Three players to watch on every team at 2025 World Juniors ...Middle East

The best junior hockey players in the world are heading to Canada’s capital city for the annual World Junior Hockey Championship.

The United States are the defending champions, with Sweden (silver) and Czechia (bronze) also holding medals. Canada, the hosts, are looking for a better result after bowing out in the quarterfinals in Sweden last year.

Before the puck drops on another world juniors, here are three players to watch on each of the 10 teams.

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Canada

Easton Cowan, RWClub team: London Knights (OHL)NHL Draft: First round, 28th overall (2023) by Toronto Maple Leafs

Cowan enters the tournament as one of its most hyped players, thanks to an incredible 56-game point streak in the OHL and the fact that he is the Maple Leafs’ top prospect. He plays the game with pace, is extremely intelligent, and has elite playmaking abilities. Cowan also shoots it well enough to be respected on that front. If he’s fully healthy, he should play a major role for Canada and produce more than the two points he put up last year in the event.

Matthew Schaefer, DClub team: Erie Otters (OHL)NHL Draft: 2025-eligible

Schaefer is one of the few players who can, at the ripe age of 17, truly dominate a game against high-level, older competition. He has every tool available to be an impact player for Canada but his foundation is based on his elite skating ability. Everything else falls into place, from knowing when to join the rush to staying back to defend against the best the opposition has to offer. I wouldn’t be shocked if Schaefer was Canada’s top defenceman by the time the tournament ends.

Calum Ritchie, CClub team: Oshawa Generals (OHL)NHL Draft: First round, 27th overall (2023) by Colorado Avalanche

Ritchie is in his third OHL season but has yet to play the full schedule. When healthy, he is one of the league’s top players, having averaged well over a point per game in his 192 games played. Ritchie is a cerebral player who thinks the game well and leans heavily to the offensive side. His game continues to grow, having added more speed and physicality to his repertoire. His year started with a seven-game audition with the Avalanche, where he recorded his first NHL point.

United States

Zeev Buium, DClub team: University of Denver (NCAA)NHL Draft: First round, 12th overall (2024) by Minnesota Wild

Buium continues to produce at an elite level for an NCAA defenceman, with 20 points in 18 games. Many believe he was a high-value pick for the Wild when he dropped outside of the top 10. Buium will have a big stage to continue to prove doubters wrong as a feature piece in a strong defensive core. He also has familiarity with American coach David Carle, who coaches Buium at the University of Denver.

Ryan Leonard, RWClub team: Boston College (NCAA)NHL Draft: First round, eighth overall (2023) by Washington Capitals

Now in his junior year, Leonard has is one of the most impactful players in college hockey. Once again, he is linemates with gifted Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault, and instead of Will Smith in the middle, the duo has been matched with James Hagens. The trio forms one of the best lines in the NCAA. At his best, Leonard is a play-driver who is fearless going to all the hard areas on the ice. He is a perfect blend of will and skill, and should be someone Carle leans on in all situations.

James Hagens, CClub team: Boston College (NCAA)NHL Draft: 2025-eligible

Hagens has essentially taken the place of San Jose Sharks forward Smith at Boston College and on the American world junior team, where he will play in between Perreault and Leonard. A dynamic, two-way, high-compete player, Hagens will have every opportunity to maintain his status as a top prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft. He’s managed to put up 20 points as a freshman, placing him amongst the top 10 scorers in the loop.

Finland

Konsta Helenius, CClub team: Rochester Americans (AHL)NHL Draft: First round, 14th overall (2024) by Buffalo Sabres

A solid two-way centre, Helenius continues to produce in the professional ranks. He arrived in the AHL this season with 83 games of pro experience over two seasons in Finland’s top men’s league. His adjustment to North America has gone well, with six goals and 17 points in 28 games. Helenius has hit all the marks along the way internationally, culminating in a four-game stint with the men’s national team in April at the worlds. He comes into this tournament with high expectations, having competed last year for a Finland team that finished just out of the medals.

Julius Miettinen, CClub team: Everett Silvertips (WHL)NHL Draft: Second round, 40th overall (2024) by Seattle Kraken

A solid two-way player, Miettinen can effectively play centre or wing. He has the ability to get in on the forecheck and add some heaviness to a country that has earned a reputation for playing hard. There’s plenty of offence that comes with this player who has averaged a point per game over his year and a half with the Silvertips. This will mark his first world juniors tournament and his first appearance with the national team in two years.

Kasper Halttunen, RWClub team: London Knights (OHL)NHL Draft: Second round, 36th overall (2023) by San Jose Sharks

A pure sniper, Halttunen has made his way from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda back to the Knights in hopes of playing in more high-leverage situations as his game continues to mature. Halttunen is a confident player who doesn’t need many looks to make an impact, and he should be Finland’s go-to when it comes to the power play. Like many of his teammates, he brings size and some physicality to the table. When engaged, he can lean on opponents and impose his will with size and strength. 

Latvia

Roberts Naudins, FClub team: Shattuck St. Mary’s (high school)NHL Draft: 2027-eligible

Considering his Latvian descent, Naudins is taking an unconventional path in his minor hockey journey. As a late 2008 birthday, the recently turned 16-year-old is lighting it up in the prep school ranks. It’s not often Latvian players end up at Shattuck St. Mary’s, whose lengthy list of alumni includes Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Zach Parise. Naudins will be hard to miss at six-foot-six and 195 pounds, and he has committed to Harvard for next season.

Eriks Mateiko, LWClub team: Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)NHL Draft: Third round, 90th overall (2024) by Washington Capitals

Mateiko was one of the rawest prospects taken in the 2024 NHL Draft. He arrived in Saint John as a relative unknown after being selected with the 108th pick in the 2022 CHL Import Draft. He had been playing in the second-tier Latvian professional league, not the typical place where prospects are mined. Mateiko had some success in Latvia’s second-tier pro league, but a move to Saint John unearthed “the Moose.” Now the Sea Dogs’ captain, he will take on a leadership role and will be a fun player to watch for one of the lower-rated teams in the tourney.

Peteris Bulans, DClub team: Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)NHL Draft: undrafted

QMJHL fans will be familiar with this six-foot, 190-pound left-shot defenceman. Bulans is in his third year in the league, having been claimed off waivers from Acadie-Bathurst by Chicoutimi just two games into his tenure in the league. Through 119 QMJHL games, he’s put up 76 points, 65 of them assists. Having gone two years through the draft, this tournament will present the highest-leverage competition to leave a lasting impression on NHL scouts. This will be his second time in the tournament, and that experience should help the underdog Latvians.

Germany

Norwin Ponocha, DClub team: Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)NHL Draft: Seventh round, 205th overall (2023) by Buffalo Sabres

Ponocha is the lone drafted player on Team Germany. He started the year with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders but has since made the move to Green Bay in the USHL. Ponocha has three assists in his 15 games with the Gamblers and is still looking for his first North American goal. Ponocha spent the 2023-24 season with the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens, where he amassed 15 assists over 52 games. This will be his second world juniors.

Julius Sumpf, CClub team: Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)NHL Draft: Not selected in 2023 or 2024

A dual citizen who grew up in Austria’s famous Red Bull program, Sumpf, 19, is in his second season in Moncton. His first year in North America resulted in a 21-goal, 55-point season. He’s on pace to surpass those totals with 16 goals and 37 points through 29 games with the Wildcats. Sumpf had three points for Germany in last year’s tournament. 

David Lewandowski, LWClub team: Saskatoon Blades (WHL)NHL Draft: 2025-eligible

After kickstarting the season with two points in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, Lewandowski started the season in the DEL, Germany’s top pro league. With his average ice time sitting well below double digits, he made the move to Saskatoon, where he’s fit in quite nicely. Not afraid to shoot, he has put up seven goals and 15 points through his first 20 WHL games played. He is considered a mid-to-late round projection for the 2025 NHL Draft.

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