The preliminary round of the 2026 World Juniors wrapped up on New Year’s Eve in St. Paul and Minneapolis, capped off by a pair of group-deciding games that set the table for the quarterfinals.

Here are The Athletic’s daily takeaways and standouts from prospects writers Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler.

• Switzerland defeated Slovakia 3-2. With the win, the Swiss finished third in Group A, ahead of Slovakia in fourth. It has been an excellent tournament for Switzerland, who finished the round robin with a positive goal differential (10-8) after winning two games and playing both Sweden and USA tightly.
• Czechia defeated Latvia 4-2. Adam Jiricek (STL) was named player of the game for the Czechs and scored his third goal and fourth point of the tournament. Vaclav Nestrasil (CHI) had two points for the Czechs.
• Sweden defeated USA 6-3 to win Group A and finish as the top seed overall going into the medal round. Lucas Pettersson (ANA) and Eddie Genborg (DET) each scored twice for Sweden.
• Canada defeated Finland 7-4 to win Group B. Cole Beaudoin (UTA) and Brady Martin (NSH) each scored twice for Canada.

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Sweden outclasses USA

Despite the three-goal margin, this game never felt that close. Sweden’s depth of skill was on full display, getting goals from their stars and middle-of-the-lineup players. They scored six times without a point from their leading scorer, Anton Frondell. They look like a legit gold medal contender.

This game was yet another example of USA’s disarray in this tournament despite their 3-1 record. They have hardworking players, but they have struggled to generate consistent scoring chances at even strength, and it feels like they have new power-play units every game. Not to mention their serious questions in goal. I had no issue with them starting the 17-year-old Brady Knowling, given the performance of their alternatives, but he did not get the job done. — Pronman

USA needs more from Hagens

The Americans have a young team, with many being in their first World Junior. Hagens is not one of them. The No. 7 pick by the Bruins was a critical part of USA winning gold last winter. His complete disappearance at times in this tournament, given his track record, is startling. He’s been relegated to the second power-play unit and has not been a consistent driver at all despite his tremendous feet and skill. — Pronman

Canada’s third line steps up

Canada starts every period with the same line now: Caleb Desnoyers, Cole Beaudoin and Sam O’Reilly. They clearly prioritize the tone they set and trust those three. Part of that comes from the bench, where Desnoyers’ Moncton head coach Gardiner MacDougall and O’Reilly’s London head coach Dale Hunter are both on staff. Through the first three games of the tournament, I actually didn’t mind the play of those two. They were good at even strength, created some looks for themselves, and O’Reilly has been solid on the penalty kill. But I hadn’t liked what I’d seen from Beaudoin, a returnee who never lacks effort but had generated very little. On New Year’s Eve, he finally did, scoring Canada’s fifth and sixth goals to drive them to the win, and sealing it with an empty-net assist for his third point of the night. O’Reilly had three points himself as well, and Desnoyers had a pair of assists. Canada has needed more offense from the bottom six, and got it from that trio on Wednesday.