COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After four National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) players were named to the U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster last week, four more NCHC freshmen have been added to three different national junior team preliminary rosters ahead of the upcoming 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.
 
Joining the U.S. squad is North Dakota freshman forward Will Zellers, which was announced Tuesday, while his UND classmates – forward Cole Reschny and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff – were named to Canada’s 27-man preliminary national junior team roster, which was revealed on Monday. In addition, Colorado College freshman forward Wilson Björck has been selected to Sweden’s National Junior Team that will head to World Juniors.
 
Zellers joins North Dakota teammate sophomore defenseman E.J. Emery, Minnesota Duluth sophomores Adam Kleber and Max Plante, and Denver freshman forward Brendan McMorrow on the U.S. National Junior Team roster. The NCHC now has five skaters on the 29-man U.S. preliminary roster, with the final, 25-man U.S. roster expected to be announced by Wednesday, Dec. 24.
 
The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship runs from Dec. 26, 2025 through Jan. 5, 2026 in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Team USA will convene for a training camp from Dec. 15-23 at AMSOIL Arena, home of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Exhibition games are slated for Dec. 21 (vs. Germany) and Dec. 23 (vs. Finland) in Duluth.
 
Reschny and Verhoeff will take part in Canada’s National Junior Team training camp from Dec. 13-22 in Niagara Falls. Canada will face off against Björck and Sweden on Dec. 17 and 20 in Kitchener and London, Ontario, respectively, before taking on Denmark on Dec. 23 in Mankato, Minnesota, in exhibition action ahead of World Juniors.
 
Zellers (Maple Grove, Minn.) has 10 goals and five assists for 15 points in 16 games so far this season. His 10 goals sit second nationally among all rookies and tie for fourth among all NCHC skaters (first among NCHC rookies). The Boston Bruins prospect earned NCHC Rookie of the Month for November after tying for the league lead with seven goals in seven games. He has eight goals in his last nine games entering this weekend’s series against Omaha, with UND going 6-0-0 when he scores over that stretch.
 
Reschny (Macklin, Sask.) leads North Dakota with 18 points and 16 assists in 16 games, with the 18 points tops among all NCHC freshmen. The Calgary Flames first round draft pick has heated up the last few weeks with 14 points in his last nine games, including points in eight of those contests. Reschny was named NCHC Forward of the Week in early November after a five-point weekend at Omaha.
 
Verhoeff (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta), who is the second-youngest player in college hockey this season, has tallied four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 16 contests so far for the Fighting Hawks. The four goals and 11 points are both second among NCHC freshman blueliners. The draft-eligible defenseman has also posted a +5 plus/minus, blocked 19 shots and is averaging more than 19 minutes per game on ice this season.
 
Björck (Stockholm, Sweden) has recorded six points in 13 games this season for the Tigers with three goals and three assists. The Vancouver Canucks draft pick posted a career-high three points with a goal and two assists in a win over Bentley on Oct. 10, before scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 22. Björck is set to become the second CC Tiger to play for Sweden’s National Junior Team, joining former defenseman Gustav Olofsson, who played in the 2014 World Junior Championship.
 
The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Friday, Dec. 26 with four games, including Team USA facing Germany, Canada taking on Czechia, and Sweden squaring off with Slovakia. The full World Juniors schedule can be found here.
 
NHL Network is the exclusive home of the IIHF World Junior Championship in the United States and will air every Team USA game in addition to many others, including all quarterfinal, semifinal and medal games. In Canada, TSN and RDS will once again provide extensive coverage of the event, broadcasting all 29 tournament games and Team Canada’s first two exhibition games.
 
Team USA has medaled in eight of the last 10 World Junior Championships, including gold in 2024 and 2025 under the direction of Denver head coach David Carle. 
 
Current NCHC Players on 2026 National Junior Team Preliminary Rosters
 
USA

• EJ Emery, North Dakota, D, So.
• Adam Kleber, Minnesota Duluth, D, So.
• Brendan McMorrow, Denver, F, Fr.
• Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth, F, So.
• Will Zellers, North Dakota, F, Fr.

Canada

• Cole Reschny, North Dakota, F, Fr.
• Keaton Verhoeff, North Dakota, D, Fr.

Sweden

• Wilson Björck, Colorado College, F, Fr.