Nashville Predators Stand Out at the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase
Team USA Hockey is participating in the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase in Ontario, Canada, as they invite players from its youth system to show their skills ahead of the 2027 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
The showcase includes teams from Canada, Finland, and Sweden, with the first games starting on Wednesday. Team Finland defeated Team USA 3-2 in the first game, and Team Sweden defeated Team Canada 5-3 in the second game.
Team USA spent the weekend and the first few days of this week playing exhibitions and several Nashville Predators young players are already making an impact.
Team USA
Team USA has three Nashville Predators on the roster, with 2026 first-round pick Wyatt Cullen garnering the most headlines. He ripped a shot against Sweden that turned into the opening goal and then scored one of his own in a 6-1 win on Sunday, and had an assist disallowed due to offsides in Team USA's loss to Finland on Wednesday.
Wyatt Cullen scores his first goal at World Junior Summer Showcase. pic.twitter.com/CzZzAEfVBF
— Predators Muse (@PredatorsMuse) July 26, 2026
Fellow 2026 first round pick, defender Tommy Bleyl, showed his skating skills by scoring against Sweden but had it disallowed for goalie interference.
Tommy Bleyl (USA | #Preds) goes coast to coast and jams it in but will pick up a penalty instead of the goal here. #WJSS #WJCShowcase pic.twitter.com/i3gHNIp77u
— On The Fly (@OnTheFly1515) July 26, 2026
2025 second-round pick, defender Jacob Rombach, got into the exhibition games against Sweden as he works to make an impact. Rombach didn't play in Nashville's Developmental Camp, but played in all 36 games as a true freshman at Minnesota this past year. He scored his first goal of the season in the Gopher's last game of the year.
B-🇺🇸 0-0 🇸🇪
— On The Fly (@OnTheFly1515) July 26, 2026
13:56 1ST PER#WJSS | @DraftProHockey
A nice chance there by Theo Stockselius (SWE | #Flames) denied by a good stick from Jacob Rombach (USA | #Preds) pic.twitter.com/Wb1Hamp2hQ
Team Canada
The Nashville Predators have three players who made the Canadian roster for the event: forward Brady Martin, defender Cameron Reid, and goaltender Jack Ivankovic. Reid and Ivankovic were healthy scratches for Team Canada's first game against Sweden, while Calgary Flames 19-year-old center Theo Stockselius scored two goals, including the game-winner, in Team Sweden's 5-3 win.
The 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase continues on Thursday with the United States taking on Sweden at 3 p.m. CT and Canada taking on Finland at 6 p.m. It concludes on Saturday with Finland vs Sweden at 11 a.m. CT and the United States facing Canada at 4 p.m.
The 2027 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship is December 26-January 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Team Sweden won their first title since 2012 last season, ending Team USA's two-year winning streak in the process.
Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram for the latest news.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS On SI
Joe Gaither covers the Nashville Predators for Nashville Predators On SI. He also oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral. He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Miami, Missouri and Vanderbilt college On SI sites.