Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Whether it’s the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa or the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, the rest of the hockey world has been seeing what the American Hockey League has to offer this week.
The Canadian National Team, which features 13 current AHL players, swept its two preliminary-round games at the Spengler Cup to earn a spot in the semifinals on Monday. Ontario Reign forward Charles Hudon scored twice in Thursday’s 6-2 win over HC Davos, while Toronto Marlies captain Logan Shaw struck twice on Saturday in a 6-3 win over German club team Straubing Tigers. Springfield Thunderbirds goaltender Colten Ellis earned both wins in net for Canada.
A win Monday would send Team Canada to the tournament final on New Year’s Eve. A participant in the Spengler Cup every year since 1984, Canada is bidding for its 17th title.
While the Spengler Cup has a largely veteran flavor, the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship has displayed some of the AHL’s top prospects.
Rochester Americans forward Anton Wahlberg recorded two goals and two assists for Sweden in an 8-1 win over Kazakhstan on Friday. Wahlberg, Buffalo’s second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has four goals and six assists for the Amerks this season. He is joined on Sweden’s roster by Chicago Wolves forward Felix Unger Sorum, who recorded two assists in a 5-2 win over Slovakia on Thursday.
Springfield’s Dalibor Dvorsky has a goal and an assist through Slovakia’s first two games of the tournament. Dvorsky, the 10th overall pick in the 2023 draft by St. Louis, ranks among the AHL’s rookie leaders with 11 goals and 21 points for the Thunderbirds. He is captaining the Slovak entry. Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Eduard Sale, another 2023 first-round selection, is wearing the “C” for Czechia; he had two assists while Ontario Reign defenseman Jakub Dvorak scored a goal in the Czechs’ 14-2 win over Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Rochester’s Konsta Helenius has an assist for Finland thus far, and Chicago’s Bradly Nadeau is skating for Canada.
The World Junior Championship preliminary round runs through Tuesday, with quarterfinals set for Thursday and the semifinals and finals scheduled for next weekend.
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
