Eiserman and Bednarik Make Team USA's World Junior Roster

Cole Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik will all represent the U.S. at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship

New York Islanders prospects – and Boston University teammates – Cole Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik were named to Team USA’s final roster for the upcoming World Juniors, USA Hockey announced on Wednesday.

Eiserman is one of eight returning players from the Team USA’s 2025 gold-medal winning squad. The 19-year-old finished tied for fourth on Team USA and fifth in the whole tournament with seven points (3G, 4A).

This season, Eiserman leads Boston University with eight goals. The Islanders’ 2024 first-round pick (20^th overall) sits third in points with 12 (8G, 4A) behind Owen McLaughlin and Team USA teammate Cole Hutson.

Bednarik, a fellow Islanders prospect and BU Terrier will join Eiserman at World Juniors as he makes his first WJC appearance. The 2024 second-round pick (61^st overall) has nine points (5G, 4A) this season for BU, including three goals in his last four games.

Bednarik tallied nine points for BU at this point last year, and he finished with 19 points (2G, 17A). He has earned 11 points (5G, 6A) in 14 games for Team USA at the U-17 and U-18 levels.

Jacob Kvasnicka, the Islanders 2025 seventh-round pick (202nd overall) was a late cut by Team USA.

The World Juniors begin on Dec. 26 and run until Jan. 5. See the full World Juniors schedule here. Follow the Islanders World Junior Tracker starting on Dec. 26. Islanders 2025 first-round pick (17^th overall) Kashawn Aitcheson will represent Team Canada, while 2025 first-round pick Victor Eklund will represent Team Sweden. Tomas Poletin, the Islanders’ 2025 fourth-round pick, has dressed in Czechia’s pre-tournament games.