- This topic has 52 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 5 months, 3 weeks ago by
.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
-
Posts
-
Steven Ellis of the Hockey News summarizes the play of about 90 WJC players that have been drafted by NHL teams.
http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2026-world-juniors-scouting-reports-on-every-nhl-drafted-prospect
His excerpts on Nestrasil, Frondell and Spellacy –
Vaclav Nestrasil, F (Chicago Blackhawks): I really, really Nestrašil. The 6-foot-6 forward is truly a menacing figure. He hits hard, plays hard and shoots even harder. He dominated Canada and Denmark physically and appeared quicker than the last time I saw him in person. Even away from the puck, I thought he did an outstanding job of breaking up plays and winning individual battles. I wrote earlier in the tournament that Blackhawks fans should absolutely believe the hype around Nestrašil – he’s a monster.
Anton Frondell, F (Chicago Blackhawks): Frondell getting moved to the wing at the start of training camp really paid off here. Frondell is better when he’s focusing on generating offense, especially with his patented one-timer from the right dot. Sweden looked significantly worse when Frondell wasn’t able to get any pucks on net against Switzerland, but he made up for it with some huge showings the rest of the way. Frondell did most of his shot generation on the man advantage, but if it wasn’t for Frondell, the Swedes could have easily found themselves with a disappointing record in the round-robin. That’s how important he was.
A.J. Spellacy, F (Chicago Blackhawks): Spellacy was one of USA’s top players. Not only was he their best penalty killer, but he was also instrumental in the Americans’ comeback against Slovakia. Spellacy was given more opportunities in the latter stages of the tournament, where he turned out to be one of the top shot generators. His mix of speed and toughness made him an absolute force, and I really like his odds of becoming a solid fourth-liner in the NHL.
All the preliminary rosters are in for the WJC. Here’s a list of some of the players to watch for the 2026 draft (plus the CHI prospects):
USA Reid Chase 30-Dec-07 6′ 2″ 185 RD R CS A
USA Rheaume-Mullen Dakoda 18-Dec-06 6′ 0.5″ 182 LD L CS W
USA Spellacy AJ 24-Feb-06 6′ 3″ 205 C R CHI 2024 Rd 3CAN Carels Carson 23-Jun-08 6′ 1″ 174 LD L CS A
CAN Verhoeff Keaton 19-Jun-08 6′ 4″ 212 RD R CS A
CAN McKenna Gavin 20-Dec-07 6′ 0″ 165 LW L CS A
CAN Vanacker Marek 12-Apr-06 6′ 1″ 187 LW L CHI 2024 Rd 1SWE Stenberg Ivar 30-Sep-07 6′ 0″ 181 LW L CS A
SWE Björck Viggo 12-May-08 5′ 9″ 172 C R CS B
SWE Håkansson William 8-Oct-07 6′ 4″ 207 LD L CS B
SWE Karlsson Casper Juustovaara 25-Oct-07 5′ 8″ 168 C L CS W
SWE Frondell Anton 7-May-07 6′ 1″ 205 LW L CHI 2025 Rd 1FIN Suvanto Oliver 3-Sep-08 6′ 3″ 205 LW L CS A
FIN Piiparinen Juho 10-Aug-08 6′ 3″ 203 RD R CS A
FIN Vanhanen Matias 11-Sep-07 5′ 10.5″ 174 LW L CS WCZE Novotný Adam 13-Nov-07 6′ 1″ 198 LW L CS A
CZE Vanecek Jakub 25-Feb-08 6′ 2″ 185 LD L CS B
CZE Dravecký Vladimír 19-Dec-07 6′ 0″ 187 RD R CS B
CZE Orsulak Michal 26-Aug-07 6′ 4″ 220 G R CS C
CZE Stebetak Ondrej 19-Jul-07 6′ 1.5″ 173 G L CS C
CZE Nestrasil Vaclav 6-Apr-07 6′ 6″ 190 RW R CHI 2025 Rd 1SVK Goljer Adam 7-Jun-08 6′ 3″ 194 RD R CS C
SVK Tomik Tobias 18-Dec-07 6′ 1″ 190 C L CS C
SVK Chrenko Tomas 2-Nov-07 5′ 11″ 170 C R CS C
SVK Nemec Adam 18-Oct-07 6′ 1″ 176 LW L CS B
SVK Misiak Alex 22-Jun-07 5′ 11.0″ 173 RW L CS NR
SVK Radivojevic Luka 3-Jan-07 5′ 9.25″ 165 RD R CS NRLAT Smits Alberts 2-Dec-07 6′ 3″ 205 LD L CS A
LAT Murnieks Olivers 31-Jul-08 6′ 1″ 194 C L CS B
LAT Berzkalns Rudolfs 3-Mar-08 6′ 4″ 203 LW L CS C
LAT Klaucans Martins 8-Jul-08 6′ 0″ 190 LW L CS NR
LAT Flugins Karlis 11-Nov-07 5′ 11″ 185 RW R CS NRSUI Steiner Lars 12-Nov-07 5′ 11″ 181 RW R CS B
Nestrasil story today from the Sun-Times
http://www.eliteprospects.com/team/1608/finland-u20
Finland roster for World juniors.
C Suvanto and D Piiparainen are highly ranked for the draft (CS A prospects).
F Vanhanen wasn’t drafted last year but is having a good year at Everett WHL (30-7-37-44).
F Vilho Vanhatalo (CS B for 2026 draft) is not on the roster.
http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2026-world-juniors-preview-team-slovakia-schedule-roster-projection
World juniors preview for Slovakia from Daily Faceoff.
Sweden preliminary roster for World juniors:
Frondell is there.
http://www.eliteprospects.com/team/756/sweden-u20
F Ivar Stenberg is ranked top 5 for 2026 draft
F Casper Juustovara Karlsson is small but looked good in the one game I saw, draft eligible 2026
F Viggo Bjorck is a likely first rounder in 2026, may drop a little due to size
D William Hakansson is huge and has a lot of talent, should be mid-1st or so in the 2026 draftD Malte Gustafsson is not on the roster. Also expected to be 1st rounder in 2026
Slovakia roster 2026 world juniors:
http://www.eliteprospects.com/team/1634/slovakia-u20
Alex Misiak (brother of Martin) is there. D Goljer and F Tomik are round 2-3 for 2026 draft.
Looks like there are a lot of players that fell through the draft last year like Misiak did.
Vaclav Nestrasil on the Czechia roster for the IIHF World Juniors starting Dec. 26.
Full team here:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/world-juniors/article/czechia-unveils-roster-for-world-junior-championship/Some players who might be interesting to watch:
G Michal Orsulak has had a nice season so far in Prince Albert (1.99 GA, 0.919 SP) after going undrafted last year (CS C).D Vladimir Dravecky plays at Brantford with Vanacker and Holmes and can drive the play with excellent passing. 2026 draft eligible (CS B).
D Tomas Galvas is the brother of Jakub Galvas who was a CHI draft pick several years ago. Tomas has gone undrafted past 2 years.
D Matyas Man is a big (6-6, 203) player just came over to Prince Albert this year and is still adjusting to NA. Physical but not scoring much so far. No idea if he has any draft prospects; went undrafted last 2 years.
D Jakub Vanecek is big (6-2 194) and also scoring pretty well at Tri-City WHL (23-5-10-15). New to NA, draft eligible this year. (CS B)
F Adam Novotny is a top 20 pick for 2026 (CS A). Good size (6-1, 205), 26-16-13-29 so far in Peterborough.
——————–
Jiri Felcman (CHI Rd. 3 2023) played last year but isn’t on the roster this year.
Bamford’s December listing of Hawks top 20 prospects
Good stuff, thanks for posting.
🤘
Bamford’s December listing of Hawks top 20 prospects.
