We are only a few days away from the headline tournament of the junior hockey calendar, the World Junior Championship. This year’s edition will be played in Ottawa for the first time since 2009 and will feature some of the top drafted and undrafted talent the prospect world has to offer. From potential first-overall picks to underrated late-round selections, here is one player to watch from every country.
Canada: Porter Martone
Team Canada has a lot of stars on their roster that deserve attention, but everyone should be keeping a closer eye on first-overall hopeful Porter Martone. Not many 17-year-olds have standout performances at the WJC, but he has the skill set to join the likes of Connor Bedard, Jaromir Jagr, and Niklas Sundstrom at the top of the leaderboard. The last time a projected first-overall prospect dominated was the aforementioned Bedard when he put up nine goals and 23 points at the 2023 WJC, leading Canada to gold.
Related: Guide to the 2025 World Junior Championship
All three potential first-overall picks will be featured in this tournament as Martone is joined by Matthew Schaefer on Team Canada and James Hagens will be playing for Team USA. A burgeoning power forward, Martone has been one of the Ontario Hockey League’s best players this season, recording 21 goals and 54 points in 26 games, which is second only to Michael Misa’s 61 points. He might not play a regular role in the top six, but he is still someone to watch as he tries to pull the spotlight off of Schaefer and Hagens as the projected top pick this June.
USA: James Hagens
Once the hands-down favourite to hear his name first in the 2025 Draft, Hagens has seen two other (maybe even three if you include Misa) prospects emerge as legitimate competition to his throne. He will have a chance at this year’s tournament to silence the debate and reestablish himself as the top pick with a strong performance for Team USA. He should get plenty of opportunities to generate offence as he is set to play on the top line and spend time on the power play.
With his package of smarts, creativity and playmaking, Hagens has all the tools to be an elite first-line center in the NHL one day. He will have some goalscorers to work with on Team USA too as Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard, high first-round picks for the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals respectively, have flanked him in the pre-tournament games. All in all, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finish with a lot of points and flirt with some of the top records for 17-year-olds in World Juniors history.
Sweden: Otto Stenberg
Otto Stenberg was one of Sweden’s top forwards in last year’s WJC. He finished second to Jonathan Lekkerimaki in goals with five and was one off the team lead in points with nine, trailing only Lekkerimaki and Noah Ostlund. Now that both are not on the team, Stenberg will be relied on to do more this time around.
Stenberg isn’t having the best season in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with only three goals and six points in 25 games, but he has always figured out a way to produce when he slips on the Tre Kronor. According to Elite Prospects, in 57 games played across various international competitions, he has 30 goals and 70 points for a 1.23 points-per-game average. I think it’s safe to say he will be one of their key forwards again this year.
Finland: Aron Kiviharju
Ravaged by injuries last season, and by no fault of his own, Aron Kiviharju fell from his projected first-round pedestal to the third round and got scooped up by the Minnesota Wild. He was once thought of as one of the top defenders in the 2024 NHL Draft with his combination of mobility, smarts, stick handling, and strong first pass, but a lack of exposure for scouts and the overall quality of defencemen in the first round led him to drop out of the first two rounds and into the Wild’s lap at 122nd overall.
Kiviharju is already looking like a steal at that position, as he’s been one of the Liiga’s top teenage defenders this season playing for HIFK. He has three goals and 10 points in 32 games, which is third in defence scoring behind 30-year-old Ronald Knot (10 points) and 26-year-old Luke Martin (31 points). On Team Finland, he will be their go-to option on the back end and will have a leadership role too, sporting the “C” on his jersey for the third time in international competition having done so at the U18s in 2023-24 and U16s in 2021-22.
Czechia: Jakub Štancl
One of Czechia’s top scorers last year when they earned a bronze medal over Finland, St. Louis Blues draft pick Jakub Stancl will be looking to make an even bigger impact this time around in his third straight tournament. In addition to last year’s WJC, he also suited up for the U18s in 2022-23. With four goals and six points in seven games, he was second only to Jiri Kulich in goals (six).
After that performance and 14 points in 28 games playing in the J20 Nationell for the Vaxjo Lakers, the Blues signed him to a three-year entry-level contract on June 1, 2024. He then made the trek overseas to join the Kelowna Rockets, the team that drafted him 12th overall in the 2023 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. He has had a solid start to his career in North America, posting 32 points in 26 games, tied with 2024 sixth-overall pick Tij Iginla and defenceman Caden Price.
Slovakia: Dalibor Dvorsky
Dalibor Dvorsky has been a huge contributor for Slovakia at the international level, combining for 17 goals and 35 points in 22 games spread across various tournaments. Last year, even though he didn’t earn a medal, he had three goals and six points in five games and was again one of Slovakia’s top forwards. After putting up 45 goals and 88 points in his first (and only) season in the OHL, he has graduated to the pro level with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) and will be playing in his final WJC.
Dvorsky has acclimated to the AHL nicely with 11 goals and 21 points in 27 games and will be relied on heavily to bring that pro experience to the World Juniors stage. He should be one of Slovakia’s top scorers again, unfortunately, he might have his work cut out for him as he’s one of only three drafted forwards on the team this time. He will have to carry them on his back if they have any chance of medaling (or even making it past the round-robin for that matter).
Germany: David Lewandowski
Germany doesn’t have a lot of high-end talent on their roster, but one that will garner a lot of attention is 2025 Draft first-round hopeful David Lewandowski. He is arguably one of their top forwards skill-wise and will be coming in with a lot of confidence after a strong start to his season in North America with the Saskatoon Blades. He has seven goals and 15 points in 20 games and has garnered praise from THW’s own Blades beat writer Dayton Reimer on multiple occasions.
“For a Blades’ team looking for key players to step up and take on bigger roles, no one has filled the gap left from last season better than Lewandowski. His ability to play in every situation has already made him one of Saskatoon’s most underrated players, but it will almost certainly reflect well when the NHL steps up to draft in June 2025. He’s just too good not to pay attention to.”
Lewandowski has performed well for Germany in the past too, notching two goals and seven points at the Division 1A U18s where they walked away with a gold medal.
Latvia: Eriks Mateiko
Returning for his second go-around with Latvia at the World Juniors, 2024 Washington Capitals draft pick (90th overall) Eriks Mateiko will be a key forward for his team again. He only put up one goal in five games last year but has the tools to be an impact player if given the opportunity. He is also coming in on a heater, having put up seven goals in his last 10 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). His size at 6-foot-6, 209 pounds is often difficult to deal with as he’s not afraid to drive the net and challenge defenders one-on-one. He is also a massive screen whenever he gets the chance to post up in the crease.
Switzerland: Leon Muggli
Another Capitals draft pick in 2024, Leon Muggli will be Switzerland’s top defender this year after participating in both the U18s and World Juniors last year. He captained his squad at the U18s where he finished with one goal in three games and had an assist in four games at the WJC. On a team that often surprises people at these tournaments, he will be one to watch as he leads a somewhat underrated blue line that contains only one other drafted prospect, Basile Sansonnens, who was selected by the Vancouver Canucks – also in 2024.
Switzerland is no stranger to producing quality blueliners (see Roman Josi, Mark Streit, JJ Moser, Jonas Siegenthaler, etc.) and Muggli could follow in their footsteps in the future. Blessed with smooth edges, mobility and hockey IQ, scouts have said they marvel at the lack of weaknesses in his game.
Kazakhstan: Vladimir Nikitin
Our final player to watch is Kazakhstan’s only drafted prospect, Vladimir Nikitin, who was selected 207th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2023. Tending goal for the weakest country in the tournament won’t be an easy task, but he appears ready for the challenge as he is a huge reason why they are here in the first place. In last year’s Division 1A tournament, he posted a sparkling 1.78 goals-against average (GAA) and .944 save percentage in five games and has already impressed in the pre-tournament games, stopping 53 of 58 shots. He will be facing a lot of rubber over the next two weeks, but if he can stop a fair amount and Kazakhstan gets just a little offence, they might avoid relegation and return to the tournament next year.
Lots of Fun to Come in Ottawa
The pre-tournament is over, and with only two days before the games count for real, there are a lot of players and storylines to watch on Boxing Day and beyond. Keep it locked on The Hockey Writers as we will have recaps, takeaways and a lot more as the festivities roll along in Ottawa.
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