Anton
Frondell and Victor Eklund will not play for Sweden at the upcoming
World Junior Summer Showcase, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association
tweeted
on Monday.
According
to HockeyNews.se,
both players have a busy summer with NHL development camps and
Djurgården’s professional summer training camp. The pair of
18-year-olds were part of the team that helped Djurgården ascend
from the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan to the top-tier SHL, and
the move up is seen as a big step in their development.
Frondell
was drafted third overall by the Chicago
Blackhawks and Eklund went 16th
to the New York
Islanders. Both have already signed entry-level NHL contracts and
both have been loaned back to Djurgården
for
the upcoming season.
That
leaves 16 drafted players on the 25-man roster – scroll down for
the complete list.
Report: Anton Frondell Will Sign With Blackhawks This Week; Won’t Attend Training Camp
Swedish center Anton Frondell will sign an entry-level contract this
upcoming week with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that took him
third overall at this year’s NHL Entry Draft, according to Swedish
journalist Gunnar
Nordström.
The
roster includes a pair of 17-year-olds
who are consensus
top-10 picks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft: Ivar
Stenberg, a late-2007-born player, and 2008-born Viggo Björck.
Due
to his birth year, Björck
is
still U-18 eligible but his inclusion on this roster likely means he
will not play for Sweden at this
year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup. That would be consistent with how
the Swedes have prioritized the U-20 Showcase over the U-18 summer
tournament in the past.
The
World Junior Summer Showcase runs from July 27 to Aug. 2 in
Minneapolis, Minn. It features the junior national teams of Sweden
and Finland and two teams each of Canadian and U.S. players. It is
generally used as an evaluation tournament for the IIHF World Junior
Championship, which this year will also be in the state of Minnesota
from Dec. 26, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026.
Islanders Sign Victor Eklund But He’s Probably Returning To Sweden Too
Swedish winger Victor Eklund, 18, has signed a three-year entry-level
contract with the New
York Islanders, the team that drafted him 16th overall
at the recent NHL Entry Draft, the
club announced on Monday.
Goaltenders:
Herman
Liv, Örebro HK;
Carl Axelsson, Sioux Falls Stampede USHL;
Love
Härenstam, Skellefteå AIK – St.
Louis Blues.
Defensemen:
Felix Öhrqvist, Linköping
HC;
Leo Sahlin Wallenius, Växjö Lakers – San
Jose Sharks;
Sascha Boumedienne, Boston University NCAA
– Winnipeg
Jets;
Victor Johansson, Leksands IF – Toronto
Maple Leafs;
Alfons Freij, IF Björklöven – Winnipeg
Jets;
Carl-Otto Magnusson, Frölunda HC;
Viggo Gustafsson,
HV71 – Nashville
Predators;
Gabriel Eliasson, Barrie Colts OHL
– Ottawa Senators.
Forwards:
Lucas Pettersson, MoDo Hockey –
Anaheim
Ducks;
Melvin Fernström, Örebro HK – Pittsburgh
Penguins;
Linus Eriksson, Timrå IK – Florida
Panthers;
Ivar
Stenberg, Frölunda HC;
Viggo Nordlund, Skellefteå AIK –
Carolina
Hurricanes;
Eric Nilson, Djurgårdens IF – Anaheim Ducks;
Jack Berglund, Färjestad BK – Philadelphia
Flyers;
Wilson Björck, Djurgårdens IF – Vancouver
Canucks;
Valter Lindberg, Skellefteå AIK;
Liam
Danielsson, Örebro HK;
Alexander Zetterberg, Minnesota State
University NCAA;
Viggo Björck, Djurgårdens IF;
Filip
Ekberg, Ottawa 67’s OHL – Carolina Hurricanes;
Eddie
Genborg, Linköping HC – Detroit
Red Wings.
Photo © David Reginek-Imagn Images: Coach Magnus Hävelid oversees the Swedish bench at last year's World Junior Summer Showcase.
Helenius & Hemming Highlight Finnish U-20 Roster In Home Tournament
Ahead of next week’s World
Junior Summer Challenge in Minnesota, a series of games involving
four U-20 teams is taking place in Vierumäki,
Finland
on Sunday and Monday. Two teams from Finland – essentially an
A-team and a B-team – will host the Czech and Swiss national junior
teams once each.
Read the full article here