Player Evaluations Completed At 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase

Don’t read too much into the game scores of the just-completed World Junior Summer Showcase, which wrapped up Saturday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In this situation, it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.

The week-long event was certainly an enticing teaser for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held this winter in the State of Hockey. But for the coaches and managers of all four participating nations, individual player evaluation was much more important than wins and losses.

Many top players saw limited action or didn’t play at all, but are still on the fast track to a roster spot when the games of the historic 50^th world juniors begin on 26 Dec. But good showings this week from younger or less-heralded players may have helped put them on their coaches’ radar for that main event.

That being said, Sweden and Finland both impressed over the last week, sending a loud message that they shouldn’t be underestimated in the 2026 medal chase. Meanwhile, with just one win between them when icing their unified squads, the U.S. and Canada will have some work ahead over the next five months.

Here’s what we learned from each team at the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase.