2026 World Juniors: Top standouts from Sweden vs. Slovakia

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – The 2026 World Junior Championship is officially in full swing.

Sweden has become the first team to secure a victory this year, beating Slovakia 3-2 in a game dominated by special teams.

Anton Frondell was the highlight of the night, scoring a goal and adding an assist – both while the Swedes were up a man. But a late second-period goal from Tomas Pobezal on Slovakia’s 5-on-3 brought things even closer heading into the stretch run.

Sweden thought they regained their two-goal advantage around the halfway point in the third after Viggo Bjorck scored a shorthanded breakaway goal. After a quick review, though, the goal was revoked due to goaltender interference, resulting in a one-goal advantage again.

That proved to be important for the Slovaks. With 9:05 left in the game, Tobias Pitka stole the puck from a Swedish defender and got it to Tobias Tomik, who made it 2-2. Sweden would ultimately get the victory off of Ivar Stenberg’s goal with about four minutes to go, avoiding a shocking upset in the opening game of the tournament.

Here is a look at the top performers from Friday’s bout:

Steven Ellis

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Lines for Sweden vs. Slovakia. #WorldJuniors

5:49 PM · Dec 26, 2025

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Sweden

#30 Love Harenstam, G (St. Louis Blues): That wasn’t an easy outing for Harenstam, but he looked tremendous. Slovakia outplayed the Swedes at various points in the first, but Harenstam tracked pucks as quickly and as confidently as I’ve seen from him. That’s not entirely surprising, either – he’s been great against pros this season after some so-so showings with the U-18 team over the past few years.

#20 Alfons Freij, D (Winnipeg Jets): Freij quarterbacked Sweden’s power play today, which resulted in a primary assist on the 1-0 goal. Sweden’s game plan seemed to be all about passing the puck to Frondell, but it clearly worked. Freij also did a good job of breaking up a few chances going back the other way for good measure.

#16 Anton Frondell, LW (Chicago Blackhawks): I thought Frondell was invisible in the pre-tournament, but he was much more noticeable in this one. He had two good chances in the first, including a shot that just hit the post. His pure strength allowed him to win most of his puck battles consistently, and, eventually, he’d tally the opening goal on the power play in the second. He then made a great pass on the second goal, finding his good friend Victor Eklund in close. Nobody seemed to be able to match him today. Even though he’s a good center, I feel like moving him to the wing allowed Frondell to really shine – he was all offense, all the time today.

#18 Victor Eklund, RW (New York Islanders): Eklund is absolute money around the crease, especially on the power play. He loves getting himself into an open spot to bank home a rebound or convert on a pass, just like he did to make it 2-0 today. Like Frondell, I was hoping for more out of him during the pre-tournament. Today, though, he seemed to have found his confidence.

#21 Viggo Björck, C (2026 NHL Draft): Björck was flying today. He scored a great shorthanded goal in the third period, but it was ultimately waved off due to goalie interference. Beyond that, his speed and quick hands allowed him to win most of his individual plays. He’s playing with so much confidence after a strong pre-tournament.

Slovakia

#30 Alan Lenďák, G: Lenďák was the reason the Swedes didn’t take a multi-goal lead in the first. He made a handful of excellent stops, including a pair while his team was shorthanded. The Des Moines Buccaneers goaltender struggled in his two games with Slovakia last year, but came up big tonight – something he has shown he’s capable of in the USHL.

#10 Tomas Pobezal, C: It felt like Pobezal was destined to score at some point in this game. He was buzzing, coming close on a few chances early in the frame while leading the team on the top line. It’s been a difficult season for him in Slovakia, but I thought he looked good today.

#21 Adam Nemec, RW (2026 NHL Draft): Although Nemec didn’t score today, I thought he had a good game. He had a few good chances in the third period but came up short. It felt like he had the puck more than he didn’t at 5-on-5, although the game had enough penalties to really slow the pace down. He was Slovakia’s best forward in the third period as the team tried to get the lead.