2026 World Juniors: Top standouts from Day 5
ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Switzerland and Latvia are off to the quarterfinal, and Denmark and Germany will battle it out in the relegation game.
Switzerland had a convincing 4-0 victory over Germany to kick off the day’s action in St. Paul, while Latvia outshot Denmark 42-12 in an eventual 6-3 victory.
Here’s a look at the top standouts from the two games on the penultimate day of the round-robin:
Switzerland 4, Germany 0
Switzerland has qualified for the quarterfinals after beating Germany 4-0.
The winner of Switzerland vs. Slovakia on Wednesday will finish third in Group A, while the loser will finish fourth and face the winner of Group B in the quarterfinals. The Germans will play in the relegation game on Friday at 12:30 PM ET, with the opponent to be determined later.
The Swiss were in full control in the first period, outshooting Germany 19-7. Some power-play time helped, but the team seemed to really come together in a way we hadn’t seen before. Kimi Koerbler would open the scoring at 11:42 before Jamiro Reber doubled the advantage less than two minutes later on the man advantage. Switzerland continued to dominate the rest of the game, but only Ludvig Johnsson would find the back of the net to close off the day.
Germany
#29 Lennart Neiße, G: It wasn’t a particularly incredible game out of Neiße, but he seemed to be the only German player who showed up today. He had to make a couple of difficult glove stops, and he kept getting the puck out of trouble. But beyond that, it’s hard to do much when you’ve got no defensive support against a team that isn’t known for shooting a whole lot.
Switzerland
#41 Leon Muggli, D (Washington Capitals): Muggli is a wizard with the puck. He struggled during the pre-tournament after missing most of the season due to injury. But once he got comfortable in Minnesota, he started to really come together. Muggli played his most dominant game today, making high-end passes and launching his NHL-caliber shot from the point.
#15 Lars Steiner, C (2026 NHL Draft): Steiner is Switzerland’s best puck distributor and it’s not even close. It feels like he runs the power play by himself at times. Switzerland doesn’t have a ton of skill, so a lot of their offense has to come on the power play. Steiner’s vision and hockey sense shone through today.
#39 Jamiro Reber, RW: If you’ve followed the WJC, you know all about Reber – it’s his third tournament. Yet, somehow, he only scored his first IIHF goal today. He has always been one of the better 2006-born forwards, so it was quite surprising. Today, though, he seemed to find some newfound energy after the goal and looked impressive the rest of the way, especially as a playmaker.
#89 Kimi Körbler, RW: Körbler hadn’t played much in this tournament leading into today. But he made his ice time count today with two goals. His second marker was an impressive effort – he forced a turnover and got his own rebound. He’s sneaky with the way he catches up to you and creates his own chances.
Latvia 6, Denmark 3
Latvia has advanced to the quarterfinal for the fourth time in five years after beating Denmark 6-3 on Tuesday.
With the loss, the Danes will play in the relegation game against Germany on January 2, while Latvia will await its quarterfinal opponent.
The game was dominated mainly by the Latvians, with Denmark struggling to stay out of the box. Krisjanis Sarts scored the lone goal in the first period before watching his team explode for three in the second. Alberts Smits – one of the top 2026 NHL Draft prospects – had a solid two-goal performance, while Antons Macijevskis tallied one for himself late in the second.
Denmark would get goals from Oliver Larsen, William Bundgaard and Anton Linde, but additional goals from Bruno Osmanis and Markuss Sieradzkis ultimately put the game away for Latvia.
Denmark
#1 Anton Wilde, G: The Danes were heavily out-chanced in this one, and if it wasn’t for Wilde’s 13 saves in the first period, the game could have been an absolute disaster. The Danes just looked exhausted from the get-go after losing to Canada, and Wilde was busy as a result. I thought his glove hand looked a bit better tonight than in one of the first two starts, helping give Denmark a legit chance to win.
#19 William Bundgaard, RW: Bundgaard was one of the few Danes who seemed to do anything dangerous with the puck. He scored on a nice shot to cut Latvia’s advantage in the second period, and then he was leaned on in the closing minutes as the Danes needed to score three goals to tie it. I’ve liked his play since the start of the pre-tournament – he’s just involved.
Latvia
#10 Harijs Cjunskis, D: I really liked Cjunskis’ game, especially early. He was Smits’ defense partner, but I thought he was the better of the two defensively today, especially early. He also took a handful of shots, although he came up short on the scoresheet. Still, it was a solid defensive effort from him.
#23 Alberts Smits, D (2026 NHL Draft): Looks like he got the Daily Faceoff bump. Tuesday’s game started a bit wonky for him, but a pair of second-period goals helped lift Latvia to the victory. I’m not sure what he said to wake himself up after the first intermission, but he was much more engaged and started making smarter defensive decisions. Given Latvia’s lack of offensive weapons, Smits had to be great – and delivered.
#14 Olivers Murnieks, C (2026 NHL Draft): I really soured on Murnieks’ draft stock this year but this was his best game of the tournament. He was one of the most physical forwards at all times, winning so many battles both in front of the net and along the boards. He also had a few high-end chances in the slot that didn’t pay off. I didn’t notice him much before tonight, but I loved how noticeable he was in the offensive zone.
#19 Bruno Osmanis, RW: Osmanis is as close to a playdriver as you’ll find on a team like this. Osmanis helped set up the 1-0 goal after a great pass to the point, and then he started the play that led to the 2-0 power-play goal. Osmanis then scored to make it 5-2 on the power play in the second period. He’s not the fastest skater, but he makes up for it with his stickhandling.
Remaining Schedule
All times ET
Wednesday, December 31
- 1:00 PM – Switzerland vs. Slovakia — Grand Casino Arena
- 3:30 PM – Czechia vs. Latvia — 3M Arena at Mariucci
- 6:00 PM – USA vs. Sweden — Grand Casino Arena
- 8:30 PM – Canada vs. Finland — 3M Arena at Mariucci
Friday, January 2
- 12:30 PM – Germany vs. Denmark — 3M Arena at Mariucci
- 2:00 PM – Sweden vs. TBD — Grand Casino Arena
- 4:30 PM – TBD vs. TBD — 3M Arena at Mariucci
- 6:00 PM – USA vs. TBD — Grand Casino Arena
- 8:30 PM – Canada vs. TBD — 3M Arena at Mariucci
Sunday, January 4
- 4:30 PM – Semifinal 1 — Grand Casino Arena
- 8:30 PM – Semifinal 2 — Grand Casino Arena
Monday, January 5
- 4:30 PM – Bronze Medal Game — Grand Casino Arena
- 8:30 PM – Gold Medal Game — Grand Casino Arena