2026 World Juniors: Top Standouts from USA vs. Germany pre-tournament game

The Americans have kicked off 2026 World Junior Championship pre-tournament action on the right foot, beating Germany 8-0 on Sunday evening.

USA will return to action for their second and final pre-tournament game, a 7:00 PM ET fight against Latvia. The Germans will get five days of rest before meeting up with the United States again to kick off round-robin action.

The first period was relatively quiet, until Will Horcoff and Ryker Lee managed to score goals in the final minute. That momentum carried over into the second, where Horcoff, Will Zellers, Teddy Stiga would extend the lead to 5-0. Cole McKinney scored on a breakaway, while Zellers and Brodie Ziemer each added one to finish off the one-sided affair.

Here’s a look at the top performers from Sunday evening in Duluth, Minnesota:

USA

#2 Luke Osburn, D (Buffalo Sabres): It wasn’t an overly difficult day for the American blueliners, but Osburn looked great. He had a couple of good looks on the man advantage and attacked the O-zone without sacrificing his positioning in the D-zone. Osburn finished with an assist on Zellers’ second-period goal.

#10 James Hagens, C (Boston Bruins): Not exactly a surprise seeing Hagens here. He was USA’s top play-driver the whole night, and he was the one who helped get the scoring going. Hagens made a great feed to Will Horcoff late in the first to make it 1-0, showing a high level of skill and hockey sense on the play. He’s the smartest player USA has and, understandably, will be counted on in all situations over the next few weeks.

#12 Will Zellers, LW (Boston Bruins): Zellers was everywhere today. He made a great pass on the 2-0 goal, and then he. I also liked that the Americans tried him on the power play while Cole Eiserman sat for the night. Zellers plays with a ton of drive and confidence, allowing him to pull off quality chances consistently. He was a late addition to this team, but this showing likely helped his odds of making the final roster.

#16 Ryker Lee, RW (Nashville Predators): It’s been a good week for Nashville draft picks. I loved Lee’s game today – hard not to when he had a three-point night. He was buzzing all over the ice, beating players in tight and drawing German defenders away from dangerous areas in other situations. Lee plays with so much skill, and he’s going to be an absolute play-driver in the bottom-six – assuming he didn’t just play his way into the top six.

#24 Will Horcoff, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins): Horcoff scored a late goal in the first and another in the second, helping to put the game out of reach. For the most part, I liked how Horcoff continuously put himself in scoring lanes, and he seemed to have solid chemistry with both Hagens and Brodie Ziemer. There’s a reason why he’s one of the top players in college right now – he’s a dominant scoring threat.

#74 Brodie Ziemer, RW (Buffalo Sabres): With a goal, two assists and a penalty, Ziemer was noticeable on USA’s top line, as expected. His chemistry with James Hagens was apparent from the start, and then I loved the way Ziemer continued to use his speed to get himself into scoring lanes.

Germany

#29 Lennart Neiße, G: The 6-foot-6 goaltender is no stranger to getting shelled by pucks and he definitely dealt with that today. He kept his team in it as the Americans tested him early, but two late first-period goals ultimately sank the Germans. You can’t win when your team doesn’t score, and unfortunately for Neiße, his team was simply outmatched.

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