There will be actual hockey to watch for Los Angeles Kings fans this weekend in the annual World Juniors Summer Showcase in Windsor, Ontario. Multiple Kings prospects in the franchise's prospect pool will be competing today in the World Juniors Summer Showcase, highlighted by defenseman Henry Brzustewicz and forward Elton Hermansson.
Four countries will be competing in the World Juniors Summer Showcase starting this weekend, including teams from the United States, Finland, Sweden, and Canada. These four countries will be playing exhibition games that will help to determine what the rosters will look like for the actual World Junior Championships this upcoming winter.
Technically, there will be five teams competing in the summer showcase this weekend, because the United States will split into two separate squads for the first couple of games, including the blue squad and the white squad.
Why the Summer Showcase matters for Los Angeles Kings prospects
This weekend's action in the World Juniors Summer Showcase marks the official beginning of the journey to the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship.
There are four Kings' prospects who will be participating in the showcase event starting this weekend, one playing for each country.
The Kings' most recent first-round draft pick (19th overall), Hermansson, will be making the leap to U20 competition with Team Sweden. Another Kings' first-round draft pick from this past couple of years, Brzustewicz, is also representing his home country for Team USA in the showcase. That means the Kings will have their two most recent first-round draft picks competing in the festivities at the summer showcase this weekend.
This will be the first time that Hermansson participates in the summer showcase. He played for Team Sweden in the IIHF 18U world Championships, where he earned the Best Forward award and scored 12 total points in just seven games played.
Brzustewicz will be participating in the summer showcase for the second year in a row. He didn't ultimately make the cut for Team USA for the actual World Junior Championships tournament last winter. But given his experience from having played in this event already and getting another year of development, he is likely to make the team in his final year of eligibility this year.
The two other Kings' prospects who are participating in the showcase this weekend are 2026 fifth-round draft pick and defenseman Vertti Svensk and forward Jimmy Lombardi. Svensk will be making his debut playing U20 for Team Finland in the World Juniors. He played in the U18 World Junior Championships for Team Finland in 2025.
Lombardi, meanwhile, will be playing for Team Canada in the newly announced roster yesterday. He had a big season in the OHL this past season with the Flint Firebirds, registering 36 goals and 72 total points in 65 games played. The Kings picked Lombardi in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Even though none of these four Kings prospects competing in the summer showcase are guaranteed to make the final World Juniors rosters, the fact that they are getting this spotlight is another encouraging sign for the franchise to strengthen the prospect pipeline this offseason.
Add us as a preferred source on Google