WJC Blog: Follow Preds Prospects at the 2025 World Junior Championship

The pipeline of future talent in Nashville is rather stacked, and that fact is perfectly evident at the 2025 World Junior Championship in Ottawa taking place now through the first week of January.

The Predators have eight prospects - the second most of any NHL team - participating in the tournament, including two skaters each with Canada and the United States, two of the favorites to win Gold.

Defensemen Tanner Molendyk and Andrew Gibson make up the top defensive pair for the Canadians, while forwards Joey Willis and Teddy Stiga could add an offensive pop to Team USA.

The Preds have three participants with Team Sweden - David Edstrom (F), Viggo Gustafsson (D) and Felix Nilsson (F) - while goaltender Jakub Milota is on the roster for Czechia.

This year’s iteration of the World Junior Championship began on Dec. 26, and a champion is set to be crowned on Jan. 5 in the Canadian capital. Be sure to catch all the action on the NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada - see a full schedule here - and stay tuned to this blog to keep with some of Nashville’s top prospects in the days ahead.

December 26:

Sweden began the day by defeating Slovakia by a 5-2 final with Edstrom picking up a secondary assist on his club’s fourth goal.

The United States hit double digits with a 10-4 victory over Germany. Willis recored a primary assist on Brandon Svoboda’s goal in the second period.

Canada shut out Finland by a 4-0 final. Their top D-pair of Molendyk and Gibson saw plenty of action, with Gibson recording five shots on goal while leading the team with 21:32 of ice time.