The World Juniors Summer Showcase continued on Sunday, July 27, 2025, with Sweden defeating USA Blue by a score of 5-2. The game, held at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, was the second of the day, following a 5-2 victory by USA White over Finland.
The first period of the Sweden-USA Blue game was scoreless, despite some physicality. Sweden's Ivar Stenberg opened the scoring in the second period, assisted by Sascha Boumedienne and Eric Nilson. USA Blue responded with goals from Luke Osburn, assisted by LJ Mooney and Trevor Connelly, and Mooney himself, assisted by Ben Kevan and Mason Moe, to take a 2-1 lead.
Sweden then scored back-to-back goals in the third period to regain the lead. Jack Berglund, assisted by Lucas Pettersson and Wilson Björck, tied the game, and Stenberg scored his second goal on a penalty shot against Kam Hendrickson. Stenberg completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal, and Felix Öhrqvist added another to seal the 5-2 victory for Sweden. Love Härenstam was in goal for Sweden for the entire game, while Jack Parsons started in goal for USA Blue before being replaced by Kam Hendrickson.
Ivar Stenberg and LJ Mooney were standouts on day 1 of the Summer Showcase. Linus Eriksson, a Florida Panthers prospect, is participating in the showcase for Team Sweden.
The World Junior Summer Showcase is an important event leading up to the World Junior Championship, which will be held in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, beginning on December 26. The tournament provides an opportunity for scouts and evaluators to assess top prospects before final roster selections are made for the main event in December. This year's tournament includes teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland.
Team Canada has been facing some injury issues, which have delayed the announcement of their official roster. The U.S., Sweden, and Finland have already announced their rosters and begun on-ice training.