On the first day of preliminary round play at the 2026 World Junior Championship, five of Utah’s prospects were in action. Below is a recap of today’s games with Mammoth prospects!

Zayne Parekh scored twice, Canada had four goals in the third period and the Canadians defeated Czechia 7-5 at the World Junior Championships.

The 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship started its 10-day stretch on Friday, bringing spectators from all over the world and boosting local businesses.

William Horcoff (Pittsburgh Penguins) extended the lead to 3-0 on a shot from the slot at 15:55 of the first. James Hagens (Boston Bruins) made the play happen with a check behind Germany's net to free the puck to Brodie Ziemer (Buffalo Sabres) at the bottom of the left circle. Horcoff then finished the play off a pass from Ziemer.

Flames legend Jarome Iginla's son Tij was just Canada's hero at World Juniors originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. In an absolutely wild opener at World Juniors, one of Team Canada's heroes is the son of an NHL legend.

Will Zellers scored twice and added an assist as the United States beat Germany 6-3 in both team’s opening game of the World Junior Championships on Friday

Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and Max Bultman form an expert prospect panel to analyze our staff's picks ahead of this year's tournament.

It didn't take long for Washington Capitals prospect Cole Hutson to make his mark in his first game back playing on the international stage. The rising defenseman put on a show en route to Team USA's 6-3 victory over Team Germany in their first game of the 2026 World Juniors, as he picked up two assists and a plus/minus rating of plus-5.