The World Junior Championship (WJC) is one of the exciting events of the hockey season thanks to its unpredictability. Even though only three teams have taken home gold in the past decade, five of which have gone to Canada, how things will play out when the players take to the ice is anyone’s guess. In 2015, Slovakia beat the Czechs and Swedes to win a bronze medal, and two years later, Finland found themselves in the Relegation round after losses to Czechia, Denmark, and Sweden.
Last year, The Hockey Writers‘ Logan Horn got two of his six predictions correct: Axel Sandin Pellikka would be named the Best Defenceman of the Tournament, and Jiri Kulich would lead the tournament in scoring. He was very close in saying Sweden would win gold – they ended up with silver – and his low placement of Canada, although they did even worse than his bronze-medal prediction. That’s nearly a 50% success rate in a tournament that has few guarantees.
Now it’s my turn to offer some bold predictions for the 2025 World Junior Championship, and if I’m being honest, I don’t know how I’ll top Logan’s excellent showing from last year. But that’s half the fun of the WJC, so here are five bold predictions for the 2025 World Junior Championship.
1. Gabe Perrault Leads the Tournament in Scoring
The Americans will have a lot of firepower for the 2025 World Junior Championship. Ryan Leonard, Oliver Moore, Gabe Perrault, Danny Nelson, and Zeev Buium return from last year’s gold-medal-winning team and will be joined by Teddy Stiga, Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson, and potential 2025 first-overall pick James Hagens. That’s a lot of very skilled offensive-minded players, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see any of those players lead the tournament in scoring.
Of that group, Perreault stands out as one of the best puck movers. He finished last year’s tournament with three goals and 10 points in seven games, including a three-point night against Sweden to win the gold, tying Gavin Brindley for second on the team in scoring. He’s also been one of the NCAA’s most productive players this season with seven goals and 23 points, placing him first on Boston College and fourth in all of college hockey. It’s worth mentioning that, at Boston College, he plays alongside Hagens, Leonard, and Stiga, who have 21 goals combined and Perreault has set up 13 of them.
There’s little doubt that Perreault will find himself on the first line and top power-play unit with some familiar faces and serve as the team’s top playmaker. It’s not the first time Perreault has been relied on in that capacity. Last season as a freshman, he finished with the second-most assists on Boston College, just five behind team leader Will Smith, and before that, he led the Americans with 13 assists at the U18 World Hockey Championship, where he played alongside Eiserman, Hutson, Moore, Buium, and Nelson. With speed, creativity, and intelligence, Perreault will be difficult to contain for even the toughest competition.
Bonus prediction: Cole Eiserman will lead the tournament in goals thanks to Perreault’s playmaking.
2. James Hagens Re-Establishes Himself as the Top Draft Choice
There will be several top prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft in the World Junior Championship this year, but all eyes will be on the battle between Hagens and Porter Martone, who will not only be battling it out for the gold medal but also who will come away as the top prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft. Hagens began the season as the unanimous choice for first overall, but as the season has progressed, Martone has closed the gap thanks to his incredible 54 points in 26 games, leading some to place him ahead of the Boston College freshman.
Both Canada and the USA will be top competitors again this year, giving Martone and Hagens a big spotlight similar to the battle between Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine in 2016. But Hagens has a significant advantage in his role on his team. As a fast, cerebral centre, he’ll likely be placed within the top two lines for the Americans. Martone also has a strong offensive sense, but given his bigger stature and powerful game, he will likely find himself in the bottom half of Canada’s lineup as more of a grinder. The World Juniors can have a massive impact on the NHL Draft, and with more ice time and better opportunities, Hagens will inevitably run away with the popular choice for first overall in June.
Bonus prediction: Sweden’s Victor Eklund will emerge as a potential top-five pick for the 2025 Draft.
3. Aron Kiviharju Is Named Best Defenceman
To be the best takes a lot of confidence, and there’s no question that Aron Kiviharju has that in spades. When he was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild after being projected to go in the first, he pulled general manager Bill Guerin aside and said, “Let me tell you one thing, man, you just made the biggest steal of the draft.” It was the first words he said to his new GM after the selection, and it’s fair to say he left a strong first impression on the franchise.
Related: Guide to the 2025 World Junior Championship
That confidence has carried into this season, and since the draft, Kiviharju has been the best teenage defenceman in Finland. He’s scored three goals and 10 points in 32 games this season with HIFK and moved up to the team’s top defence pairing in November. He’s remained highly mobile on his skates, using deft movements to quickly change direction and create space, but has added some aggressiveness and defensive skills to his game that have earned the trust of his coaches despite his diminutive stature. Given that deadly combination and the strong likelihood he’ll be Finland’s top puck-moving defenceman, he’ll be in a great position to take over the title from Sandin Pellikka.
Bonus prediction: Kiviharju also leads Finland in points.
4. Jack Ivankovic Ends Up as Canada’s Starter
Just like last year, Canada doesn’t have a guaranteed starter. 19-year-old Carson Bjarnason enters the tournament as the tallest and most senior of the three goalies and with the best stats in his home league, sporting a .913 save percentage (SV%) over 16 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings. But 18-year-old Carter George isn’t far behind him with a .905 SV% over 23 appearances with the Owen Sound Attack. He also has the most international experience, having started for Canada 11 times compared to Bjarnason’s seven. Jack Ivankovic is the youngest (17 years old), smallest (5-foot-11), and has the worst stats of all of them with just a .898 SV% with the Brampton Steelheads this season, despite posting a 12-7-1 record.
Yet, of all of Canada’s goalies, Ivankovic has the best record internationally. At the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last year, he posted an incredible .967 SV% and a 0.75 goals-against average (GAA) over four games. The year before, he had a .923 SV% in eight games with Canada White at the U17 World Hockey Championship, which earned him a spot as the third-string option on Canada’s U18 team behind George and former Steelheads teammate Ryerson Leenders.
Canada’s situation between the pipes is reminiscent of the 2021 World Junior Championship, in which Dylan Garand was expected to be the team’s starter with Taylor Gauthier as the backup. But, when the tournament finally started, a little-known Junior-A goalie named Devon Levi skated out in front of the Canadians and proceeded to put up a .964 SV% and a 0.75 GAA en route to a gold medal. Given Ivankovic’s track record, Canada could have another dark horse in net.
Bonus prediction: George will end up being the odd one out for Canada, with Bjarnason serving as backup.
5. Switzerland Ends Up in the Bronze Medal Game
I’ve saved my boldest take for last, which is that Switzerland will find themselves in the bronze medal game this year. Since joining the World Junior Championship in 1978, the Swiss have finished fourth or better just four times: in 1998, 2002, 2010, and 2019. In 1998, their best finish, goalie David Aebischer willed them to a bronze medal over the Czech Republic with a .951 SV%, and in 2002, they had another strong goaltending performance from Tobias Stephan, who later played a handful of games with the Dallas Stars. The 2010 Swiss team may have been their best, featuring Nino Niederreiter, Roman Josi, Luca Sbisa, and Benjamin Conz, but they still only came away with a fourth-place finish, but 2019 wasn’t far behind with Philipp Kurashev, Janis Moser, Akira Schmid, and Tim Berni, and they also finished fourth.
This year, the Swiss don’t have a lot of big names. Leon Muggli and Daniil Ustinkov are the two biggest on defence, and on offence, Leo Braillard and 17-year-old Lars Steiner have made names for themselves in North America. But, just like that 2002 team, the Swiss have a lot of experience and grit, which could serve them well against a Swedish team that will likely take a step back and help slow down the speedy Finns. Several names have begun attracting interest from scouts, such as Jamiro Reber, Andro Kaderli, Ludvig Johnson, and goalie Elijah Neuenschwander.
Bonus prediction: Reber leads the team in points and finishes in the top 10 in tournament scoring.
