The 2025 World Junior Championship (WJC), is hastily approaching. The Philadelphia Flyers, who saw one of their own dominate the last tournament just to be traded days later, could have even more representation than they did in 2024. Specifically, six members of their prospect pipeline could be rewarded with an invitation to junior hockey’s grandest stage. Who may be spending a week—but hopefully, more—in Ottawa?
Jett Luchanko, Forward, Canada
Though he’ll probably be on the brink of making the team, it’s hard to see a world where Canada isn’t enamored with Jett Luchanko. The 13th selection of the 2024 NHL Draft impressed the Flyers enough to make their roster, skating in four games before being sent down to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to hone his craft. But even that wasn’t really his fault—he was playing some solid hockey.
Back in the OHL with the Guelph Storm, he has four goals and seven assists for 11 points in eight games. Seeing as 10 of those points have come in his last five contests, it took time to adjust but he seems more comfortable and confident than he was a few weeks ago.
Luchanko’s usefulness in many situations should be coveted by Canada. He’s a terrific skater who, at least at the OHL level, has been able to dart from the defensive to the offensive zone and create scoring chances with his legs. Plus, he’s a high-level playmaker who doesn’t shy away from puck battles. These attributes will be valuable at the WJC. He may not be as dynamic as the other players in the tournament, but Luchanko has the tools that Canada could have really used last year when they saw a shocking early exit to Czechia.
Denver Barkey, Forward, Canada
While Denver Barkey isn’t producing to the 102-point clip he saw last season (1.59 points per game) with the London Knights, he is starting to bounce back. After scoring just two points in his first six games of the season, he has 15 in his last nine appearances (1.67 points per game). With time, the youngster’s 2024-25 production could even be ahead of where it was in his previous campaign.
Related: Projecting Canada’s Roster for the 2025 World Junior Championship
Now, Canada’s roster will be really competitive in 2025. In my prediction for the team linked in the related piece above, I have high-talent forwards like Riley Heidt and Andrew Cristall missing the cut, who each scored over 110 points in the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season. But what gives Barkey the edge, for me, is that he can be a jack-of-all-trades type of player.
Barkey’s two-way play was praised during the 2024 OHL Playoffs by analyst and former NHL defender Marc Methot. In that postseason, he rose to the occasion and was a big reason why London made it all the way to the Memorial Cup Final, losing a 4-3 heartbreaker in the end. Though the last-minute goal they sacrificed had to sting, the experience gained was valuable.
"You get rewarded when you play at both ends, and this is what it takes to win at this level."@TSNHockey's @MarcMethot3 and @Victor_Findlay took some time to recognize the excellent two-way play of #LetsGoFlyers prospect Denver Barkey with the @LondonKnights on Saturday 🎥 pic.twitter.com/DqyvBZcZIX
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 12, 2024
Barkey brings a playoff resume, knowing what it takes to win in long tournaments. He’s not the only one who has this kind of knowledge and experience under his belt, but it could be what sets him apart from his peers. He has real odds of making this roster despite being a third-round pick in 2023, though the emergence of some of the 2025 draftees may make it a challenge.
Oliver Bonk, Defenseman, Canada
This is our first true lock of the team. Unless there is an injury, Oliver Bonk will participate in his second WJC. My guess is that he’ll play next to Sam Dickinson on the top pairing, his partner in crime with the OHL Knights. We may see quite a bit of the 2023 first-rounder out there.
Well, I have to mention it. In Bonk’s last WJC tournament, the game-winning goal that eliminated Canada went off of his stick and into the net with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. It was a tough pill to swallow for his fans, but likely an even tougher one for himself. His worst nightmare came to fruition.
But that was last year. Bonk will be back with a vengeance, trying to win his country a gold medal in the under-20 tournament while he’s still eligible. He’s not as NHL-ready as Luchanko has shown to be, but he’s one of the most qualified defenders on the team and can eat those big minutes, bringing about positive results. In the OHL, he has 14 points in 15 games (seven in his last five matchups).
Carson Bjarnason, Goaltender, Canada
Canada has lacked that young, big-name goaltender for quite some time now, but there were still no guarantees that Carson Bjarnason would make the roster just a few months ago. Now that his WHL season is underway, the 2023 second-rounder is playing so well that it’s unlikely he’s out of the picture.
Among WHL netminders with at least five games played, Bjarnason is first with a .920 save percentage. Along with that, he has a 4-4-1 record and a 2.82 goals-against average with a shutout in 10 appearances. He’s preventing quite a lot of goals in an offensively-driven league.
The great news for the Flyers is that Bjarnason isn’t even the biggest story between the pipes for them—it’s Egor Zavragin. When a netminder’s numbers are comparable with greats such as Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky, Igor Shesterkin, and Ilya Sorokin, it means something. Let’s get back to Bjarnason, though.
There will be some names for Bjarnason to look out for, such as Carter George, Scott Ratzlaff, and Joshua Ravensbergen. Those three are right in his tier (though he has them beat numbers-wise), so he’ll have to be atop his game to get consistent action. However, there is a world where he takes the crease entirely and leads Canada to victory. He’ll just have to work for it.
Heikki Ruohonen, Forward, Finland
Finally getting away from the guys up north, we have Finland. A representative of that club could be the Flyers’ 2024 fourth-round draft choice, Heikki Ruohonen. The left-handed centerman has four goals and six assists for 10 points and a plus-6 rating in 16 United States Hockey League (USHL) affairs.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers Prospect Spotlight: Massimo Rizzo
Ruohonen’s production isn’t all that inspiring, but he’s also in a new league and environment. The two-way center is tied for 55th in total points for the USHL out of 287 forwards, so he’s still scoring at a good clip relative to his peers. He has a good power game and could, someday, be a bottom-sixer in the NHL.
Finland might see him as a bottom-six fixture of their WJC roster, too. While it’s not exactly an easy roster to crack, they should be intrigued by his size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) and how he uses it. In a tournament where they flat-out won’t be able to out-skill their toughest opponents, Ruohonen’s stature and tendencies may be desirable. That’s not to say he isn’t skilled, either, as he went first overall in the 2024 USHL Draft for a reason.
Jack Berglund, Forward, Sweden
Jack Berglund, a second-round selection in the Flyers’ last draft, seems poised to be a member of Sweden’s WJC roster. At 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds, the centerman has some imposing size and the talent to make it worthwhile.
This season, Berglund has spent time in both Swedish juniors (J20 Nationell; 12 points in eight games) and the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), where he has one goal and two assists in 14 games. Sure, his scoring isn’t superb by any means for the SHL. It’s also true that he’s 18 years old and competing in one of the most difficult non-NHL leagues in hockey. He’s proving he belongs.
While he isn’t a slam-dunk pick for Sweden, Berglund should be on their team. There will be some good competition to compete with, like the rising 2026 draft-eligible Ivar Stenberg. This Swedish club should be a pretty solid one, so it may allow Berglund to turn some heads. Flyers fans should be keeping their eyes on Canada, but it wouldn’t hurt to see what their recent second-rounder is up to.
Noah Powell is an honorable mention for the United States squad, but his three points in nine games in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) probably won’t cut it. Though a fifth-round pick in 2024 (over-ager), his 74 points in 61 USHL games inspired that he, at one point, could make the team.
The rosters won’t be set for a bit, but it’s possible that we see six Flyers in the WJC, if not around that number. Be sure to keep track of the tournament when it gets underway on Dec. 26, 2024, and ends on Jan. 5, 2025.
