The 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Championship came to a close on Monday, with Sweden pulling out a 4-2 win over Czechia in the Gold Medal game. In doing so, New York Islanders prospect Victor Eklund won Player of the Game honors, recording a goal and assist.
Sweden got goals in each period, with Casper Juustovaara and Sascha Boumedienne lighting the lamp in the bookend frames. In the middle period, Eklund took center stage, capitalizing on the power play. Eklund buried a one-time feed from Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jack Berglund to double the Swedish lead.
Eklund finishes the tournament at a point-per-game pace, notching two goals and five assists for seven points. He finishes his World Juniors career with four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 14 contests. He also took home some hardware after the game, being named the Player of the Game for Sweden by members of the attending media.
Czechia made a frantic push inside the final two minutes, getting goals from Adam Jiříček and Matej Kubiesa, but Sweden iced the game away with seconds remaining on an empty net goal from Ivar Stenberg. Eklund picked up the primary helper on the tally.
Each of the three teams to earn medals in this year's tournament featured an Islanders prospect. Czechia's Tomas Poletin won a silver medal on the heels of an impressive showing in Minnesota. The 2024 fourth-round pick finishes with four goals and two assists for six points in seven games, including the late dagger to eliminate Canada in the semifinal.
This year marks the third consecutive year an Islanders prospect has won gold at the Juniors. The 2024 tournament saw forwards Danny Nelson and Quinn Finley strike gold for Team USA over host nation Sweden. Last year in Ottawa, Nelson and Cole Eiserman helped the Stars and Stripes successfully defend their title over Finland.