The 2026 World Junior Championship has gotten off to a fantastic start through the opening four days, especially for the Chicago Blackhawks.
All three Blackhawks prospects participating in the tournament have been among the best players for their respective countries during the preliminary round. All three are also well-positioned to advance into the quarterfinals, which begin on Jan. 2, 2026.
Two countries remain perfect at the World Juniors, with three regulation wins in as many games — Sweden and the United States. For the Swedes, Blackhawks 2025 No. 3 overall pick Anton Frondell has been dynamite to remain unbeaten. For the Americans, 2024 third-round pick AJ Spellacy has provided a massive spark down in the lineup to help match Sweden with nine points. Both recorded multi-point efforts on Monday to help their countries earn key victories.
Sweden Topples Germany
Monday’s set of games opened with a tilt between Sweden and Germany. Frondell, who played left wing on the top line once again, had another monstrous showing to help the Swedes come away with a commanding 8-1 win.
As he did on Friday, Frondell opened the scoring in the first period with a blistering one-timer from the right circle on the power play. The strength that the 18-year-old generates with his shot has Blackhawks fans salivating. It’s Frondell’s second goal and fourth point of the tournament.
Later on in the game, Frondell rocketed another one-timer into a yawning cage for his second goal of the game and third of the World Juniors. That gave Sweden a 6-1 advantage early in the third period. Alfons Freij made two splendid feeds to find Frondell at the right dot for both goals.
Frondell finished the game with two goals and nine shots in 17:05 of ice time. It’s the second time he’s tallied nine shots in Sweden’s opening three matchups. The 18-year-old forward has been among the top players at the World Juniors so far, as he’s tied for seventh with five points.
Sweden has Tuesday off and returns to action next for a prime-time tilt between the United States on New Year’s Eve. The two undefeated squads face off at 5:00 p.m. CT at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul. You’re not going to want to miss that one.
USA Storms Back vs. Slovakia
The United States squared off with Slovakia on Monday night, and the game got off to a rocky start. Slovakia came racing out of the gates and grabbed a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes.
Kickstarting the Americans’ comeback effort was none other than Spellacy, as he cut their deficit in half in the early stages of the second period with his first goal of the tournament. Spellacy showed off his wheels to win a race to the net in transition, and he finished off Brendan McMorrow’s pass to make it a one-goal game.
After Slovakia answered right back to regain a two-goal edge, Spellacy made another fabulous play to get the United States within one. He forced a turnover along the right wall and then shipped the puck into the crease, where McMorrow stuffed home a shot to make it 3-2. That’s now two multi-point performances for Spellacy in three games.
With the Americans ahead 6-4 in the third period, Spellacy laid a booming hit on a Slovak defender that led to a scrum between the two teams. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound forward doesn’t ever shy away from contact, which has been very apparent so far in his first World Juniors.
Spellacy finished with one goal, one assist, three shots, and a plus-one rating in 12:58 of ice time. He’s been spectacular as the team’s fourth-line center, with four points through three games. Spellacy has also been great on the penalty kill.
The United States held on to win 6-5 over Slovakia and move to 3-0-0, tying them with Sweden at the top of the Group A standings. However, the Swedes hold the tiebreaker with 15 goals for to only five against in three games. The two countries are set to meet up on New Year’s Eve to determine who will be the top seed from the group going into the quarterfinals.
Czechia Takes Down Finland
The third Blackhawks prospect in action on Monday was 2025 first-round pick (No. 25 overall) Vaclav Nestrasil, who’s been playing right wing on the Czech’s top line in his first World Juniors.
Czechia played Finland for its third game of the tournament, and they pulled out an electric 2-1 overtime win to move to 2-1-0. The Czech’s only loss so far came to Team Canada, who they gave a good run for their money in a 7-5 defeat on opening night.
Nestrasil was held without a point for the first time against Finland, but he had a few looks to get on the board. The UMass freshman finished with two shots on goal and a minus-one rating in 16:47 of ice time.
Even though he didn’t end up on the stat sheet in Monday’s win, Nestrasil is still off to a tremendous start to the competition. He’s tallied four points (1G, 3A) and has been a key producer for the Czech’s offense.
The Czech’s currently sit in third place in the Group B standings with five points through three games. Canada and Finland are the two countries ahead of them. Czechia returns to play on New Year’s Eve for its final preliminary-round matchup with Latvia. The game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT.
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