2026 World Junior Summer Showcase: 3 things learned on Day 2

Monday was the second day of the World Junior Summer Showcase, which will help determine the rosters for the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden at the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

WINDSOR, Ontario -- Eric Nilson knows what it takes to win gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship because he's already gone through the experience.

The 19-year-old helped Sweden win gold at the 2026 World Junior Championship, and now he's back this week at the World Junior Summer Showcase hoping to prove he belongs again when his country selects its roster for the 2027 tournament.

"It's always going to come down to who works the hardest, who has the tightest group and the team that's willing to do the most to win it," Nilson said. "I feel like we have a good group here. We're skilled. We want to work hard and we want to do everything to win the whole thing."

For Nilson, chosen in the second round (No. 45) by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2025 NHL Draft, the goal is bigger than a roster spot. It's about helping Sweden defend its place.

"To go back-to-back would be awesome," he said. "It will mean so much for the country to show Sweden is a good hockey country."

Nilson's path has helped shape that perspective. He was born in Calgary, where his father, former NHL forward Marcus Nilson, played for nearly four seasons (2004-08). The younger Nilson later developed in Sweden before going the NCAA route at Michigan State in 2025-26. He had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 35 games in his first collegiate season, which gave him a clearer look at the pace and habits required to become a pro.

"It was good. It was fun. It was way different from being home," Nilson said. "I just kept getting better and better throughout the season, getting stronger, getting bigger, and getting into the game more and more."

Sweden coach Magnus Havelid, who has utilized Nilson as a second-line center in two matches, has noticed.

"I can see Eric has gotten stronger, quicker," Havelid said. "I'm looking forward to seeing him as well on the ice here during these games."

The Showcase also offers a unique twist. Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale is heading the United States, which means Nilson could look across the ice and see his college coach on the opposing bench.

"It's fun," Nilson said. "We talked before the Showcase and he just told me to keep my head up and watch out for his guys."

Nilson credits Nightingale with helping him adjust to North America, calling him "a super honest coach" who has helped him grow "as a person and as a hockey player."

Sweden has lost its opening two matches at the event and will look for its first win on Wednesday when it plays Canada, which arrived in Windsor on Monday evening.

Malhotra's moment

Caleb Malhotra could feel the weight of the moment before he even pulled the jersey over his shoulders at Canada's first practice session at WFCU Centre on Monday.

The 18-year-old center, chosen at No. 3 overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2026 NHL Draft, was surrounded by Canada's best young players and the excitement hit him in a way that felt different. This was not just another camp. This was Hockey Canada. This was the Maple Leaf.

"It was a pretty special moment," Malhotra said. "It's my first time officially putting on the Maple Leaf in any kind of capacity, so I feel like it's that much more meaningful."

For years, he had watched friends represent Canada at other international tournaments, hearing stories about the pride and the pressure. Now, he's the one getting that chance.

"I just want to show that I have another gear, and my ability to make plays and shut down guys," Malhotra said. "It's something I've worked on a lot this summer. To have another all-around role on a team like this, where there's so many deep players at the centerman position, the forward position, would be amazing."

There is family history, too.

His father, Vancouver Canucks coach Manny Malhotra, played twice at World Juniors, captaining Canada and winning the bronze medal in 2000. Caleb remembers hearing how special it was for his dad to wear a letter and have a voice in that room.

"Definitely," Caleb said when asked if there was unfinished business for the Malhotra family. "That'll just be a little cherry on top if we get to that point."

His own World Juniors memories are already vivid. His favorite came in 2023, when Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard scored the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat Slovakia, 4-3, and send Canada to the semifinals of the tournament.

"I was so stoked and excited," Malhotra said. "I was so fired up that at intermission, I put my roller skates on, went out in the road and just started stick-handling."

Makinen makes his case

Ilari Makinen has the frame, the edge and now the stage to show why he is one of Finland's more intriguing late-round possibilities for the 2027 NHL Draft.

Makinen (6-2, 187), a C-rated player on NHL Central Scouting's Players to Watch list, has already taken meaningful steps in making his Liiga debut with HPK as a 17-year-old last season. He also played for Finland at the 2026 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, giving him international experience entering an important draft season.

At the Summer Showcase, the left-handed right wing is trying to push his way into Finland's plans for the 2027 WJC. "It means a lot," Makinen said of the opportunity.

His game is not complicated, and that is part of the appeal. He profiles as a power forward who can play wing, use his size below the dots and create space through contact.

"I'm a power forward, and I hit and shoot," he said. "I like to play a power game. I like going into the corners and digging the puck out."

Finland coach Ville Mantymaa sees the same foundation.

"He's like a power forward, good size," Mantymaa said. "He's enough of a good skater, and of course he can do something with the puck. I think he's a hardworking guy and a tall guy, and he has to just use his body."

Nightingale's blueprint

Adam Nightingale has never believed success is something a coach can simply pack in a suitcase and carry from one bench to another. But as he prepares to lead the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2027 World Juniors, he knows the foundation he's built at Michigan State can travel.

Since taking over the Spartans in 2022, Nightingale has helped revive one of college hockey’s storied programs, guiding Michigan State back to the NCAA Tournament, winning Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles in 2023-24, and restoring Munn Ice Arena as one of college hockey's toughest environments. His tenure has been marked by player development, relationships and a clear team foundation.

"I think it comes down to having a mentality as a team," Nightingale said. "The games are going to be played on our terms."

The World Juniors, of course, is different since a team has days, not months, to come together. Nightingale understands the Summer Showcase is only part of the evaluation. Some players will grow and will separate themselves when the pressure rises. The final roster will need more than talent. It will need players willing to buy into a style, embrace roles and play their best hockey when the tournament begins.

"Our job is to go in there and explain to them how we need to play to be a good hockey team and have success in the tournament, and then it's their job to go out and play the best or closest to that that they can," Nightingale said. "(The Summer Showcase) is a piece of it, but if you want to be on this team, you've got to be playing your best hockey."