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All six Philadelphia Flyers prospects at the IIHF World Junior Championships are in action on Friday. The single-elimination medal round quarterfinals feature three games of interest to Flyers’ fans:
Sweden vs. Latvia
Team captain Jack Berglund has had a strong tournament so far, posting six points (2g, 4a, +6) for the undefeated Swedes. Berglund lacks foot speed, but has many other aspects working in his favor. The two-way forward is heavy on the puck and gets to the hard areas of the ice. Game time is 2:00 p.m. EST.
USA vs. Finland
The Finns went 2-1-1 in preliminary round play. Flyers prospect Heikki Ruohonen had five points (1g, 4a, +3, 16:55 TOI) in the four games. Playing in the bottom six in his first World Juniors, Max Westergard posted three points (1g, 2a) while averaging 12:16 of ice time.Flyers 2025 second-round round pick Shane Vansaghi has had a tough tourney so far for Team USA. He was scratched in two of the four games played to date. Seeing 13th forward duty in the opener and fourth-line minutes in a loss to Sweden, Vansaghi is minus-three in an average 5:58 of ice time.
Canada vs. Slovakia
Canada earned 11 of 12 possible points during the preliminary round. Flyers top prospect Porter Martone collected five points (3g, 2a, +1) over the four games. Meanwhile, Flyers 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko (0 points, -3) played mostly third-line or fourth-line wing. However, he also saw power play time.
Flyers Daily: January 2, 2026
In the first 2026 edition of Flyers Daily, Jason Myretetus previews Saturday’s game in Edmonton. He also replies to some viewer e-mails, makes 2026 calendar year Flyers predictions and a team-related New Year’s resolution.
Ristolainen to Olympics
The Finnish Hockey Federation named Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to the Team Finland Olympic roster. Ristolainen was selected to last year’s 4 Nations roster, but had to withdraw due to injury.
