Ekberg has rebounded strongly in his second OHL season, posting 25 goals and 46 points in 57 games with Ottawa – a significant improvement on a down year last season that was hampered by injuries and a struggling 67’s team. The plus-20 is particularly encouraging for a player whose defensive game has been questioned. A smart playmaker who thrives in small-area situations, his hockey IQ is the carrying tool – the skating has question marks and the shot may not project as a plus attribute at higher levels, but playmakers with genuine vision tend to find a way. A seventh-round pick with a strong second half making a compelling case for Carolina to take a longer look. Still a long way to go, but he’s putting himself into a different conversation.

Sweden Tops Rival Finland to Finish World Junior Showcase

From there, Finland took control of the game until a stroke of bad luck: an Alexander Command shot deflected off the visor of Jesper Kotajärvi and trickled into the net. Just 43 seconds later, Filip Ekberg scored on the doorstep off a beautiful no-look pass from Torkel Jennersjö to make it 3-1.

Sweden Defeats Canada in First Win At Summer Showcase

Filip Ekberg had the response for the Swedes, banking one off of Brek Liske’s skate and into the net.

USA White Outslugs Sweden 6-4 at World Junior Showcase

The second period continued much like the first, both teams trading chances, forcing their goaltenders to make some big saves. Filip Ekberg took a cross-checking penalty halfway through the second, and the US power play was buzzing, eventually scoring with a nice passing play that Sammy Nelson back-doored into the net.

Filip Ekberg got his first of the tournament off the one-timer to close out the second period 4-2.

The high-octane pace continued with a 4-goal third period. Jack Murtagh scored with a nifty move on the power play, Jacob Ihs-Wozniak banked one off the mask of Ryder Fetterolf and in, Mason West found the loose puck in a scramble and fired it into the back of the net, and then Viktor Klingsell scored off the rebound in the final minute, which finished USA White’s 6-4 win.

For Sweden, it has been a tough start to the World Junior Summer Showcase, losing both of their games in ugly fashion, and they will look to bounce back in a big way when they take on Canada on Wednesday.

USA White will await their merge with USA Blue, with the announcement expected tomorrow morning. The merged USA team will take on Finland on Wednesday.

F Jacob Kvasnicka (USA | New York Islanders)

We had talked about Kvasnicka in our recap video yesterday as a guy who needed to have a big day today if he wanted to be on the merged USA team. From scoring a goal to blocking a number of shots, Kvasnicka had one of the best games we saw the entire day, also picking up game MVP in the process. Looking forward to tomorrow, you can expect to see his name on USA’s merged roster, which looks strong heading into the real tournament starting on Wednesday.

D Henry Brzustewicz (USA | Los Angeles Kings)

In a 10-goal game, you’d expect the standouts to be someone who scored a lot of goals or, at the very least, got a point, but for Brzustewicz, he was extremely effective in all three zones tonight. On the defensive side, he got into shot lanes, broke up passes and was clean on his breakouts. On the offensive side, I lost track of the number of high-grade opportunities he generated, and although he didn’t find himself on the final stat sheet, you can expect to see Brzustewicz on the final USA roster come Tuesday morning.

The USA White Power Play (USA)

Yeah, that’s right, all of it. One of the hardest, yet most important things to do in international tournaments is to execute an effective power play. Seeing USA White snap around the puck as quickly as they did all night long reminded me of Sweden’s gold medal-winning run last year, which operated at a 43.48% rate throughout the tournament. A sign of good things to come for a US team that was operating on a split squad? Time will tell.

F Filip Ekberg (SWE | Carolina Hurricanes)

Can’t say I didn’t warn you of what to expect from Ekberg’s game. A guy who we talked quite extensively about in our preview of this World Junior Summer Showcase as a potential game-breaker if he could get hot after his 18-point performance in 7 games at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championships. Now is one goal enough to hang a hat on? No. But expect his success to continue throughout if the Swedes continue with this kamikaze offensive style.

2026 World Juniors Summer Showcase: Ultimate Preview

Filip Ekberg (F): Ekberg previously lit up the 2025 Under-18 Men’s World Championship with 18 points in 7 games to earn Tournament MVP honours. After a quieter 2026 OHL campaign with the Ottawa 67s, the WJSS provides him the perfect bounce-back stage to earn a go-to role for a Swedish team looking to win back-to-back golds in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Weekly 2026 NHL Draft-Eligible Three Stars

Kuhta capitalized on the power play against the Wolves with just over three minutes remaining in the second period. After finding some open space in the right-side faceoff circle, he took a pass from Carolina Hurricanes prospect Filip Ekberg and buried a wrist shot. With 1:45 remaining in the second period, Kuhta doubled up. After the newly acquired David Bedkowski fired a shot, Kuhta quickly flipped the rebound in past the keeper on the backhand.

Ekberg seems like a solid bet on offensive talent, as he dominated players his own age on the international level but had a down scoring season in the OHL, aided by the fact that the Ottawa 67s were not that good and he dealt with injuries during the year. Ekberg is a smart playmaker who thrives in small area situations. His skating has some question marks surrounding it and the shot might not be a plus attribute at higher levels of hockey, but the hockey IQ and playmaking makes for an intriguing bet.

Selected 221st overall, Filip Ekberg is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.

With high-end speed, playmaking, handling, and shooting, there are few in this draft that stack up with Ekberg on raw skill. And, at a time of year when many draft-eligibles played their worst hockey, Ekberg absolutely met the moment. After spending most of the year riding the pine in Ottawa, Ekberg had an offensively dominant end to the OHL season, a level of play he carried over to the U18’s where he was just as—if not more—effective. The size and perimeter-play concerns will follow him wherever he goes, though he has done almost everything he can to rehabilitate his draft stock.

DRAFTPRO – OHL 2025 TOP PROSPECTS GAME REVIEW

#34 F, Filip EkbergTeam: OHL East (Ottawa 67’s, OHL)Height/Weight: 5’10”, 165 lbsShoots: LeftDOB: April 14, 2007

Overview:Ekberg is an offensive tactician with diverse skills who balances playmaking with defensive responsibility. His main defensive challenge is over-committing to plays, which could be refined by shifting him to the wing in the NHL. Ekberg demonstrates very high hockey IQ, effective and accurate stick-handling, and solid passing accuracy. His shot, while heavily accurate and does not waste much time by just ripping it in lease than milliseconds, he will definitely need a slight power increase. Physically, even though his smaller frame can be a disadvantage, especially in board battles, but his willingness to engage adds tremendous amounts grit to his game. His skating is agile, with strong offensive zone cycling abilities allows him to be a very easy player to play with while transitioning over from Sweden to North America which has larger ice. Projected as a potential mid-3rd to early-4th round pick, if he can really get stronger without any negative regarding his skating ability, Ekberg has the offensive tools to develop into a playmaking forward with power-play utility as an effective middle 6 forward.

DRAFTPRO – 2023 FALL INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT REVIEW

#14 Filip Ekberg, F, Sweden, 5’9” 163, L, DOB 04.14.2007

Ekberg is a very talented offensive player who was able to display his offensive skills during the game. He is a phenomenal skater and is extremely dynamic and fluid. He is very fast and has great crossovers which contribute to his speed. He has excellent edge work and open face skating which help him control possession in the offensive zone and skate around to create space. He has good stick handles, nothing to fancy but he has a nice toe drag. He scored an incredible goal skating around the offensive zone for a while then dished it off and got it back at the point and skated by multiple players down the left side to the goalie making a nice move to his backhand to score. He displayed his exceptional skating and stickhandling skills on the goal. He has good vision and makes some solid passes that are fairly accurate. His shot is nothing special but it does the job. Improving his accuracy would help him. The physical element of his game is practically non-existent but for a player his size that is not that surprising. He is still able to fend off hits well. He doesn’t do much defensively but he isn’t afraid to get in the shooting lane and block some shots. – Zach Morris

Final Rankings – Filip Ekberg may have been a late riser, but his surge was no surprise: with the high hockey IQ, pace, and creativity, a bet on Ekberg was bound to pay off eventually. It did in spades as he finished the season strong with an 11-game point streak and MVP honors at the U18s. Though questions remain about his efficiency, defense, and size, his offensive instincts and motor suggest real middle-six NHL upside with proper development.—