Islanders prospects shine at World Juniors! Aitcheson scores his first of the tournament, while Bednarik notches a crucial assist.
With the fourth day of the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Championship in the books, the action is starting to heat up in the group stages. Several New York Islanders prospects had a hand in the day's action, with Canada's Kashawn Aitcheson's first goal of the tournament headlining the day's events.
The four-game day opened with Victor Eklund and Sweden taking on Germany. Eklund had an assist on the goal that sparked an 8-1 outburst for Sweden, passing the puck back to Alfons Freij at the point to set up Anton Frondell for a one-timer:
Eklund now boasts a goal and assists for two points in the tournament, along with a team-high 61:55 of ice time in Minnesota.
Up next, Tomas Poletin and Czechia faced Finland in a thriller on Monday. Poletin was kept quiet in the game, going goalless in back-to-back games after netting a pair against Canada. However, Czechia pulled out a 2-1 win, with St. Louis Blues prospect Adam Jiricek scoring a highlight-reel goal to win it:
The last two games of the night were barnburners, starting with Cole Eiserman, Kamil Bednarik, and Team USA facing Slovakia at Grand Casino Arena. Eiserman was kept off the board, remaining at just one goal over the course of the tournament, but Bednarik got on the board with an assist on a goal by Los Angeles Kings prospect Brendan McMorrow:
In the nightcap, Canada picked up a 9-1 romp of Denmark, where Aitcheson made his first offensive contributions. The defenseman had two points in the third period, starting with an assist on a Michael Misa goal early in the frame to make it 6-1 Canada. Later on, he unleashed a booming shot from the high slot, making it 8-1 in the closing minutes.
Tuesday is a quiet day at the Juniors, with only a pair of games and no Islanders prospects in action. All will be back on the ice on New Year's Eve, with four games on the docket.
Poletin and Czechia will face Latvia at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by a collision between Eiserman, Bednarik and Team USA and Eklund and Sweden at 6:00 p.m. Aitcheson and Canada wrap up the 2025 portion of the Juniors against Finland, puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
All games can be found on NHL Network.