World Juniors Day 6 Primer: Flyers Prospects in Must-Watch Games

On this New Year’s Eve, there are four games on Day 6 of the World Juniors, the final day of the group stages. Once again, there is the possibility for all six Flyers prospects to be in action on Wednesday – all condensed into two games.

The New Year’s Eve hockey begins with Switzerland vs. Slovakia at 1:00 p.m. EST at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota. That game is followed by Czechia vs. Latvia at 3:30 p.m. EST at 3M Arena at Mariccui in Minneapolis.

Hockey is hockey, don’t get me wrong. However, those aren’t the matchups that people pay for subscriptions to watch. Those matchups, well, those come in the evening.

We’re going to start with the late matchup first, because, well, it’s a little less intriguing.

Read More: World Juniors Day 4: Berglund, Martone Score Twice in Flyers Prospects’ Strong Showing

Canada vs. Finland

Canada and Finland take the ice at 3M Arena at Mariucci at 8:30 p.m. EST. Porter Martone and Jett Luchanko vs. Heikki Ruohonen and Max Westergard. This is a contest Flyers fans will want to be tuned into. I mean, what sounds more entertaining, a countdown to a ball drop of some box office hockey?

Regarding the Flyers’ prospects in this game, there are a few things I will be keeping a specific eye on.

Martone has been one of Canada’s best players throughout the tournament. His ice time has been the highest of all the Canadian forwards, except for Canada’s domination vs. Denmark. The Flyers’ prospect was second to Gavin McKenna in that game, who had a hat trick.

Despite the plethora of ice time and impressive play, Martone earned his first non-empty net points of the tournament vs. Denmark. He’s got the monkey off his back; look for the Canadian captain to keep producing.

As for his teammate, Jett Luchanko, well, I am watching for him to make any sort of noise. It’s been a quiet tournament for Luchanko. With Dale Hunter behind the bench, I don’t expect Luchanko to be a scratch, but he hasn’t been playing well. Granted, he’s playing toward the bottom of the lineup. But let’s see if Luchanko gets himself on the board.

As for Ruohonen and Westergard, I am watching for the same thing out of both of them. Both Finnish prospects have been playing exceptionally well. They have both climbed my personal prospect rankings during the tournament. So, playing a juggernaut like Canada, I’d like to see them keep that up. Both players have played best when the lights are bright. Wednesday night will be the brightest.

USA vs. Sweden

Now, for the big must-see matchup: USA vs. Sweden. This game takes place at 6:00 p.m. EST at Grand Casino Arena. Both teams will take the ice to battle for the top spot in Group A to close the group stage of the tournament.

Flyers prospect Shane Vansaghi has been a healthy scratch since the American’s first game of the tournament, where he tallied just over five minutes of ice time. Does he draw back into the lineup in what will undoubtedly be a high-intensity matchup? This very well could have been the championship if the two teams were in different groups.

Team USA has been powered by a pair of Bruins prospects, James Hagens and Will Zellers, who have had great tournaments.

As for Sweden, well, they’re just as entertaining as you’d expect with a lineup full of high-end NHL prospects, both drafted and upcoming. Jack Berglund, Sweden’s captain and a Flyers prospect, had his best game of the tournament on Day 4, scoring two goals. His two goals and an assist have him tied 28th in points for the tournament.

Berglund has been getting power-play time on a line with Anton Frondell (CHI) and Victor Eklund (NYI), playing on one of the most dangerous units in the whole event.

Sweden itself is a box office team. They are absolutely loaded. Aside from Frondell, Eklund, and Berglund, they have Milton Gastrin (’25 37th pick, WAS), Eric Nilson (’25 45th pick, ANA), and a pair of 2026 high-end prospects, Viggo Bjorck and Ivar Stenberg. They even have one of my personal favorites from the 2025 draft, Sascha Boumedienne (’25 28th pick, WPG).

There is a good chance this will be the first of two meetings between Sweden and the US. It is a must-watch matchup.

All games will be aired on NHL Network.

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