For Canada and the United States, it certainly appears that the offense for their National Junior Teams will run through two players apiece. For Canada, their primary catalysts will be Calgary forward prospect Cole Reschny and (18th overall in 2025) and 2027 draft-eligible forward Dima Zhilkin (OHL Saginaw). For the United States, their two-man wrecking crew is Calgary forward prospect Ethan Wyttenbach (144th overall in 2025) and Nashville forward prospect Wyatt Cullen (10th overall in 2026).
With respect to Reschny and Zhilkin, they were linemates at the recently-played World Junior Summer Showcase in Windsor. Simply put, with their ability to create and finish scoring chances, they posed a serious threat every time they were on the ice. Reschny’s anticipation and vision led to chances coming from seemingly nowhere, and left me shaking my head more than a few times. When you add that to Zhilkin’s elusiveness and deadly accurate shot, the result is absolutely electric.
Cullen and Wyttenbach operated very similarly as linemates for the United States, culminating in Cullen’s assisting on both Wyttenbach goals against Canada on the last day of the event. Cullen used his elite puckhandling skills to generate numerous chances, usually for Wyttenbach. Wyttenbach, who led the Showcase in scoring with 12 points (6G 6A), used a deceptive shot and well-timed slot positioning to repeatedly cash in those opportunities.
