It was an exciting opening day at the international tournaments in Europe at both the U20 and U18 levels. Sweden opened with wins in both age groups, while Finland and the United States also claimed victories in U20 and U18 play. Read more on each game below. U20 Five Nations Switzerland 1-6 Sweden Sweden eased to victory in its opening game of the U20 Five Nations. Draft-eligible defenseman William Håkansson opened the scoring late in the first period. In the second, Sweden poured it on with four more goals. Two of them came from 2026 NHL Draft top prospect Viggo Björck, who struck twice on the power play to make it 2–0 and 3–0. 1st 17:01 0–1 Sweden, Hakansson W. (Berglund J., Fernstrom M.) 2nd 03:52 0–2 Sweden, Bjorck V. (Danielsson L., Sjostrom O.) PP 2nd 08:35 0–3 Sweden, Bjorck V. (Danielsson L., Sjostrom O.) PP 2nd 10:32 0–4 Sweden, Gastrin M. (Danielsson L., Pettersson L.) 2nd 19:21 0–5 Sweden, Gustafsson V. (Berglund J., Fernstrom M.) 3rd 16:48 0–6 Sweden, Gustafsson V. (Lindberg V., Annborn K.) 3rd 19:55 1–6 Switzerland, Aebli N. (Keller C., Von Rohr M.) Finland 6-2 Slovakia Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] prospect Max Westergård had himself an afternoon in Finland’s 6–2 win over Slovakia at the U20 Five Nations. Westergård scored Finland’s first two goals and added an assist on the third. He later capped things off by scoring the final goal of the game to make it 6–2. 1st 03:30 1–0 Finland, Westergard M. (Somervuori J., Soini S.) 2nd 07:11 2–0 Finland, Westergard M. (Suvanto O., Somervuori J.) 2nd 12:22 3–0 Finland, Suvanto O. (Westergard M., Kopiloff O.) PP 2nd 13:59 3–1 Slovakia, Gaso A. (Liscinsky M.) 3rd 06:04 4–1 Finland, Saarelainen J. (Valila A., Tuuva L.) PP 3rd 16:46 5–1 Finland, Kopiloff O. (Suvanto O., Nieminen D.) PP 3rd 18:09 5–2 Slovakia, Goljer A. (Gaso A., Fabus A.) PP 3rd 18:55 6–2 Finland, Westergard M. (Suvanto O.) U18 Five Nations Switzerland 2-5 USA The United States claimed an expected win in the opening game of the U18 Five Nations in Sweden. After taking an early lead, Switzerland managed to respond and tie the game late in the first period. But Team USA eventually took control and skated away with a 5–2 victory. 1st 09:29 0–1 USA, Glance J. (Francisco A., Cullen W.) PP 1st 16:19 1–1 Switzerland, Reist N. (Berger T., Fueter S.) PP 1st 18:03 1–2 USA, Cullen W. (Berchild M.) 2nd 23:49 1–3 USA, Lutner L. (George B., Garcia A.) 2nd 37:20 1–4 USA, Plante V. (Berchild M., Mutryn C.) PP 3rd 45:01 1–5 USA, Nelson S. (Trottier P., Mutryn C.) 3rd 52:58 2–5 Switzerland, Schürmann P. USA Roster At U-18 Five-Nations Tournament In Sweden [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ba80873a-338e-4ed7-800c-14dcab1b6fa1.jpeg] USA Roster At U-18 Five-Nations Tournament In Sweden Future NHL stars clash as USA's U-18 squad faces European powers in Sweden, featuring top draft prospects and a championship-winning goalie. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/usa-roster-at-u-18-five-nations-tournament-in-sweden] Czechia 1-4 Sweden Sweden came out flying, taking a 2–0 lead just 1:30 into the first period. Only minutes later, they extended the lead to 3–0 in front of the home crowd in Ulricehamn. After that, Sweden eased off the gas and closed out a 4–1 win. 1st 01:04 0–1 Sweden, Command A. (Bartholdsson N.) 1st 01:34 0–2 Sweden, Isaksson M. (Hermansson E.) 1st 06:36 0–3 Sweden, Hermansson E. (Elofsson A.) 2nd 38:34 1–3 Czechia, Hrouda O. (Pufr A., Marik N.) 3rd 45:35 1–4 Sweden, Nordmark M. (Command A.) PP Preview: Sweden U18 Forwards Ahead of the Five Nations [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/a58ac959-ff61-4833-a414-4e04be2762fd.jpeg] Preview: Sweden U18 Forwards Ahead of the Five Nations Sweden’s roster for the U18 Five Nations is loaded with draft-caliber talent. Ahead of the tournament opener tomorrow, Jacob Smeds takes a closer look at Team Sweden’s forward group. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/players/preview-sweden-u18-forwards-ahead-of-the-five-nations]
