2026 World Juniors: Top standouts from Germany vs. USA

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – The final score might not prove it, but USA’s 6-3 win over Germany was much closer than you might have thought.

The Americans cruised to an 8-0 win earlier in the pre-tournament, but the Germans wanted revenge. It didn’t start well for them, though, with Max Plante, Chase Reid and Will Horcoff scoring in the first 16 minutes to make it 3-0. Timo Kose gave Germany something to cheer about at 17:39, though – and they’d make sure to make it count.

Simon Seidl and Lenny Boos would each score for Germany in the first 11 minutes of the second, helping to close the gap. That forced the Americans to play on their heels, and they’d get two goals from Will Zellers and another from Cole Eiserman to make it 6-3 heading into the third. Both teams had some decent looks in the third, but the score remained the same, with USA winning on home ice to open the tournament:

Here’s a look at the top performers from Friday night’s final game at the Grand Casino Arena:

Germany

#29 Lennart Neiße, G: Sure, he allowed a bunch of goals tonight. But it could have easily been much, much worse. He did a great job of reacting to high-danger chances, and most of the goals against weren’t his fault. He had as good a high-scoring game as you’ll find – he never gave up.

#7 Carlos Handel, D (Montreal Canadiens): Handel had a good tournament last year, but didn’t have any offense to show for it. So it was nice to see him contribute to Germany’s first goal, rushing into the zone and creating a chance that was picked up in front. He’s smart, skilled and plays a strong two-way game – I think he could be a decent value selection by the Canadiens.

#25 Tobias Schwarz, LW: Schwarz was the most noticeable forward early on, getting a handful of quality looks around the crease. He figured out how to expose USA’s defensemen – starting from the outside and carving back in while shooting low. Schwarz plays against men, and looks to be a big part of the team’s offense moving forward.

USA

#25 Chase Reid, D (2026 NHL Draft): I thought Reid was just fine during the two pre-tournament games, but he came to play today. He scored the 2-0 goal, and nearly had another after showing some high pace. There’s a lot of competition to be the top defenseman in the 2026 NHL Draft, and Reid is definitely in the conversation. It’ll be interesting to see how they use him going forward because I loved his play today.

#44 Cole Hutson, D (Washington Capitals): Hutson played nearly 10 minutes in the opening period – which is kind of insane, given USA has some decent defensive depth. It felt like most of the mistakes, though, came when Hutson wasn’t on the ice. Hutson had a strong shift that led to the 4-2 goal, which proved important given that Germany scored on the next play. He’s just so slick, doing an excellent job of protecting the puck and avoiding danger.

#12 Will Zellers, LW (Boston Bruins): Zellers wasn’t even named to USA’s original training camp roster – and now he’s the team’s most lethal forward. He scored a pair in the second to give the USA the edge, showing some decent patience on both plays. His ability to wait until the goalie is screened to put his deceptive shot on display has made him tremendously dangerous in college, and after a good pre-tournament game against the Germans a few nights ago (and today), he’s clearly playing with confidence.

#24 Will Horcoff, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins): After entering the tournament as one of the most lethal shooters in the NCAA, he has kept things alive with USA the past few days. He scored in each pre-tournament game and then tallied the second goal today, using his powerful release to confuse the Germans around the net. He’s so physically imposing – opponents just don’t know how to deal with him effectively.

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