2026 World Juniors: Top standouts for Switzerland and USA
The United States improved to 2-0 in Group A with a 2-1 victory over Switzerland on Saturday night.
An injury to Washington Capitals prospect Cole Hutson in the second period seemed to have hampered the overall pace of the game. The American defender blocked a shot with his head during the second period, which resulted in him being stretchered off the ice and taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
The game itself was much closer than expected. Neither team scored in the first, with Will Zellers breaking the deadlock at 21:12. Basile Sansonnens would tie it up 11 minutes later before Will Zellers ultimately scored the game-winning goal two minutes after that. Goaltenders Nick Kempf and Christian Kirsch were perfect the rest of the way, with the Americans claiming victory on home ice.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Saturday’s contest:
Switzerland
#65 Christian Kirsch, G (San Jose Sharks): Kirsch was going to have to be excellent for the Swiss to have a chance tonight, and he delivered. He wasn’t overly busy, but he still had plenty of quality chances in tight that he turned away from a motivated American offense. Kirsch has left me wanting so much more quite often in the past, but his first-period effort alone was enough to keep his team engaged.
#13 Basile Sansonnens, D (Vancouver Canucks): Where did that performance come from? Sansonnens entered the tournament after a zero-point performance a year ago, and he has no goals in 31 games in Switzerland’s top league. Yet, somehow, he seemed significantly more engaged tonight than we’ve ever seen from him. He scored his first IIHF goal with a perfectly placed bardown snipe in the second period, and he was arguably Switzerland’s best own-zone defender, too.
#15 Lars Steiner, C (2026 NHL draft): Switzerland is going to rely heavily on Steiner the rest of the way. He nearly scored in the final minute, hitting the post on an otherwise perfectly placed shot. Steiner is a skilled forward who can beat you with speed and his deceptive release, but he just couldn’t beat Kempf tonight. Regardless, it was a noticeable effort for a guy trying to crack the first round of the NHL Draft.
United States
#31 Nick Kempf, G (Washington Capitals): Kempf didn’t face a ton of rubber, but when the opposition is pushing hard, you need to stay alert. That’s why Kempf’s third-period play was important – the Swiss were getting chances, and he looked sharp. We’ll likely see him take over the starter’s gig the rest of the way, but it’ll only get harder from here.
#10 James Hagens, C (Boston Bruins): We’ve definitely seen better out of Hagens, but the pass on Brodie Ziemer’s goal was nice. He was also crucial in the faceoff dot, winning the majority of his draws. I still think Hagens needs to improve, but he continues to be a positive for the Americans – his puck decision-making is still the best on this team.
#12 Will Zellers, LW (Boston Bruins): That’s another excellent performance from a guy the Americans nearly elected to keep home. He had a pair of goals on Friday night and followed it with a back-breaker in the second period to give USA some hope. Zellers is doing everything in his power to continue forcing himself up the lineup – we’ll see if the coaching staff agrees, given he’s been on the fourth line throughout.
#34 Cole Eiserman, LW (New York Islanders): Eiserman was doing everything to try and wake up the American attack in the first period. He was shut down in the second (as was most of the United States), but he still did a good job of creating opportunities all over the ice. It’s only a matter of time until he has an explosive game, right?
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