Scouting reports on the 2026 NHL Draft prospects from the IIHF World Championship

Jun 1, 2026, 10:30 EDTUpdated: May 31, 2026, 17:37 EDT

Credit: Ivar Stenberg

That’s it. The on-ice portion of the 2026 NHL Draft season is over.

The 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship concluded in Switzerland on Sunday, with Finland taking home gold with a 1-0 overtime win over the Swiss. It was a remarkable tournament, with some major upsets – such as Norway making the final four for the first time ever, or Slovenia’s comeback win over Czechia on the second day of the tourney.

And for a handful of players, it was an opportunity to prove themselves against high-level competition. Gavin McKenna was originally expected to join Canada, but decided just prior to the draft lottery to sit it out and focus on preparing for the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo this week.

While the tournament isn’t best-on-best, we still saw guys like Ivar Stenberg and Viggo Björck line up for faceoffs against Macklin Celebrini and Sidney Crosby. It made for some excellent television, and a good opportunity to see some of the game’s top young stars on one of the biggest stages of their young careers.

Here’s a look at eight 2026 NHL Draft prospects who participated in Zurich and Fribourg over the past few weeks:

Leon Kolarik, LW (Austria)

Austria actually put up a fight at the World Championship, starting the tournament 3-0 before eventually losing four straight. But Kolarik, a bottom-six forward, impressed with a pair of assists, and he was especially noticeable in the loss to Finland with three shots and an assist (as well as a couple of blocks). At 5-foot-10, Kolarik isn’t big, but he’s built strong and shows it frequently in his shot. He proved with Peterborough of the OHL that he can be a pain in the butt in the attacking zone because he’s always chasing after pucks. His defensive game leaves a ton to be desired, though – he can feel like a ghost at times. Still, I like that he had the opportunity to play with the men’s national team, and I thought he impressed in some of the exhibition contests leading up to the main event.

Tomáš Galvas, LHD (Czechia)

It was hard to ignore Galvas-mania at the World Championship – he had nine points en route to a silver medal. He wasn’t anywhere as impactful at the WC (and nobody expected that). But I actually thought he had a solid tournament, all things considered. He played 9:41 as an extra defender in Czechia’s opener against Denmark – he finished with 20:00 against Finland. I thought he was especially good against the Swedes in Sweden’s third game, grabbing an assist in 19:02 of ice time. It’s hard to earn playing time as a 20-year-old undersized defender, but I thought Galvas looked as good as he could have.

Domán Kristóf Szongoth, C (Hungary)

It was hard to stand out on Hungary’s national team at the recent IIHF Men’s World Championship. But Szongoth – the youngest player on the team at 17 – was easily one of the top players every single night. I like him because he’s fearless, but he also knows when it’s better to trail back and look for a second opportunity. Szongoth plays a reliable two-way game and has a strong 6-foot-1, 198-pound base to work with. He doesn’t lose many physical battles in front of the net. He already plays quite maturely for his age, too. I think we could see him go somewhere around the fifth round, but I do think scouts like what they saw from him over the past two weeks and it should open some doors for him ahead of the draft.

Olivers Mūrnieks, C (Latvia)

Mūrnieks pulled off the rare feat of playing at the U-18 World Championship and then joining the senior national team a few weeks later. I liked Mūrnieks at the U-18s – he was Latvia’s best player most nights. At the World Championship, though, he didn’t see the ice all too often. He played 11:56 in the opening loss to Switzerland and then played about 13 minutes total the rest of the way. It’s hard to impress in a role like that, although I didn’t think he was particularly bad against the Swiss. Mūrnieks is a tough forward to get a good read on. I’ve really liked him internationally and there’s some decent potential. But he’s wildly inconsistent and doesn’t have a separating trait in his game. While Mūrnieks is far from the preseason projection of going in the first round, I’d still take him late in the third or early in the fourth.

Alberts Šmits, LHD (Latvia)

Šmits averaged over 20 minutes a night for Latvia and didn’t disappoint. He finished with four points total, with the highlight being a two-assist night against Great Britain. The fact that he played over 23 minutes in four of his eight games showed you how much the Latvian coaching staff believed in him. I liked him in every national team event I saw him in this year – World Juniors, Olympics, you name it. He rarely looked out of place despite getting heavy responsibility as an 18-year-old. Šmits might lack high-end offensive traits, but he’s actually quite smart for his age and defends exceptionally well. The team that takes him in the top 10 (top five, maybe?) is going to be thrilled.

Luka Radivojevič, RHD (Slovakia)

Radivojevič was a minute-eater at the World Juniors back in the winter. He wasn’t needed to do anything like that at the World Championship, but he still played between 15-17 most nights and had at least one shot in all but one game. He never looked overwhelmed, even on a Slovak team that really struggled down the stretch. The one game where he didn’t particularly impress me in was the 4-2 loss to Sweden that knocked the Slovaks out of playoff contention – but nobody on Slovakia looked good that day. Radivojevič is an undersized defender who moves well and plays with a ton of skill. But after getting passed over a year ago, I’m not sure scouts are willing to give him a chance again this spring. For the most part, though, I love his puck game and think he’s an intriguing player.

Viggo Björck, C (Sweden)

The Swedes lacked center depth heading into this tournament, but it allowed Björck to absorb the No. 1 middleman gig. I thought he was excellent, and actually better than Ivar Stenberg on some occasions. Björck was especially noticeable against Canada, where he proved he was absolutely fearless. He continuously went up against some of the team’s better players and rarely lost a physical battle. Björck finished with a goal and six points in eight games, which included two primary assists in a 3-0 win over Italy. He played over 21 minutes in three of his eight games – that’s wild for an 18-year-old. Don’t be surprised if Björck passes Caleb Malhotra as the first center off the board.

Ivar Stenberg, LW (Sweden)

With Stenberg being the top candidate to go first overall beyond McKenna, Stenberg knew he had to produce. He finished with four goals and eight points in eight games – the sixth-best output by a draft-eligible prospect in tournament history, and fourth in the 21st Century. A lack of high-end wingers meant Stenberg was leaned on a bit more than he otherwise would be, but he scored some highlight-reel goals along the way. He also landed some massive hits while being one of Sweden’s most aggressive forwards. It would have been nice to see Stenberg go up against McKenna on the opening day of the tournament, but it was nice to see Stenberg have a standout tournament regardless.

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