Breaking down 2026 NHL Draft prospect Viggo Björck's international breakthrough at Five Nations

Viggo Björck entered his draft-minus-one season with massive expectations, but he wasn't able to bring out his A game at August's Hlinka Gretzky Cup. During November's international week, he was at the U17 World Hockey Challenge instead of the U18 tournament, and then wasn't named to Sweden's World Junior A Challenge roster in December.

So, last week's Five Nations event can be described as Björck's coming out party at the U18 level internationally. He was Sweden's top scorer across the event, adding three goals and seven points in four games to tie for the tournament lead together with USA's Cole McKinney and Jack Murtagh.

Of course, this kind of a breakout was to be expected based on Björck's recent form at the J20 level. Since the start of December, the 5-foot-9 forward has added a stagge