Team USA

Yesterday at 10:07 AM

OTTAWA — The 2025 world junior hockey championship will go down in history as one of the most intriguing in terms of results and storylines.

Team Latvia's win over Team Canada in the preliminary round shocked many in hockey circles. It felt like the Latvians were underestimated by Team Canada, but they still deserve full marks for their effort throughout the tournament. The Latvians ended up losing a tight 3-2 battle with Team Sweden in the quarter-finals.

Team USA arrived in Ottawa as the defending champions and favourites to repeat, and by the end of the tournament, the depth of the American team was on full display. The group rolled over the boards in waves. Team Finland pushed back as much as they could but ended up on the wrong side of a 4-3 overtime defeat in the gold medal game.

Several top prospects shone on the big stage at the WJC. Here's a look at some of the players that stood out for me in Ottawa:

Goalies

Carter George – Team Canada
George was Canada's most reliable player. The Los Angeles Kings draft pick (2nd round – 57th overall – 2024) gave Team Canada a chance to win despite the uneven play in front of him. George ended the tournament with two shutouts and an assist to go along with his .936 save percentage and 1.76 GAA. He's eligible to return next season and Canada's goaltending is in good hands with George.

Petteri Rimpinen – Team Finland
Rimpinen was named the tournament’s top goaltender. He was excellent for the Finns, posting a .933 save percentage and 2.34 GAA. Rimpinen is playing for Espoo in Finland's top pro league “Liiga”. He's an athletic goalie who's listed at six-foot, 176 pounds, but appears a bit smaller in the net. He's undersized compared to other NHL prospects and it's likely the reason he has yet to be drafted. Considering his performance at the tournament, and his tidy stats in Liiga (2.25 GAA – .916 GAA), there's a real likelihood he gets drafted next June.

Linards Feldbergs – Team Latvia
Feldbergs ran the table between the posts for Team Latvia and was a big part of the reason the nation had its most successful World Juniors in its history.

Feldbergs, like Rimpinen, has yet to be drafted by an NHL club. The six-foot-two, 176-pound netminder is playing for Sherbrooke in the QMJHL. Scouts will be closely monitoring the second half of his season in the Quebec juniors. Feldbergs has good size in the net and plays an active, butterfly/athletic, style. He never quits on a puck and does whatever is required to keep pucks from crossing the goal line. He faced, on average, over forty shots per game at the tournament. Many of them were “grade A” scoring chances against, making .929 save percentage and 3.13 GAA even more impressive.

Defenceman

Zeev Buium – Team USA
Buium was a workhorse for Team USA. He averaged 25:00 TOI and was deployed in all situations. Buium was tasked with matching up against top six forwards throughout the tournament and was up to the challenge defensively. He ended with an impressive stat line: seven games played, two goals and four assists (+10).

Buium led the NCAA in defenceman scoring last year at the University of Denver (11G-39A) and was leading the nation in scoring this year before the start of the tournament (4G-16A). Buium proved to me he is close to a complete player at this event, meaning, the Minnesota Wild draft pick (12th overall in 2024) looks close to pro-ready. His entire game has evolved and he's a proven winner. Buium has two world junior gold medals and an NCAA national championship under his belt in the last year alone.

NHL Projection: Top pairing “D” — deployed in all situations

NHL Arrival: This spring, after he completes his NCAA season at Denver.

Matthew Schaefer – Team Canada
Schaefer looked like Team Canada's most prepared, competitive, and complete player before sustaining an injury in the opening minutes of the Canadian's second game versus Latvia. It's hard to believe he only turned 17 in September.

Schaefer has had a string of bad luck this season. After captaining Team Canada to gold in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August he came down with mononucleosis. It held him out at the beginning of the season and he will now miss the next several months with a broken collarbone.

Schaefer is my top-ranked draft prospect and his injury doesn't change my mind. If anything, watching how Team Canada looked on their blue line without him in the lineup only increases his value in my mind. The team couldn't find a replacement for a player like Schaefer who logs big minutes in all situations.

NHL Projection: Top pairing "D" — complete player, deployed in all situations

NHL Arrival: Will challenge for roster spot at first NHL training camp in fall of 2025

Cole Hutson – Team USA
An argument could have been made that Hutson should have been the top defenceman in the tournament. The award ended up going to Detroit Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka from Sweden for the second year in a row. It might have come down to the fact that Sandin-Pellikka was deployed in all situations, whereas Hutson was used at even strength and the power-play.

Hutson, like his brother Lane (Montreal Canadiens), is a power-play quarterback and dynamic threat offensively. He's not big (five-foot-11, 172 pounds), but the Washington Capitals draft pick (43rd overall in 2024) never backs down and battles to win pucks. When he has possession in the offensive zone his vision and playmaking are elite. Hutson ended the WJC as the leading scorer in the tournament with three goals and eight assists, he was also plus-11 defensively.

NHL Projection: Middle pairing “D” at even strength — Power-Play Quarterback

NHL Arrival: Spring of 2026 at the end of the NCAA season.

Forwards

Ryan Leonard – Team USA
This list of players is USA-heavy for good reason. The Americans iced an exceptionally deep team with several players, like team Captain Leonard, standing out. The 19-year-old is another Capitals draft pick (8th overall in 2023). He was outstanding for Team USA and named tournament MVP.

Leonard is a bulldog, he's always around the play. His combination of speed, skill, shot, and physicality is elite. He's not tall (six-foot) but he's very strong (190 pounds) and hard to knock off the puck. Washington has a top-six power/skill forward in their stable of prospects with Leonard.

NHL Projection: Top six forward — Combination of power and skill

NHL Arrival: This spring following the end of his NCAA season at Boston College.

Dalibor Dvorsky – Team Slovakia
Dvorsky completed his fourth world junior tournament as the captain for Team Slovakia. The St. Louis Blues prospect (drafted 10th overall in 2023) played to his identity offensively, contributing five goals and four assists in five games. Dvorsky is an elite shooter and can beat goalies from long-range with a lethal release. He's having a productive rookie year in the AHL, producing 11 goals and 10 assists so far for the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Blues have a potential top-six scorer at the NHL level in Dvorsky.

NHL Projection: Top six forward — Leans goal scorer more than distributor

NHL Arrival: A call-up is possible this season from AHL Springfield.

Jakub Stancl – Team Czechia
Another Blues prospect (drafted in the 4th round – 106th overall in 2023), Stancl had a fantastic tournament for Team Czechia. He played with reliable structure in all three zones and used his large frame (six-foot-three, 198 pounds) to shield pucks and create space for himself. Stancl could be a fourth-round steal for St. Louis. He ended the tournament second in scoring with seven goals, three assists and a plus-six rating defensively.

NHL Projection: Middle/Bottom six forward — Can be used in a variety of roles

NHL Arrival: Could challenge for a roster spot by fall of 2026.

Eriks Mateiko – Team Latvia
Mateiko was the captain of Team Latvia and scored some timely goals in the tournament. He ended with five goals, including the game-winning shootout goal versus Canada in the preliminary round. Mateiko is a huge human (six-foor-six, 209 pounds) who skates well for his stature and has good puck touch. His catch-and-release is quick and accurate from high-danger areas when directing pucks on net. The Capitals draft pick (3rd round – 90th overall – 2024) projects as a potential power forward who isn't overly physical but uses his large frame to extend plays and box out opponents out front.

NHL Projection: Middle six forward — size/power goal scorer

NHL Arrival: Will need time in the AHL — Potential to challenge for roster spot by fall of 2026.

James Hagens – Team USA
Hagen's could end up being the top pick in the draft. Since the WJC is generally known as a U20 tournament, it's difficult for youngsters, like Hagens, to impact the game in relation to their identity as a prospect. The 18-year-old passed the test with flying colours.

He was used in a familiar top six forward role, alongside his Boston College linemates Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard, and produced five goals and four assists offensively. Equally as impressive was his plus-nine rating defensively. I appreciate the effort Hagens put forth along the boards and tracking the full distance of the ice to assist defensively. He and Schaefer are putting distance between themselves and other draft-eligible prospects.

NHL Projection: Top line scoring forward

NHL Arrival: Fall of 2025.

Closing thoughts

Similar to Halifax, in 2023, the city of Ottawa was an outstanding host for the tournament. Despite the fact Team Canada was eliminated in the quarter-finals, the games were well attended right to the end.

The region clearly values hosting a world-class event like the World Juniors and displays its support for all competing nations. Congratulations to the organizing committee and the hundreds of volunteers who gave up portions of their holiday season to assist with delivering a successful tournament.