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.

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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.