With a full slate of games back on the schedule for day four of the World Junior Championships, there were plenty of storylines to watch. Team Canada was back in action against Team German (in a game that was still underwhelming for many fans), and Team USA took on Team Finland in a back-and-forth affair that resulted in an overtime loss for the Americans.

The two other games on the slate — Team Sweden vs. Team Switzerland and Team Czechia vs. Team Slovakia — may have gone more under the radar, but they produced some of the best individual performances of the day.

So, let’s look into who I have for my three stars of day four.

After his downright incredible performance on day one of the tournament, which resulted in a hat trick and an assist, Axel Sandin-Pellikka stepped on the ice against the Swiss team and felt like a threat whenever he had the puck. He registered a couple of assists on Tom Willander’s two goals (which we’ll touch on later), and also scored a goal, continuing his hot streak.

Sandin-Pellikka has been on fire through the tournament’s first three games, leading Team Sweden in points. Detroit Red Wings fans have been as excited for his development as any in their prospect pool, and his latest effort against a pesky Swiss team landed him as the third star of day four.

Since being selected by the Seattle Kraken in the first round of the 2023 draft, Eduard Sale’s performance has not been where it likely should be. After being under a point per game in the OHL, he moved to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL, where he’s under a point per game there, too, with 13 points in 23 games.

Now, with Team Czechia, he’s over a point per game with five points in three games, including a two-goal performance in their win against Team Slovakia.

His first goal was as elementary as they come, converting on a two-on-one opportunity.

The next one was more like what Kraken fans (and NHL fans who have kept up with Sale’s development) want to see from him. Sale used every bit of his arsenal to score an impressive second goal.

Sale and Team Czechia put the rest of the tournament on notice after their swift defeat of Slovakia. But they still have more work to do if they want to win a medal and perform like the Kraken draftee did on day four, which will help them lead the way.

As mentioned, Sandin-Pellikka had two assists in his three-point outing against the Swiss, but his power-play defense partner, Tom Willander, a Boston University sophomore, was the best player for Team Sweden.

The Swedes and Swiss spent plenty of time in the penalty box, with both teams registering 18 penalties during the 60 minutes. Thus, both power plays were given chances to succeed, and Willander helped lead the way with two goals on the man advantage.

Below is his first:

And here is his second, a perfectly-placed rocket of a wrist shot to the left side:

With those two goals and the assist, Willander passed his point total from the World Juniors a year ago and helped Team Sweden to three wins. They’re the first team in the tournament to hit that mark.