For now, the focus is on hockey.<\/p>\n
Ihs-Wozniak is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound wing with speed, smarts and a good shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a good one-timer, but his release on his wrist shot, I think, is even better,\u201d Vegas director of player development Wil Nichol said.<\/p>\n
He had 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 36 games for Lulea\u2019s team in Sweden\u2019s junior league in 2023-24, a record for a U17 player, and 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) in 40 games the following season. He also had seven points (five goals, two assists) in seven games at the 2025 U18 World Championship, helping Sweden win silver.<\/p>\n
His mother said when Vegas drafted him, it made news in Adelaide.<\/p>\n
Last season, Ihs-Wozniak had 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 36 games for Bj\u00f6rkl\u00f6ven in Allsvenskan, Sweden\u2019s second-highest pro league.<\/p>\n
He has two points (one goal, one assist) through three games in this tournament, skating on the right wing at even strength and the left flank on the power play. In a 6-4 loss to a U.S. split-squad Monday, he scored after getting a step on defenseman Chase Reid, whom the Seattle Kraken selected No. 7 in the 2026 NHL Draft, and was named his team\u2019s player of the game.<\/p>\n
The biggest things he must work on are mindset, work ethic and play away from the puck. This tournament is an opportunity for Sweden\u2019s coaches to evaluate him and for him to develop ahead of World Juniors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good for us to see him in a small rink against those nations, more like north-south hockey,\u201d Sweden coach Magnus Havelid said. \u201cYou have to skate. He\u2019s a goal-scorer, but we know the World Junior is going to be more up and down, so every player needs to do that job, 5-on-5, that kind of game there.\u201d<\/p>\n
What would it mean to represent Sweden at World Juniors?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a dream that everyone has when they\u2019re young,\u201d Ihs-Wozniak said. \u201cEveryone says it, of course, but it\u2019s true. That\u2019s one thing that you work for. You watch World Juniors when you\u2019re young, and you strive to be there, so it would be a really big dream to play there.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for pro hockey this season, Ihs-Wozniak\u2019s goal is to play full-time for Lulea of the Swedish Hockey League, his hometown team in his country\u2019s top pro league, after appearing in 32 games for Lulea in the SHL over the past three seasons. He has gained strength in the weight room over the past year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully (he can) have a spot in the lineup in Lulea,\u201d Havelid said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be tough, but I think he\u2019s ready. He\u2019s had a good off-ice period behind him, so now it\u2019s up to him. \u2026 More battling, puck battling, stuff like that in a small area, protecting the puck. That\u2019s what he needs to do, develop, and then the situation will come when he can score the goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights always care most about their prospects playing significant roles, not necessarily where they play them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always got the development hat on,\u201d Nichol said. \u201cIt\u2019s more opportunity, ice time. Last year, his development was much better when he got sent down and played for Bj\u00f6rkl\u00f6ven than it was when he was up. It\u2019s pro hockey over there. I understand that they need to win, but a lot of times the younger kids can get pushed to the bottom.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, if he\u2019s got a great setup and a great role in Lulea this year, that\u2019s great. That\u2019s awesome. If not — and he knows this, and he agrees — then I think it won\u2019t take very long before they (send him down) so he can play the right minutes, the right situations, and develop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ihs-Wozniak knows he will need to develop a complete game to play in Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be offensive and play power play, but to play in the NHL, you need to have all the parts,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s what I\u2019m working on the most right now. \u2026 I need to work on my intensity level and my physical play. I think I\u2019m in the right direction for that, so just (I need to) keep working on that and, of course, (work on) getting a better shot and getting better at everything I\u2019m good at too.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has been hard for Ihs-Wozniak to watch the Golden Knights due to the time difference, but he followed their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season from afar. He has been to Las Vegas for two development camps. Maybe he\u2019ll make news in Adelaide again in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always want to play on a winning team,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why you play hockey. You want to win, so it\u2019s perfect that I landed in Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For now, the focus is on hockey. Ihs-Wozniak is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound wing with speed, smarts and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":833738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-833737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}