Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Whether it’s the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa or the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, the entire hockey world has been seeing what the American Hockey League has to offer this week.
Canada’s National Team, which includes 13 current AHL players, swept its two first-round games in the Spengler Cup to earn a spot in the semifinals on Monday. Ontario Go ahead Charles Hudon scored two goals in Thursday’s 6-2 win over HC Davos, and captained the Toronto Marlies Logan Shaw scored twice on Saturday in a 6-3 win over German team Straubing Tigers. Goalkeeper for the Springfield Thunderbirds Colten Ellis he earned both wins in net in Canada.
A win on Monday would send Team Canada to the finals of the tournament on New Year’s Eve. A Spengler Cup participant every year since 1984, Canada is seeking its 17th title.
While the Spengler Cup has a veteran flavor, the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship has featured some of the AHL’s top prospects.
Rochester Americans ahead Anton Wahlberg recorded two goals and two assists in Sweden’s 8-1 win over Kazakhstan on Friday. Wahlberg, a second-round pick by Buffalo in the 2023 NHL Draft, has four goals and six assists for the Americans this season. He was joined on the Swedish roster by the Chicago Wolves forward Felix Unger Sorumwho recorded two assists in a 5-2 win over Slovakia on Thursday.
Springfield’s Dalibor Dvorsky he has a goal and an assist in Slovakia’s first two games of the tournament. Dvorsky, the 10th overall pick in the 2023 draft by St. He is the captain of the Slovak team. The Coachella Valley Firebirds are ahead Eduard Saleanother 2023 first-round pick, wearing the “C” of Czechia; had two assists while defending the Ontario Reign Jakub Dvorak scored as the Czechs beat Kazakhstan 14-2 on Saturday.
Rochester’s Konsta Helenius has the assist for Finland so far, as well as Chicago Bradley Nadeau Canadian figure skating.
The first round of the World Junior Championship continues on Tuesday, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday and the semifinals and finals scheduled for next weekend.
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
