2025 U-18 Men’s World Championship: Kvasnicka, Ekberg among top standouts on Day 4
Like blowouts? You’re weird, but we had them. Prefer tight games? We had a nice pair of those, too on Day 4 of the U-18 World Championship in Texas on Saturday.
Slovakia wanted to get back on track after a disappointing loss to Canada and put nine past Norway. It was a 9-1 game fueled by a pair of hat-tricks, helping Slovakia move into third place in Group A with one game to go in the round robin.
In the first Group B game, Czechia and Switzerland played a much tighter affair. Czechia was much more dangerous, but some mistakes in their own zone allowed the Swiss to get back into it. In the end, Czechia finally secured their first victory to take third spot in Group B.
In the final Group A game, we saw one of the wildest periods of the tournament. At one point, it was 2-2 early on – but before too long, Finland made it 6-2 to close out the first period. Finland eventually made it 10-2 to take over top spot in a tight Group A.
The final fight of the night was the one everyone was looking forward to: Sweden vs. the United States. The Swedes got off to a great start, taking a 2-0 lead. But a big second half from the Americans allowed the home fanbase to go home happy, with USA winning the game 6-3. With the win, the United States has secured the top spot in Group B ahead of their final round-robin game on Monday against Germany.
Here’s a look at the top standouts from Saturday’s action:
Norway 1, Slovakia 9
Norway
#17 Niklas Aaram Olsen, LW (2026): NAO scored the lone goal for Norway and nearly had another later in the period. He’s been great throughout this tournament, showing good chemistry with Mikkel Eriksen on Norway’s top line. He’s a creative forward who likes to dance around defenders with the puck and he challenges often around the crease.
Slovakia
#29 Tomas Chrenko, C: Chrenko has been Slovakia’s best player in this tournament and today was his best showing yet. He scored three goals and then assisted on the 7-1 goal for good measure. He was shooting from everywhere, making high-quality plays and it resulted in one of the most dominant performances of any player in this tournament so far. Overvaluing a short tournament like this can be dangerous but Chrenko has to be one of the biggest risers this week, no question about it.
#25 Jan Chovan, C: Chovan also registered a hat-trick, scoring one goal in each of the three periods. Two of them came on the power play, where he exposed some poor defensive reads to get the job done. Chovan is a smart, toolsy forward who should earn some third-round consideration, partly due to his big frame and his ability to win just about every battle.
#26 Luka Radivojevic, D: Radivojevic had a quiet two games to open the series but registered three assists in the first 31 minutes. The high-flying, smart defender is Slovakia’s most skilled blueliner and he showed it in spades today. He can still be prone to losing battles in his own zone a bit too easily but he’s got the pure skill to beat opponents consistently.
#13 Tobias Tomik, RW (2026): Tomik is a great skater, and it allowed him to give some punch to the bottom line. He had three shots while playing a variety of different situations. He’s an offensive-minded forward who looks great in a bottom-line role because he’s as energetic as it gets. It’s hard to watch Slovakia and not notice him somehow.
Czechia 4, Switzerland 2
Czechia
#25 Matej Pekar, RW: Pekar had a quiet tournament before today but came up clutch with two assists. He made plenty of high-quality passes and showed off some nice skill around the net. Pekar is a smart winger who can be a bit inconsistent, as he has shown at this tournament, in particular. I’d love to see him shoot the puck more because he has a powerful release.
#22 Vojtech Cihar, C: Cihar had a goal and an assist and probably could have had another two goals the way he was buzzing in the third. He seemed to get better as the game wore on and was the glue that made things happen on his line with Vit Zahejsky and Matej Pekar. Cihar continues to impress as scouts look to slot him somewhere in the second round.
#18 Adam Benak, C: Benak was great again, making his typical creative plays. He had a goal and an assist, with his smart play in the final minute helping to set up the 4-2 deal-breaker. Benak is smart, skilled and shifty, and while he might be small, it’s not really an issue at a junior tournament like this.
Switzerland
#1 Jovin Trachsel, G (2026): Trachsel allowed three goals, but if it wasn’t for some big saves early, this easily could have gone the other way. Switzerland’s attack just has so little going for it – they don’t have the volume or the quality. So that means someone like Trachsel has to be important, and he made 34 stops. The Czechs had to get creative to beat him. He was especially good in the opening frame, turning away all 13 shots sent his way.
Finland 10, Latvia 2
Finland
#25 Lasse Boelius, D: Boelius had yet another standout performance, registering three assists. He only had one shot, but he did a fantastic job of limiting Latvia’s opportunities on the rush and preventing plays in the neutral zone. Latvia had so little going for them offensively, but Boelius’ ability to shut things down was a big reason why.
#37 Eetu Orpana, C: Hard to beat a four-point opening period. No matter what, it seemed like he was engaged on every shift. Orpana had a two-point effort against Norway, but his first period today was one of the best single-player performances of the tournament. He was never really on my radar, but his play at this tournament sparked my interest – I think he’s actually one of Finland’s more creative players.
#21 Max Westergard, RW: Westergard had a nice three-point opening period and added another assist before the night was over. His shot is so dangerous because he doesn’t waste much time getting it off. Named best player today, Westergard was lethal every time he touched the puck. The past two games have helped establish Westergard as a difference-maker on a team that’ll need it before the playoffs begin.
Latvia
#15 Reinis Auzins, D: Auzins scored on a clean shot and nabbed an assist on the other Latvian goal. He also led the team with five shots and was among the team’s ice-time leaders. Auzins has had a decent tournament but this is the one where he looked most engaged at both zones. Ultimately, things fell apart early, but I was rarely disappointed with Auzins’ game.
Sweden 3, USA 6
Sweden
#15 Ivar Stenberg, RW (2026): Stenberg has a certain aura with him – he craves attention. Today, he scored twice, including the 3-2 goal, where he stole the puck from his own zone and created a breakaway. He’s a skilled forward who skates better than most on this Swedish team, and he’s putting goalies on notice. Stenberg should be one of the first players taken in 2026, and he’ll definitely be leaned on heavily at the World Juniors.
#14 Filip Ekberg, RW: Ekberg’s tremendous showing continued tonight, highlighted by a nice snipe for the 1-0 goal. He’s one of Sweden’s top trigger men, using his skill and speed to get himself into scoring lanes quite consistently. He didn’t shoot a lot but it felt like he was always buzzing every time he crossed into the O-Zone.
#26 Eric Nilson, C: Nilson has been a bit quieter than he was during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, but today was a great showing. He made a nice play to Ekberg for the 1-0 goal after a good steal earlier in the shift. The two-way center gives a full effort every single night – and a lot of his best moments come away from the scoresheet. Today, he snagged an assist, but he also committed himself to a full 200-foot game.
USA
#7 Jacob Knasvicka, RW: Kvasnicka is a longshot to get drafted, but he didn’t look that way tonight. He put up 32 points this year, including 14 goals. Today was easily one of his most impactful performances, scoring a goal and adding two assists. The high-flying winger just seemed to make magic on USA’s second line all game long. He was playing with so much confidence, and his ability to make things happen around the net was impressive.
#25 Mikey Berchild, LW (2026): I’ll give Berchild serious props – his goal looked like it had no chance of counting after watching him kick it in. But the smarts to make sure he got even the slightest touch before it crossed over the line proved to be crucial as USA tied the game back up. I also loved his pass to Kvasnicka – what a high-end play. Berchild is one of the top players to watch on the U-18 USNTDP for next season, no doubt about it.
#12 Cullen Potter, C: Yet another good showing by Potter, who was so dangerous around the net. He had a couple of great looks before he eventually scored off a faceoff to close the second period. He’s quick, aggressive and battles hard in his own zone. And around the Swedish net, he made them work hard to regain the puck.
#23 Donny Bracco, D: Bracco had another excellent game today. He’s a good skater who deceives opponents with the way he holds onto the puck before getting it where he wants. He’s also been very competitive all tournament, too. Bracco has been one of my favorite American defenders, although I think he could work a bit harder in his own zone.
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