World Junior Preview for Sudbury Star
Deep Thoughts with Mark Seidel
The 2025 version of
the World Junior Hockey Championships begins on Boxing Day after the 2024 event
saw the United States of America break Canada’s 2-year grip on the Championship
and these two teams should battle in the Gold Medal game again.
Here is a preview of
the Teams, a Star to Watch, an NHL Draft Prospect to watch & my
predictions:
Team
Canada
Star
to Watch: Easton Cowan (RW) - The Toronto Maple Leaf’s 1st
rounder from the 2023 NHL Draft has been lighting up the OHL since the start of
last season with an amazing 124 points in 74 games and along with that offense,
he will be great all over the ice.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: Matthew Schaefer (RD) – The sophomore defender from the
Erie Otters has a legitimate chance to be the first name called at the 2025 NHL
Draft in Los Angeles. Schaefer combines excellent skating ability with very
high hockey IQ and a unique ability to generate offence from the back end. Fans
love to use NHL comparable to give them a better understanding of who the
Prospect is reminiscent of and in this case, that comparable is the Colorado
Avalanche superstar Defenseman, Cale Makar. How much opportunity he gets will
be interesting to monitor because 17-year-old Defenseman haven’t usually played
a lot for Gold Medal contenders but Shaefer has a chance to be the exception to
that rule.
Team
USA
Star
to Watch: Gabe
Perreault – (RW)
- Fans of a certain vintage will remember the offensive genius Yanic Perreault
and I always said that he was born a Generation too early with the changes in
the game and along comes his son, Gabe to highlight that point. A tad
undersized and not the fastest skater on the ice (sound familiar), people have
questioned Perreault’s NHL future but the NY Rangers ignored it all and took
Perreault in the 1st round in the 2023 NHL Draft. He is currently
tied for 2nd in NCAA scoring and I expect his offensive production
to continue throughout the Capital region over the holidays.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: James Hagens (LC) – Coming into the year, Hagens was the
name that most people associated with going #1 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft
and Hagens has done his part in trying to maintain that position with 20 points
in 16 games in the NCAA as a true Freshman. He is a Player that is electric to
watch and can generate offensive chances both off the rush or on the power
play. He has elite offensive instincts and projects to be a high-end scorer in
the NHL so Team USA hopes he can do the same at this Tournament as I expect he
will Centre the top line with Ryan Leonard & Perreault. One challenge for
every Team in this short event is developing chemistry but that line will hit
the ground running because they all play on the same line at Boston College.
Finland
Star
to Watch: Konsta
Helenius (LC) – Helenius was our 9th ranked Player heading
into the rather eventful 2024 NHL Draft and although it seems nothing good ever
happens to the Buffalo Sabres, he fell to them at #14 overall & he has
jumped right into the AHL with Rochester and put up a tidy 17 points before leaving
for Ottawa. He is a slick, skilled Centreman that isn’t afraid to go into the
tough areas and he will have to lead the Finn’s offensively to give them a shot
at the Title.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: Petteri Rimpinen (G) – Rimpinen is a slightly undersized
Goaltender that has had some incredible showings and despite us listing him
#188 overall for last years Draft, he went unclaimed but if the Finn’s are
going to compete for Gold, Rimpinen will be a key cog for them. His play in Pro
this year has been exceptional and I expect him to be the #1 Goaltender for the
Finn’s and give NHL guys a chance to see him and prove that they whiffed last
year in not selecting him.
Sweden
Star
to Watch: Axel
Sandin-Pellika (RD) – The young defenseman was
taken by the Detroit Red Wings at #17 overall in the ’23 NHL Draft (much like
Helenius in 2024, we had Sandin-Pellika at #9 overall in 2023) and has been
described as a poor man’s Niklas Lidstrom which is heady praise for the Swedish
star. I can guarantee that he isn’t Lidstrom but he is the reigning Top
Defenseman at the 2024 World Junior championships which has the Swedes giddy
about his chances of being the first defender to win the honor twice since a
guy named Fetisov did it in 1978. Everything will run through him and he should
be fun to watch.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: Viktor Eklund (RW) - Eklund is the younger brother of
Quentin Musty’s future teammate in San Jose, William Eklund and has a realistic
chance of being selected higher in the NHL Draft that his brother who was taken
#7 overall in 2021. This Swedish Team is loaded up front so it will be
interesting to see how much opportunity the 17-year-old gets but the one thing
you can always count on with Eklund is that he will play every shift incredibly
hard and is always a threat.
Czechia
Star
to Watch: Michael
Hrabel (G) – Hrabel is a mountain of a kid at
almost 6’7 and 219 pounds but even at that size, he will need to stand even
taller to give the Czech’s a chance at the Gold Medal. His play at the
University of Massachusetts has been stellar with a .917 save percentage and
has justified the Arizona Coyotes making him the 2nd Goalie drafted
in the 2023 NHL Draft but the Czech U20 Team lacks the necessary depth to
challenge the two North American powerhouse Teams unless Hrabel is phenomenal.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: Vojtech Cihar (LC) – Cihar is a far less touted 2025 NHL
Draft Prospect than many others I have listed but I really like the Player and
I’m hoping he can get some run in this Tournament to warrant my interest. He is
a good-sized LC that has shown good IQ and I thought he played well at the
recent Gretzky Hlinka Tournament in August but after speaking to my Czech
contact, I’m concerned that he will be out of the lineup for some games so that
might limit his opportunity to impress.
Slovakia
Star
to Watch: Dalibor
Dvorsky (LC) – Fans in Sudbury got to experience the impressive
Prospect for most of the 2023/24 season and although he has graduated to the
AHL, his play and production hasn’t slowed down with 21 points in 27 games.
Although eligible to still play in the OHL, Dvorsky is closer to playing in the
NHL than he is in Sudbury and that will make him one of the most important
Players in the Tournament and the reason I think the Slovaks are a quality dark
horse team.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: Luka Radivojevic – Fans of the OHL will remember Luka’s
Dad, Branko who was a star for the Belleville Bulls from 1998 until 2001 and
was a part of the Bulls Championship team in 1999. As good a Player as Branko
was, Luka projects to be even better and should be a 1st round NHL
pick in June of 2025. He is a “new age” defenseman that lacks size but oozes
skill and great feet and he had his WJC debut last year as an Under-ager and
dazzled. He has recently come over to North America to play for the Muskegon
Lumberjacks in the USHL which should give Scouts more opportunities to watch
him but at this Tournament, he will be counted on for power play production as
well as being a 2nd pairing defender that can win matchups.
Switzerland
Star
to Watch: Leon Muggli
(LD) – Muggli is an average sized defenseman that is better than the sum of his
parts. He is very capable of making plays but he can defend exceptionally well
and has a nasty side that is very much appreciated. The Washington Capitals
made Muggli the 52nd Player taken at the Draft in Vegas which
surprised some but his play thus far has validated that pick and the Caps have already
rewarded him a contract.
2026
& 2027 Draft Prospects to Watch: Lars Steiner (RW) – Steiner is a late
birth 2007 born RW’er that has come over to the QMJHL and has had such an
impressive start to the season with the Rouyn Noranda Huskies that Scouts are
already excited about his potential for the Draft in 18 months.
It should also be
noted that the 15-year-old Jonah Neuenschwander, (LW) is an
already massive 6’3 power forward, will join his older brother Elijah (G) on
the Team and you should get used to the name because I expect him to represent
Switzerland in the next 4 World Junior Championships. The younger
Neuenschwander isn’t eligible until the 2027 NHL Draft because he was born in
2009 but don’t let his birth certificate fool you because his play in the Swiss
U20 League has him in the Top 20 in scoring against kids 5 years older.
Germany
Star
to Watch: Norwin
Panocha (LD) – Panocha is a big bodied, steady defender that fell to
the 7th round in 2023 before the Buffalo Sabres scooped him as a
potential 3rd pairing defenseman. Nobody was expecting much at the
NHL Rookie Tournament in Buffalo in September after a rather uneventful season
in Chicoutimi last year but I was blown away by how well Panocha played against
many older kids that were 1st and 2nd round picks. The
Germans are overmatched in this event so you can expect to see a bunch of
Panocha in every German game.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: David Lewandowski (LW) – Lewandowski is another Player
that saw the benefits of coming to play in the CHL in his NHL Draft year and
thus far it has paid off for both him and the Saskatoon Blades, who took him in
the European Import Draft. Lewandowski was also very impressive at this
summer’s Gretzky Hlinka tournament so the start to his North American career
has gone well and the year should finish with him being a 3rd round
NHL pick.
Kazakhstan
Star
to Watch: Vladimir
Nikitin (G) – Well Mr.
Nikitin, the good news is that you are the only NHL drafted Player on your
Country’s roster but the bad news is that you may experience PTSD from the
amount of rubber that is going to come at you over the next 2 weeks. The Ottawa
Senators 6’5 goaltending Prospect has the requisite size and he battles for
every save but it could be tough tournament for the affable young man.
2025 Draft Prospect to Watch: Roman Boldshedvorsky (LD) – The big Kazakh defender
has some intriguing skills and earned a spot on our final 2024 NHL Draft
rankings at #204 but he went undrafted through the full 7 rounds. We still
think he has tremendous size and some nastiness that might warrant a pick in
this years Draft but his play in Ottawa will have to be stellar.
Latvia
Star
to Watch: Eriks
Mateiko (LW) – Mateiko
is a large human being that Washington selected at #90 overall last year &
after Saint John’s took him in the European Draft, he has started the year off
on fire with 14 goals already. Mateiko is never going to dazzle anyone with his
skillset but he knows how to use his big frame to his advantage and he loves to
get to the dirty areas.
2025
Draft Prospect to Watch: Bruno Osmanis – Osmanis is eligible for the 2025 NHL
Draft and he is a dynamic smallish Player that creates offensive chances at
both ends of the ice and I’m sure there are times when he has the puck that
both Head Coaches cover their eyes because anything can happen. The Latvian
Team is lacking in the necessary skill or depth but watching Osmanis is worth
the price of admission.
2025 WJC Predictions
Gold – Canada – Canadian goaltending ends up being better
than the USA and Canada captures their 3rd title in 4 years.
Silver – USA – The Americans will run and gun and put up
some crooked numbers in the round robin but Canada’s depth will be too much in
the Final.
Bronze – Sweden – The Swedes continue to get close but once
again they can’t come up great in the important Playoff Round but should have
enough to take home a Bronze Medal
4th – Slovakia – My “Sleeper” Team of the tournament that
isn’t getting the respect they deserve and playing for a Medal should be in
their future
5th- Finland – The Finnish National Program has been
spinning their wheels over the last couple years and although they have some
stars, getting beyond the Quarter Finals will be tough
6th – Czechia – Somebody has to fall if the Slovaks are
as good as I think they are and I could see it being the Czech’s. If Michael
Hrabel is as good as he can be, they will finish higher but if he is just solid
throughout, I can see a Quarter Finals loss.
7th – Switzerland – The Swiss will be competitive in most
games but lack the star quality to do any real damage.
8th – Latvia – The one trait that the Latvians always
display is an incredible work ethic and that should be enough to beat the
Germans and earn a Quarter Final beating
9th – Germany – German hockey has been continually
improving but this is a down year for the Germans so I expect a battle with the
Kazakhs to avoid Relegation
10th
–Kazakhstan – This
majority of this Team plays together all year so they should have some
chemistry but unless their Goaltending is epic, I think they will be relegated.
Projected All Star Team
Forward - Macklin Celebrini – Canada
Forward - Dalibor Dvorsky – Slovakia
Forward - Ryan Leonard – USA
Defense - Axel Sandin-Pellika - Sweden
Defense - Zeev Buium – USA
Goaltender – Carter George - Canada
Sports. Stories. Honesty. Unbiased.
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