Team Denmark returns to the 2026 World Junior Championship (WJC) for the first time since 2019, when they were relegated following a 2-0 loss to Kazakhstan to cap off a forgettable tournament. The goal for Denmark should be to avoid the relegation game, which could be challenging given that the other nations in Group B include Team Canada, Team Czechia, Team Finland, and Team Latvia. Here are the players to watch in this year’s tournament.
Mads Kongsbak Klyvo
The only NHL-drafted player on Denmark’s roster, Mads Kongsbak Klyvo, was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers. The Danes will lean heavily on the power forward who competed for Frolunda’s Under-20 (U-20) squad in the U20 Nationell. During the 2024-25 season, Klyvo registered 29 points in 42 games against much older competition in Sweden’s second division.
It will be the 18-year-old’s first taste of competition at the Under-20 (U20) World Juniors. Klyvo recorded three assists in five games at the 2025 WJC U-20 D1A tournament, when the Danes earned a chance to compete in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Markus Jakobsen
Markus Jakobsen skates for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he has contributed five points in his first seven games in America. The 19-year-old started the 2025-26 season with the Okotoks Oilers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), scoring 12 points in 16 games before moving for another opportunity in the USHL.
During Denmark’s promotion bid at the WJC-20 D1A tournament, Jakobsen contributed two points (both assists) over five games.
Emil Saaby Jakobsen
Left-handed defenseman Emil Saaby Jakobsen, a 2026 NHL Draft-eligible prospect, has recorded 17 points for Karlskrona in the HockeyEttan, the second division of Sweden’s junior system. The 17-year-old has 23 points in 15 games for Karlskrona U18, while also playing two games (no points) for the lead club in 2025-26.
Saaby Jakobsen was nearly eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft, with a September birthday that falls one day short of an extra year of development. The offensive defenseman could be an essential cog in Denmark’s quest to avoid relegation over the next few weeks.
Tristan Petersen
Tristan Petersen, yet another first-time-eligible 2026 NHL draftee, spent part of last season in North America with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, where he recorded nine points in 17 games. During the WJC-20 D1A tournament, Petersen recorded one point (a goal) in five games.
This season, the 19-year-old was promoted to Penticton’s Western Hockey League (WHL) team in 2025-26, where the forward has recorded 17 points in 31 games.
Anton Emil Wilde Larsen
Denmark will rely on an inexperienced goaltending crew, led by Anton Emil Wilde Larsen of the Frederikshavn White Hawks. The 17-year-old has recorded a winless record (0-4-0), a 4.84 goals-against average (GAA), and an .847 save percentage (SV%) in five contests this season.
Larsen performed well in the Division IA U-18s last season, posting a 4-0-0 record, 2.25 GAA, and a .917 SV% to backstop Denmark’s promotion bid. However, his team will need to put up a better defensive effort than the Danes showed during their pre-WJC tournament exhibition schedule, where they lost 6-1 to Switzerland on Dec. 21 and 13-2 against Canada on Dec. 23.
Anton Linde
Anton Linde, another 2026 NHL Draft-eligible prospect, is a two-way forward playing his first season in North America with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The 19-year-old forward has registered 12 points in 26 games. Watch for Linde to help power the Denmark engine with his physical play at the 2026 WJC.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
Barring a stunning upset win in the round-robin portion of the 2026 World Juniors, Denmark’s most important game in Group B will be against Latvia on Dec. 30. A win over their European neighbors might be enough to keep Denmark around for the 2027 edition of the WJC.
