2025 World Junior Championship Group B preview

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Ottawa, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Today, we preview the Group B preliminary-round bracket.

Sweden is looking for its first gold medal at the World Juniors since 2012, and powering that bid will be nine players who won a silver medal at the 2024 WJC.

That includes two St. Louis Blues prospects who should play significant roles, forward Otto Stenberg and defenseman Theo Lindstein.

Stenberg, selected by the Blues with the No. 25 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, led Sweden with five goals in seven games at the 2024 WJC, and his nine points are the most among the returning players. Lindstein, the No. 29 pick of the 2023 draft, led all defensemen at the tournament with eight points (two goals, six assists) in seven games.

"For the group, they are my key players because they have good leadership and they're both good, skilled players," Sweden coach Magnus Havelid said. "So of course they can help us at big moments and to be a steady team."

Lindstein has four points (two goals, two assists) in 23 games with Brynas in his first season in the Swedish Hockey League. Stenberg has six points (three goals, three assists) in 25 SHL games with Malmo.

"We're great buddies outside the ice, and we have been together now for a couple of years here in the national team," Lindstein said. "So it's fun that we got drafted into the same team too. So it's always nice to have a couple of guys here who have been here before, and so it's always fun to have him here."

Lindstein is expected to carry a heavy load on defense along with two other returning defensemen, Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings) and Tom Willander (Vancouver Canucks).

Sandin-Pellikka was voted the tournament's best defenseman in 2024 after he had six points (two goals, four assists) in seven games. The 19-year-old leads SHL defensemen this season with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 25 games with Skelleftea. Willander was a plus-9 while averaging 19:36 of ice time in seven games last year. He has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 16 games as a sophomore at Boston University.

Besides Stenberg, returning are forwards David Edstrom (Nashville Predators), Felix Unger Sorum (Carolina Hurricanes), Zeb Forsfjall (Seattle Kraken), Anton Wahlberg (Buffalo Sabres), and goalie Melker Thelin (Utah Hockey Club).

"It's good to have that experience when we come to Canada, to North America, and play on a smaller rink," Havelid said. "It's more learning by doing. We can transfer that to the other players as well."

Here's a look at each Group B team, in predicted order of finish:

Sweden

Coach: Magnus Havelid

2025 NHL Draft Watch: Victor Eklund, RW, Djurgarden (SWE-2)

Schedule: Dec. 26, Slovakia (Noon ET); Dec. 27, Kazakhstan (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Switzerland (Noon ET); Dec. 31, Czechia (5 p.m. ET)

Outlook: Choosing a starting goalie is the first step for Havelid. Thelin played two games in the preliminary round as the backup to Hugo Havelid at last year's tournament, making 15 saves in a 5-0 shutout of Germany, and 25 saves in a 5-4 shootout win against Finland. But Marcus Gidlof (New York Islanders) has a 2.07 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in eight games with Leksand in the SHL and has impressive size at 6-foot-6, 212 pounds. Also bringing impressive size is center Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers), who at 6-4, 209 has shown the ability to get to the front of the net and create havoc. And with Sweden's offensive skill on the back end, there should be a lot of opportunities for tips and rebound goals. Sweden isn't loaded with standout offensive performers, but Eklund, an A-rated skater in NHL Central Scouting's players to watch list, could develop into one. The 18-year-old has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 24 games with Djurgarden in Sweden's second professional division. With the United States, Canada and Finland in Group A, Sweden appears to have a clear path to first place in Group B and a likely spot in the semifinals.

Slovakia

Coach: Ivan Fenes

2025 NHL Draft Watch: Jan Chovan, C, Tappara Jr. (FIN-JR); Luka Radivojevic, D, Muskegon (USHL); Samuel Urban, G, Sioux City (USHL);

Schedule: Dec. 26, Sweden (Noon ET); Dec. 27, Switzerland (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Czechia (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 30, Kazakhstan (1 p.m. ET)

Outlook: Slovakia hasn't won a World Junior medal since a bronze in 2015, but that could change this year. Dalibor Dvorsky (St. Louis Blues), who will play in the WJC for the fourth time, arrives as the leading scorer for Springfield of the American Hockey League with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 26 games. The 19-year-old had six points (three goals, three assists) in five games at the 2024 WJC and is one of nine returning players from that team. That includes forward Juraj Pekarcik (St. Louis Blues), who has 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 29 games in his first season with Moncton of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Maxim Strbak (Buffalo Sabres), who tied for second among defensemen at the 2024 WJC with seven points (one goal, six assists) in five games, also is back for a fourth WJC. Another returning defenseman, Radivojevic, is a C-rated skater on Central Scouting's players to watch list. Urban likely will start in goal after playing one game last year and he has three seasons of experience playing in North America with Sioux City of the United States Hockey League. Slovakia has a big, strong team, including 6-7, 190-pound forward Miroslav Satan (Washington Capitals), the son of the former NHL star forward, and they'll play a physical, grinding style. They have a tough opener against Sweden, but their game against arch-rival Czechia on Dec. 29 likely will decide the second place team in the group.

Czechia

Coach: Patrik Augusta

2025 NHL Draft Watch: Vojtech Cihar, LW, Karlovy Vary (CZE); Tomas Galvas, D, Liberec (CZE); Richard Zemlicka, C, Saipa Jr. (FIN-JR)

Schedule: Dec. 26, Switzerland (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 28, Kazakhstan (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Slovakia (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 31, Sweden (5 p.m. ET)

Outlook: Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken) will be needed to drive the offense. The 19-year-old has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 23 games with Coachella Valley of the AHL, and he's the leading returning scorer from last year's team that won the bronze medal with seven points (three goals, four assists) in seven games. He'll be joined by two Blues prospects playing in the Western Hockey League, forwards Adam Jecho and Jakub Stancl. Jecho (6-5, 197) is skilled and knows how to use his big frame to protect the puck, and has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 26 games for Edmonton. Stancl, who was second for Czechia with four goals in seven games last year, has 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 26 games for Kelowna. Czechia has medaled two straight years at the WJC, and to make it a third will need another strong tournament from goalie Michael Hrabal (Utah Hockey Club), who made 28 saves, including 12 in the third period, in a 3-2 win against Canada in the quarterfinals and had an .877 save percentage in seven games last year. This season Hrabal (6-6, 209) has a .917 save percentage in 16 games as a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts.

Switzerland

Coach: Marcel Jenni

2025 NHL Draft Watch: Elijah Neuenschwander, G, Chur (SUI-2); Daniil Ustinkov, D, GCK Zurich (SUI-2)

Schedule: Dec. 26, Czechia (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 27, Slovakia (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Sweden (Noon ET); Dec. 31, Kazakhstan (Noon ET)

Outlook: Offense will be a big question for Switzerland, whose leading returning scorer is forward Simon Meier (2025 draft eligible), who scored two goals in five games last year. Leo Braillard (2025 draft eligible), who scored one goal in five games last year, has 12 goals in 24 games with Lethbridge of the WHL this season. One newcomer who could contribute is Jan Dorthe (2025 draft eligible), who has six points (two goals, four assists) in 24 games with Fribourg in National League, the top men's professional league in Switzerland. Among the defensemen, Leon Muggli (Washington Capitals), who was the captain of Switzerland's team at the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, has five points (one goal, four assists) in 21 games with Zug in National League. He had one assist and averaged 16:52 of ice time in four games at the 2024 WJC. Ewan Huet (2025 draft eligible), son of former NHL goalie Cristobal Huet, could start the tournament as the No. 1 goalie, but Neuenschwander (6-4, 183) is a C-rated goalie for the 2025 draft who has an .892 save percentage in five games with Chur in Switzerland's second division and could be capable of stealing some playing time. Switzerland's most important game will be its final one, Dec. 31 against Kazakhstan, as it likely will need to win that game to avoid the relegation round.

Kazakhstan

Coach: Sergei Starygin

2025 NHL Draft Watch: Asanali Sarkenov, RW, Spokane (WHL)

Schedule: Dec. 27, Sweden (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 28, Czechia (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 30, Slovakia (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 31, Switzerland (Noon ET)

Outlook: Kazakhstan returns to the top level of under-20 play after winning the 2024 WJC Division I Group A tournament. It will have 14 players back from that team, led by goalie Vladimir Nikitin (Ottawa Senators), who was voted the tournament's top goalie after he had a 1.48 GAA, .944 save percentage and one shutout in five games. The 19-year-old has an .884 save percentage in 12 games with Snezhnye Barsy Astana in Russia's junior league this season, but he does have experience playing in North America after spending 2023-24 with Chilliwack of the British Columbia Hockey League. Also returning is forward Davlat Nurkenov (2025 draft eligible), who led them with six points (two goals, four assists) in five games at the WJC D-IA tournament. Several of the players already have experience playing in North America, including Sarkenov, who has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 21 games with Spokane of the Western Hockey League. It's Kazakhstan's first time playing at the top level at the World Juniors since 2020; to avoid the relegation round they almost certainly will need a win against Switzerland on New Year's Eve.