The 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase was filled with talented prospects from a variety of NHL teams. The Minnesota Wild had three prospects who participated last week, two with Finland and one with Canada. Both players from Finland were defensemen: Aron Kivijharju and Sebastian Soini, while the player from Canada was a forward: Ryder Ritchie.
While this showcase was a time for players to show they have the talent to make the rosters in December, it was also a time for NHL scouts to look at the prospects for their team and others. In this article, we’ll take a look at the three prospects for the Wild and how they did in this showcase, starting with the lone Canadian, Ritchie.
Ritchie Shines Quietly
A lot of players made impressions during the past week, but Ryder Ritchie was one of the players who had small bursts of showing his skills, but then he went back to being in the background. He had a lot of good qualities that he showed, while there were also some areas to improve. The first thing that was noticed about him was how Canada used him on the power play.
Obviously, they cycled through players on their power plays to see who fit best where, but even on the final day, Ritchie was playing when they had the man advantage. He didn’t produce a lot offensively, but he did have some strong chances that led to him setting up a goal for his lone assist and point of the showcase in four games played.
The couple of areas he needs to improve on all deal with offensive skills, such as calling for the puck when open. This does vary from player to player and team to team, but there were times he was wide open and didn’t make any attempt to show he was. The second was his time in the slot in front of the goaltender.
Instead of getting in the goaltender’s line of sight, he stood slightly to the side, and while that makes sense if he was waiting for a pass, he still wasn’t in the right position for that to happen. He needs to commit to screening the goaltender and trying to deflect a shot rather than shying away. Regardless of the areas he needs to improve, he has a lot of great qualities, including a strong shot that hopefully the Wild will see one day in the future.
Soini Leaves Solid Impression
Being drafted in the fifth round doesn’t typically bode well for players making NHL rosters in the future, but there have been exceptions, especially where the Wild are concerned. Kirill Kaprizov is their most notable fifth-round pick, and he’s their superstar. Can Sebastian Soini be the next one? Likely not, but he does have some strong talents that will hopefully bring him to the NHL.
He, like many of the players at the showcase, has a lot of speed, and as a defenseman, he kept his head on a swivel and always knew where the open opposition was. When he tried to keep the other team out of the defensive zone, he kept himself between them and his goaltender, but he also stood up to his full height and made himself as big as possible to keep them from going around. He’s also strong on board battles and found ways to come out with the puck, but couldn’t find a way to get a point at the showcase in four games played.
As far as offensively, he has some upsides; he has good hands, and although he does a strong job of carrying the puck into the offensive zone, he struggles once he makes it past the blue line. He tries to go straight through the defense, and when he runs out of room, he gets stopped and loses control rather than trying to pass or find a way out. His other flaw is that although he uses his body, he can’t let the opposition outmuscle him. He has a decent size, and he needs to use it. It’ll be interesting to see where his future lies past December.
Kiviharju Has Promising Chance
Aron Kiviharju was drafted slightly earlier than Soini, as he went in the fourth round, and the projections for him to make an NHL roster are similar to Soini, quite slim. He did have a better showing with two assists for two points in four games played at the showcase. The biggest thing that stuck out about Kiviharju was his wicked shot that found its way through a big crowd in front of the net. It has laser speed, and it was impressive to see it make it all the way to the net.
The other area that made him noticeable was his communication skills; he could be heard all the way up in the pressbox yelling where to go and pointing to who he wanted covered. He also spent time on the power play, and it looked like he was the one running it as he was on point. For someone so young, just 19 years old, he also has very good patience and doesn’t panic with the puck. He took his time and did what he needed to do.
Related: 3 Final Takeaways From World Junior Summer Showcase Week
While most of his performance was great, he, like the others, has some things to work on, like keeping his eye on the open players. He let some of the players sneak in behind him without being covered, and it cost them. The other thing he needs to watch are his blind passes, because they caused turnovers. It’s good he trusts his teammates, but he has to know they’ll be there before he makes the pass. These are things that will improve with time.
It’s hard to say if these players will make it to the NHL someday or not, but they have some great talents and, of course, flaws to fix. What can be said is it’s highly likely all three of these players will be on their respective teams when December hits, and it will be fun to see if any of them come out with a gold medal.
