In the dog days of summer, there is still hockey to be played.

From July 27 to August 2, the top World Junior prospects from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden competed in the World Junior Summer Showcase in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The week-long summer tournament acts as part of the selection process for the IIHF World Junior Championship teams, which will be played from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, also in Minneapolis. 

Eight Nashville Predators prospects participated in the showcase: Teddy Stiga (USA), Viggo Gustafsson (Sweden), Brady Martin (Canada), Cameron Reid (Canada), Ryker Lee (USA), Jacob Rombach (USA), Jack Ivankovic (Canada) and Daniel Nieminen (Finland). 

While every prospect didn't play every game, there were a handful of stand out performances from Predators prospects. 

Ryker Lee was one of best North American players 

Surprisingly, the United States and Canada struggled in the showcase. 

The Americans went 1-6 and the Canadians went 1-2, with their lone win coming against the United States in the final game of the tournament. USA's only win was when their White team defeated Finland, 5-2. Finland would later defeat the USA's Blue team and then the combined team. 

Despite all that, Lee was ranked tied for first among North American scorers with five points in four games. He was tied with James Hagens (USA, Boston Bruins), Michael Hage (Canada, Montreal Canadiens), Cullen Potter (USA, Calgary Flames) and Cole Reschny (Canada, Calgary Flames). 

Considering Lee was the second-lowest drafted player in that group, the Nashville Predators could've gotten a steal by drafting a player with so much offensive upside. 

Lee's stick skills and ability to create his own chances anywhere on the ice were awe-inspiring. Playing against the top junior prospects in the world, Lee had no issues standing on his offensive identity. 

He impressed at the Future Stars Game in early July and will likely run into a lot of these same WJC this fall as he'll be playing with Michigan State. 

Lee capturing the attention the tournament is a big win for the Nashville Predators future.

Brady Martin was surprisingly quiet 

The Predators highest pick in over a decade, Martin, was surprisingly quiet in the showcase. 

He played out of his normal center position in Canada's intrasquad scrimmage, playing on the third line at right wing with Cole Beaudoin (Utah) centering the line and Reschny (Calgary) at left wing. 

Martin recorded an assist in that game, but was subbed out in Canada's first game of the tournament against Finland. He'd return in Canada's game against Sweden and scored his only goal of the tournament in an 8-4 loss.

He used a falling defenseman as a screen on the goalie and beat the net minder high glove side.

Canada's final game against the U.S. was a little bit more complicated for Martin. He had an assist, but it was off a missed shot that had a lucky bounce off the end boards that found its way back to the front of the net. 

Martin couldn't stay out of the box either. He took three penalties. The first was for charging, hitting the U.S. player right in the back, the second was cross-checking, and the third was for high-sticking. 

Is this going to impact Martin's future standings in the NHL, OHL or WJC? Probably not. It's the middle of the summer, and no one is really gaining or losing anything from these games. Martin was also playing out of position at times. 

As a center, he's not expected to do a ton of scoring, but a few more points could've helped. The penalties are a tad concerning, mainly because they show some lack of discipline, but that's what these summer tournaments are for —to work those kinds of things out. 

Teddy Stiga only played 3 games after strong 1st game

USA White's first game of the tournament was the Lee/Stiga show. The pair scored four of the team's six total goals in a 5-2 win over Finland, which was the U.S.'s only victory of the showcase. 

Stiga skated on the first line in all three games he played, two with USA White and one with the combined team, with Hagens and Brodie Ziemer (Buffalo). He didn't score in the final two games and was called for tripping in the combined game against Sweden. 

It is likely that the US saw what they needed from not just Stiga, but Hagens and Ziemer, who also sat the final two games, and wanted to reserve them. In the end, Stiga playing only three games was likely a good thing. 

He dominated in his first season with Boston College, scoring 38 points in 27 games. He also played for the United States at the 2025 World Junior Championship, scoring the Gold medal-winning goal in a 4-3 overtime win against Finland.

Stiga will not only be a lock for the U.S.'s 2026 WJC team but could have an even bigger year at BC, possibly winning the Hobey Baker Award or a National Championship.