5 Blues prospects medal at 2025 World Junior Championship

It was another outstanding year for the St. Louis Blues prospects at the World Junior Championship, capped off with five of the team's prospects winning medals.

Colin Ralph is taking home a gold medal with Team USA, while Adam Jecho, Adam Jiricek, Ondrej Kos and Jakub Stancl captured bronze for Czechia.

A franchise-record nine prospects competed in the tournament, the most of any NHL team. In addition to Ralph, Jecho, Jiricek, Kos and Stancl, the Blues were also represented by Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Pekarcik on Team Slovakia and Theo Lindstein and Otto Stenberg on Team Sweden.

Blues prospects finished the World Junior Championship with a combined 52 points, surpassing last year's total of 44.

Ralph wins gold as USA rallies

The United States, trailing 3-1 earlier in the game, put together an incredible rally to beat Finland 4-3 in overtime and capture their second consecutive gold medal at the tournament.

Defenseman Colin Ralph (48th overall, 2024) provided a solid defensive presence for the United States. He registered one assist in seven games during his first World Juniors tournament. It's a repeat for Team USA who also won in 2024 with help from Blues prospect Jimmy Snuggerud.

Blues prospects power Czechia to bronze

Czechia's roster was loaded with Blues prospects, and they were key players as they helped their country capture bronze for the second consecutive year. The team took down Sweden 3-2 in the bronze medal game, triumphing in a 14-round shootout.

Jakub Stancl (106th overall, 2023) had a standout tournament with seven goals and 10 points in seven games, including one goal (and one shootout goal) in the final game. He finished the tournament first overall among all players in goals and tied for second in points.

Fourth overall in team scoring was fellow Blues prospect Adam Jecho (95th overall, 2024). Playing in his first World Juniors, the forward had seven points (two goals, five assists) in seven games.

Defenseman Adam Jiricek (16th overall, 2024) finished the tournament with five assists and forward Ondrej Kos (81st overall, 2024) with one goal. Both suited up for all seven games.

Stenberg, Lindstein impress for Sweden

While their team fell to Czechia in the bronze-medal game, forward Otto Stenberg (25th overall, 2023) and defenseman Theo Lindstein (29th overall, 2023) were pivotal for Sweden throughout the tournament.

Stenberg scored twice in the semifinal match against Finland and totaled eight points (three goals, five assists) in seven games. Lindstein was once again a steady presence on the blueline, chipping in four assists in seven games. Both players won a silver medal with Sweden at the 2024 tournament.

Dvorsky and Pekarcik lead the way for Slovakia

Slovakia made it to the quarterfinals but did not advance to the medal round, falling 5-3 to Finland to end their tournament. However Blues prospects Dalibor Dvorsky (10th overall, 2023) and Juraj Pekarcik (76th overall, 2023) were among the standouts, respectively ranking first and second on the team in points. Dvorsky served as the squad's captain, while Pekarcik donned an 'A'.

Ahead of the medal round, Dvorsky led all players at the tournament with nine points (five goals, four assists) in five games, while Pekarcik was tied for seventh overall with seven (three goals, four assists). Dvorsky was named a top 3 player in the tournament for Slovakia.

See a complete recap of Blues prospects at the World Juniors by visiting stlouisblues.com/worldjuniors.