackhawks’ Frondell leads Sweden to opening win

Anton Frondell, Chicago’s pick at No. 3 in the 2025 NHL Draft, was instrumental in Sweden’s Boxing Day victory. He blasted a one-timer for Sweden’s opening goal and set up Victor Eklund (Islanders), both on the power play. He played hard and was constantly around the offensive attack. Eklund was also quite good, showing his trademark tenacity that has scouts thinking he can help an NHL team even with his smaller frame. — Corey Pronman

Finns will be by committee 

Finland is the only team other than Canada that had a player withheld by their NHL team this year, and without would-be first-line center Konsta Helenius (Sabres), this group is lacking a star. On Friday, all four of their lines scored, and they got four points from the back end via Kiviharju and Lasse Boelius (Ducks). Their defensemen can all move the puck, and they’re returning last year’s goalie of the tournament, Petteri Rimpinen (Kings). They also have some really well-rounded 19-year-old forwards, and Suvanto continues to look like one of the better center prospects in the class. Everyone’s going to beat Denmark this year, but it was a game that looked like a typical Finnish one at this thing to get things going. — Scott Wheeler

USA wins surprisingly close game over Germany

The U.S. got a group scoring effort today, with two goals from Zellers, and one apiece from Cole Eiserman (Islanders), Will Horcoff (Penguins), Max Plante (Red Wings) and Chase Reid (2026). The forwards did their part, even if the U.S. will want a bit more at even strength from their star players.

The defense pair of Cole Hutson (Capitals) and Adam Kleber (Sabres) was excellent. Hutson showed his typical skill and playmaking, and Kleber was a legit stopper, breaking up a lot of plays. The defensive play outside of those two was lacking. The USA coaches will have a hard time getting reliable minutes from the bottom half of their defense group in the tough games if they play like this going forward. Logan Hensler (Senators), a returnee and first-round NHL draft pick, in particular, had notable struggles against an average German team. — Pronman

Canada wins an ugly one

On the back of two big plays from Canada’s game-breaking defenseman — a player they missed on their blue line after Matthew Schaefer was injured in the Boxing Day opener last year — Zayne Parekh (Flames), Canada pulled out the back-and-forth win.

It wasn’t pretty, though. Canada’s bottom-six forward group struggled. Their offensive-zone play was too cute. Their defensive-zone coverage was sloppy, resulting in a ton of Grade A chances in the slot for the Czechs, often with backs turned and guys scrambling to find the puck. Until Tij Iginla (Mammoth) took a Michael Misa (Sharks) pass off an entry, I thought that line with Porter Martone (Flyers), which is supposed to be Canada’s first, was largely quiet (even with the goal, I didn’t like their game).

The one constant for Team Canada through pre-tournament and into Boxing Day has been the play of their second line with Gavin McKenna (2026), Michael Hage (Canadiens) and Brady Martin (Predators). Each had multi-point games in the opener, and I thought Hage was Canada’s best forward. — Wheeler

Czechs look legit (again)

I thought Vojtech Cihar (Kings) was one of the best players on the ice. He was recently signed to his entry-level contract, is still 18 and eligible to play in next year’s tournament, and looked like someone who has played pro hockey for the last two years. He was noticeable shift-to-shift at five-on-five, effective on the penalty kill, and had a hand in Czechia’s second, third and fifth goals. Wild fans in attendance got a look at the creativity and vision of prospect Adam Benak, too — and so did three of his Brantford Bulldogs teammates from the other side of the ice. The mobility of this Czech blue line was noticeable throughout, too, led by the elite-skating undrafted Tomas Galvas (who I thought was outstanding). And that’s without their highest-drafted player, Sabres No. 8 pick Radim Mrtka, who was sidelined with an injury he suffered in pre-tournament.

The Czechs have medaled in three straight tournaments and been to four straight medal games, and they look like they’ll be in the mix for a fifth year in a row again. — Wheeler

Day 2 schedule

Here’s your schedule for Dec. 27 (all times in local Central Time):

Slovakia vs. Germany in St. Paul at 1 p.m. Canada vs. Latvia in Minneapolis at 3:30 p.m.USA vs. Switzerland in St. Paul at 5 p.m.Czechia vs. Denmark in Minneapolis at 7:30 p.m.