2026 World Junior Summer Showcase: Cullen, Wyttenbach, Sanderson highlight top standouts from Day 1
The opening day of the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase is in the books, with Finland and USA Blue coming home with convincing victories on Sunday in Windsor, Ontario.
The Finns came out flying in the first, with Jeremi Virtanen opening the scoring just 22 seconds in. Aapo Vanninen and Aapo Katavisto and Jere Somervuori all scored before the first buzzer, giving Finland a commanding four-goal advantage. The Finns didn’t score again, but Brent Solomon would get the Americans on the board at the halfway point in the frame. It wasn’t enough to change the course of the game, though, as the Finns skated out to the 4-1 victory.
The second American team, USA Blue (ironically, wearing white, while USA White wore blue), would pull off a convincing 6-1 victory. Ethan Wyttenbach led the way with three assists, while Carter Sanderson had three goals in a standout performance on his end. Other goal scorers included Wyatt Cullen, Mikey Berchild and Brooks Rogowski, while Theo Stockselius had the lone marker for Sweden.
Here’s a look at the top performers from WFCU Centre in Windsor:
Finland 4, USA White 1
Finland
#1 Jester Rossi, G: Rossi has been used sparingly in international competition over the past half decade, but has never represented the Finns in a major international event. Today was a nice showcase effort for Rossi, who made some big stops on the power play and an even bigger stop on a J.P. Hurlbert chance in the first period. He’s not a big goalie, but he moves well, battles hard and tracks shots from side to side quite effectively.
#12 Aapo Katavisto, RW: Katavisto had an assist on the opening goal, and then made it 3-0 with about eight minutes to go in the first. He played with a boatload of speed, and was one of the few Finns who could consistently get into scoring lanes. I’ve liked him quite a bit the past few years; he’s not flashy, but he works hard. I think he’s best as a net-front forward, and while he’s not big, he’s slippery.
#20 Jeremi Virtanen, C: Virtanen scored on the opening shift and then nearly scored again a few minutes later. This was a big showing for the 18-year-old, who was passed over in the 2026 NHL Draft after a lackluster year with TPS. Internationally, I thought he impressed at points last year, so it was nice to see him pop with his speed and shot release on Finland’s top line today. He’s a hard worker, and it was on full display today.
USA White
#15 Teddy Mutryn, C (San Jose Sharks): This was a solid first effort out of Mutryn, who did a lot of the heavy lifting on the American goal. Mutryn is a hard-working two-way player who effectively chases after pucks and wins most of his battles along the boards. He won’t wow you with his skill, but if he makes USA’s roster, it could be in more of a defensive, energy role.
#20 J.P. Hurlbert, RW (Detroit Red Wings): USA’s forward crop was a disaster today, but I did like Hurlbert’s effort. He was one of the few who seemed to attack every shift with purpose, and he had quite the opportunity early in the first period. Even late in shifts, it felt like he was attacking a bit more than we typically saw from him in the WHL – he knows he needs to be annoying to be fully effective. I thought he did an impressive job of making himself known every time he entered the offensive zone.
Sweden 1, USA Blue 6
Sweden
#11 Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, RW (Vegas Golden Knights): Ihs-Wozniak can be a bit frustrating to watch thanks to so-so effort levels. But nobody will deny his raw talent, especially internationally. He didn’t score today, but he had some excellent looks on some great in-close opportunities. Ihs-Wozniak should occupy a goal-scorers role at the main event, but the Swedes will need him to up the ante sooner rather than later in Windsor.
#15 Alexander Command, C (New Jersey Devils): Command played a smart, calculated game, as expected. There’s nothing overly special about the speed or skill he plays with; instead, it’s more about the things away from the puck and how he rarely loses a battle in tight. That’s what makes him so valuable on a team like this – he’s just so smart and rarely gets caught trying to do too much.
#18 Theo Stockselius, C (Calgary Flames): Stockselius scored the lone goal for Sweden and then had a couple of excellent looks along the way. He’s a strong power forward that gives opponents very little to work with, but he also is strong defensively too. I like his game around the net the most, and it looks like he’s a little bit faster than I first remember seeing from him in his draft. Calgary has a good one here.
USA Blue
#7 Mikey Berchild, LW (Carolina Hurricanes): Berchild had a goal and an assist in the third period to help put this game out of reach. He’s a skilled winger who doesn’t do a ton of physical work, but has the speed and skill to get himself into scoring lanes. A lot of Berchild’s passes were smart, quick decisions that very few players his size seem to frequently pull off. But that’s what makes him an interesting prospect. Carolina always bets high on skill, and this is one of their best examples of that in recent memory.
#12 Ethan Wyttenbach, RW (Calgary Flames): In hindsight, leaving off the creative winger a year ago was a poor move by the Americans. I don’t see that happening again this year, especially if he continues to have a hot camp. He had three assists in this one while dominating the game through the middle of the ice. I like his speed and hockey sense, and I think he’s got the general talent to be very useful to the main roster in a few months. I could see him having a Ryker Lee-level summer tournament performance to help improve his chances of making the roster in December.
#29 Carter Sanderson, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins): It’s hard to beat a three-goal game. Sanderson is far from a lock to make the final roster, but he made as good of a first impression as you could ask for. Sanderson spent a ton of time buzzing around the net, looking for loose pucks and rebounds to generate offense. We’ll see if he makes it on the main team in an energy role, but this today was an excellent start.
#57 Brooks Rogowski, C (Vancouver Canucks): I know Rogowski’s goal was a bit of a fluke, but his great overall performance was not. This is a guy that knows the type of role he’s needed to play at all times and will do whatever it takes to make it work. He’s excellent around the net. He does a fantastic job of using his big frame to win most of his battles. Rogowski is tough to beat defensively and outstanding in the faceoff dot. I have no doubt that he’s going to make it in a bottom 6 role for USA.
#38 Wyatt Cullen, C (Nashville Predators): Cullen was USA’s best player early in this one and had the primary assist on the first goal to show for it. I felt like he made a ton of great plays and transition and his two-way game was exceptionally strong. It worked out for him late in the third, when he rushed from his own zone to finish off a tic-tac-toe passing play to make it 5-1. There’s no doubt that he’s going to be a top six player on the American roster when the tournament happens for real, but today was a great start.
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