Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
Whether or not it’s the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa or the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, the remainder of the hockey world has been seeing what the American Hockey League has to supply this week.
The Canadian Nationwide Staff, which options 13 present AHL gamers, swept its two preliminary-round video games on the Spengler Cup to earn a spot within the semifinals on Monday. Ontario Reign ahead Charles Hudon scored twice in Thursday’s 6-2 win over HC Davos, whereas Toronto Marlies captain Logan Shaw struck twice on Saturday in a 6-3 win over German membership group Straubing Tigers. Springfield Thunderbirds goaltender Colten Ellis earned each wins in web for Canada.
A win Monday would ship Staff Canada to the match remaining on New Yr’s Eve. A participant within the Spengler Cup yearly since 1984, Canada is bidding for its seventeenth title.
Whereas the Spengler Cup has a largely veteran taste, the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship has displayed among the AHL’s prime prospects.
Rochester People ahead Anton Wahlberg recorded two objectives and two assists for Sweden in an 8-1 win over Kazakhstan on Friday. Wahlberg, Buffalo’s second-round decide within the 2023 NHL Draft, has 4 objectives and 6 assists for the Amerks this season. He’s joined on Sweden’s roster by Chicago Wolves ahead Felix Unger Sorum, who recorded two assists in a 5-2 win over Slovakia on Thursday.
Springfield’s Dalibor Dvorsky has a purpose and an help via Slovakia’s first two video games of the match. Dvorsky, the tenth total decide within the 2023 draft by St. Louis, ranks among the many AHL’s rookie leaders with 11 objectives and 21 factors for the Thunderbirds. He’s captaining the Slovak entry. Coachella Valley Firebirds ahead Eduard Sale, one other 2023 first-round choice, is carrying the “C” for Czechia; he had two assists whereas Ontario Reign defenseman Jakub Dvorak scored a purpose within the Czechs’ 14-2 win over Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Rochester’s Konsta Helenius has an help for Finland to date, and Chicago’s Bradly Nadeau is skating for Canada.
The World Junior Championship preliminary spherical runs via Tuesday, with quarterfinals set for Thursday and the semifinals and finals scheduled for subsequent weekend.
On the American Hockey League beat for 20 years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally presently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a daily contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.
