2025 World Junior Championship: 10 things learned

The United States won the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 4-3 overtime victory against Finland in the gold medal game at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday.

It was the seventh time the U.S. has won the tournament, and the first in the country's history that it celebrated back-to-back WJC titles.

Captain Ryan Leonard, selected by the Washington Capitals in the first round (No. 8) of the 2023 NHL Draft, was named the tournament's most valuable player. He had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in seven games.

The WJC Media All-Star Team included Finland goalie Petteri Rimpinen (2025 NHL Draft eligible), U.S. defenseman Cole Hutson (Capitals), Sweden defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings), U.S. forward Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers), Czechia forward Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues) and Leonard.

Here are 10 things learned at the tournament:

American made

The United States won its third championship in the past five years after reeling off four straight wins and outscoring the opposition 19-7 after a 4-3 overtime loss to Finland in the preliminary round. It was the 16th time the Americans took home a medal from the World Juniors.

Hutson had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in seven games to be the first defenseman to be the outright leader in scoring at the World Juniors (three defensemen had previiously tied for the scoring lead). Perreault tied for the U.S. lead in scoring among forwards with 10 points (three goals, seven assists). James Hagens, a projected top four pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, had nine points (five goals, four assists).

"When I watch James, I see a confident player with an ability to recognize plays before others see them," NHL Network analyst and former NHL forward Tony Granato said. "If I'm an NHL scout, I'm hoping we win the NHL Draft lottery, because otherwise you're not getting him."

Defenseman Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild) had six points (two goals, four assists) and led the United States in average ice time (25:13 in seven games).

Goalie Trey Augustine (Red Wings) had four wins in five starts to become the all-time leader in victories at World Juniors (12), a 2.52 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. He made 38 saves in a 4-1 win against Canada on New Year's Eve, 26 in a 4-1 semifinal-round triumph against Czechia and 21 in the gold-medal victory.

Stand in line

The United States' top line of Hagens between Perreault and Leonard was not only the best offensive combination of the 2025 WJC but one of the most productive in the history of the tournament.

The Boston College linemates had plenty of experience together playing for the Eagles in Hockey East. They combined for 13 goals and 29 points in seven games. Perreault averaged 19:03 of ice time, Leonard 19:24 and Hagens 20:33.

Where the line stands in WJC annals is debatable.

At the 2005 WJC, Canada's top line of center Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry totaled 13 goals and 29 points in six games en route to a gold medal.

In 2011, Russia won gold behind its feared threesome of center Evgeny Kuznetsov (four goals, seven assists), right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (four goals, seven assists) and left wing Artemi Panarin (three goals, two assists). In 2015, Canada's roster featured Connor McDavid (11 points; eight goals, three assists), but the line of Max Domi, Sam Reinhart and Anthony Duclair combined for 14 goals and 29 points to win gold.

In 2016, tournament champion Finland's dynamic line of Sebastian Aho between left wing Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi had 17 goals and 44 points.

Latvian pride

The Latvia National Junior Team did the impossible in its tournament opener, stunning host Canada 3-2 in a shootout at Canadian Tire Centre on Dec. 27.

Eriks Mateiko (Capitals) scored in the eighth round of the shootout to give his country its third preliminary-round win in 39 games at the top level of the tournament. Canada entered having outscored Latvia 41-4 in four straight wins at World Juniors, including 10-0 in the preliminary round in 2024.

Latvia reached the quarterfinal round for the third time in its history, losing 3-2 to Sweden.

"For us and for hockey overall, seeing young kids watching us, it means a lot," Mateiko said. "Having success against Canada should definitely help the sport grow even more out there. It's also nice that the younger guys who are on our team this year can play here next year."

Linards Feldbergs (2025 draft eligible) made 55 saves, plus eight in the shootout against Canada. Latvia captain Peteris Bulans (2025 eligible) tied the game 2-2 on a power-play goal at 17:31 of the third period and led all skaters with 25:18 in ice time.

Swiss student

Switzerland forward Jonah Neuenschwander (2027 draft eligible) became the first 15-year-old to play in the WJC since 2001 and the fifth ever.

Neuenschwander had one shot on goal and averaged 10:46 of ice time in three games.

"He got better during the game, and he did really good stuff defense-wise," Switzerland coach Marcel Jenni said after Neuenschwander played 12:41 in his tournament debut, a 2-1 win against Slovakia on Dec. 27. "He played physical and really played a mature game for a 15-year-old player. I'm happy he helped our team."

Neuenschwander (6-foot-3, 181 pounds) has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 26 games for Biel-Beinne's team in Switzerland's junior league.

The other 15-year-olds to play at the World Juniors are Belarus goalie Vitali Aristov (1999), Kazakhstan forward Viktor Alexandrov (2001), and Belarus forwards Konstantin Zakharov (2001) and Andrei Kostitsyn (2001).

Czechia wins bronze

Czechia captain Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken) scored the winner in the 14th round of a shootout for a 3-2 win against Sweden in the bronze medal game, marking the longest shootout in World Juniors history.

Sale skated in on Sweden goalie Marcus Gidlof (New York Islanders) and lifted a backhand under the crossbar on his fifth attempt of the tiebreaker. He missed his first three but scored in the 13th round to keep his country alive after Sweden scored.

The 14-round shootout shattered the previous record-setting seven-round tiebreaker between Canada and the United States in 2007, and the United States against Russia in 2017.

"I told [Sale] before the game, he had a chance to be the only Czech player to win three medals in a row with the under-20 World Junior Championship," Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. "And now maybe they can build him a statue."

Sale won silver in 2023 and back-to-back bronze medals.

'Showtime'

Rimpinen, a W rated goalie on NHL Central Scouting's December players to watch list, knew he had the ability to come up big even before his impressive performance for Finland.

Several years ago, the 18-year-old (6-foot, 176 pounds) had custom skates made with the words 'Showtime' on one of his skate blades.

"I kept it as a secret for quite a long time, but then before last season, the last game before playoffs, one guy saw it and started to call me 'Showtime,'" Rimpinen said. "I think the Finnish media started using that nickname and that's where we're at now."

The moniker certainly fit Rimpinen in his first World Juniors with Finland. He was named the tournament's best goalie after finishing 5-2 with a 2.34 GAA, .933 save percentage and one shutout in seven games. He made 30 saves in a 4-3 overtime win against the United States in preliminary-round action Dec. 29.

"He's been a sensation in Liiga (with Kiekko-Espoo) this season; nobody expected him to be the backbone of his team because of his age," NHL director of European Scouting Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen said. "They found the nickname Showtime, describing his popularity among the fans and the team. He compensates for his lack of size with his quickness, competitiveness and athleticism."

Canadian reset

Canada lost in the quarterfinal round in back-to-back years at World Juniors for the first time. It was not the finish Hockey Canada envisioned after composing a roster that included 10 first-round picks in the NHL Draft.

"Who do you blame? You can blame me," said Scott Salmond, Canada's senior vice president of high performance and hockey operations, said Friday. "If you think it's scouting, I hire the scout. If you think it's coaching, I hire the coach. You want to blame someone, you can blame me."

Canada scored 13 goals in five games and was held scoreless in the eight-round shootout loss to Latvia. It finished with a tournament-high 34 minor penalties and 113 penalty minutes.

"Do we need to blow everything up and start over? I don't think so," Salmond said. "I think we need to probably fine-tune some things. Again, this sounds like I'm making excuses, but we won two in a row (2022 and 2023) prior to losing two in a row, so it's not completely a disaster. It is in the last two years, but I think you've got to look at the long term and the success that our program has had as well."

The future is promising when you consider Canada won two straight IIHF World Under-17 Championship events, the past three Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournaments and the 2024 World Under-18 Championship.

Blues bonanza

The Blues can take pride in the fact they had six prospects participating in the bronze medal game and United States defenseman Colin Ralph in the gold medal game.

Ralph, chosen in the second round (No. 48) of the 2024 draft, had one assist and averaged 12:40 of ice time in seven games for the U.S. He's a freshman at St. Cloud State University.

Sweden forward Otto Stenberg (No. 25, 2023 draft) tied for ninth with eight points (three goals, five assists). Defenseman Theo Lindstein (No. 29, 2023), who turned 20 on Sunday, had four assists and averaged 22:12 of ice time in seven games.

For Czechia, forward Adam Jecho (No. 95; 2024) had seven points (two goals, five assists), forward Adam Jiricek (No. 16; 2024) had five assists, Stancl (No. 106; 2023 Draft) led the team with 10 points (seven goals, three assists) and defenseman Ondrej Kos (No. 81; 2024) had one goal in seven games. Jecho scored a power-play goal at 19:20 of the third period to give Czechia a 4-3 win against Canada in the quarterfinals.

The Blues led all NHL teams with nine players picked for the World Juniors.

NHL Draft evaluations

In addition to Hagens and Rimpinen, Sweden forward Victor Eklund had six points (two goals, four assists) and averaged 17:24 of ice time in seven games as an A rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's December players to watch list.

Germany forward Julius Sumpf, who NHL Central Scouting has projected as a possible sixth- or seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft, led his country with seven points (two goals, five assists). Defenseman Carlos Handel (C rated) had no points but led Germany in average ice time (22:41).

Finland forward Benjamin Rautiainen scored the most important goal for his country, whipping in a power-play goal with 37.5 seconds remaining in overtime from the bottom of the right circle in a 4-3 win against Sweden in the semifinal round. Rautiainen had four points (two goals, two assists) and averaged 17:00 in ice time.

Slovakia right-handed defenseman Luka Radivojevic (C rated) had two assists and averaged 17:24 of ice time.

Canada forward Porter Martone (A rated) played three games, scored a power-play goal and averaged 11:17 of ice time. Jack Ivankovic (C rated) made 24 saves on 26 shots in his only start of the tournament, Canada's loss to Latvia. Defenseman Matthew Schaefer (A rated) had his tournament cut short after sustaining a broken clavicle in the first period against Latvia. He had surgery Dec. 30 and is expected to miss three months. In the one game he did play, he had a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win against Finland on Dec. 26.

2026 WJC setup

The 2026 IIHF WJC will be held at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, home of the Wild, and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5, 2026.

It will be the seventh World Juniors event hosted in the United States and first since the 2018 WJC in Buffalo, when Canada won gold and the U.S. took bronze.

Germany defeated Kazakhstan 4-3 in the relegation round and will return to the 2026 WJC. Kazakhstan will play in the 2026 WJC Division I, Group A tournament. Denmark, which won the Division IA in December, will replace Kazakhstan in the top tournament.

Here are the groupings:

Group A (Xcel Energy Center): United States, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany

Group B (3M Arena at Mariucci): Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Latvia, Denmark

NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report