The opening day of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship featured four preliminary games, nineteen point scorers with United States Hockey League (USHL) ties, and four alumni with multi-point games.

U.S. 6, Germany 3

Entering the tournament as two-time defending gold medalists, the U.S. won its opening matchup with USHL alumni scoring every goal.  Madison Capitols goalie, North Dakota commit, and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Caleb Heil made 18 stops on 21 shots. Boston Bruins prospect, North Dakota commit, and 2025 USHL Forward and Player of the Year for the Green Bay Gamblers, Will Zellers, made his entrance to the tournament with two goals and one assist. Simon Siedl, who skated for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders last season, had a goal for the Germans.
 

Returning to the tournament for the second season, Dubuque Fighting Saints alum and Harvard freshman forward Heikki Ruohonen earned an assist for Finland, while Markus Jakobsen did the same for Denmark.  
 

Des Moines Buccaneers goalie Alan Lendak made 29 saves on 32 shots in Slovakia’s tournament opener.
 

Chicago Steel alum, Michigan forward, and Montreal Canadians pick Michael Hage led Canada with a goal and two assists. Muskegon Lumberjacks alum, Boston College forward, and the Chicago Blackhawks 2025 first-round pick Vaclav Nestrasil had two assists, while Youngstown Phantoms alum and Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Benák also had a pair of helpers for the Czechs.
 

About the USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and its 16 teams are committed to being the world's leading junior hockey league. This season, more than 50% of NCAA Division I men's hockey players and nearly 25% of NHL players have USHL experience. The USHL has developed more than 285 direct NHL Draft picks since 2020, and eight of the last 10 Hobey Baker Award winners, including Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel).

Elevated through the recently announced Declaration of Excellence with the NHL and USA Hockey, the league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 92% of games played on weekends, provides its players with the optimal environment for athletic and personal growth, creating pathways for the next generation of stars like Auston Matthews (NTDP), Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede), and Johnny Gaudreau (Dubuque Fighting Saints).