Four Wild Prospects to Compete at 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa

The Minnesota Wild has four prospects participating in the 20205 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario, from Dec. 26 - Jan. 5.

Defenseman Zeev Buium will serve as an alternate captain for the United States Junior National Team. The 6-foot, 186-pound native of San Diego, Calif, was a member of the gold-medal winning team at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden and was selected by Minnesota in the first round (No. 12 overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Defenseman Aron Kiviharju will captain Finland’s Junior National Team. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound native of Turku, Finland, was selected by the Wild in the fourth round (No. 122 overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Center Rasmus Kumpulainen will serve as an alternate captain for Finland’s Junior National Team. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound native of Lahti, Finland, was selected by Minnesota in the second round (No. 53 overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Defenseman Sebastian Soini was also named to Finland’s Junior National Team. The 6-foot-2, 187-pound native of Tampere, Finland, was selected by Minnesota in the fifth round (No. 140 overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Next year’s tournament will be held from Dec. 26, 2025 - Jan. 5, 2026, at Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, and 3M Arena at Mariucci on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. All-session ticket packages for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, at 10 a.m. CT at iihf.com/en/events/2026/wm20.

2025 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Dec. 26

Germany vs. United States (1:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)
Canada vs. Finland (6:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)

Dec. 27

Finland vs. Germany (2:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)

Dec. 28

United States vs. Latvia (2:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)

Dec. 29

Finland vs. United States (1:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)

Dec. 31

Latvia vs. Finland (1:30 p.m. CT; NHLN will air at 2:30 p.m. CT on Jan. 1]
United States vs. Canada (7 p.m. CT; NHLN)

Jan. 2

Quarterfinal 1 (11 a.m. CT; NHLN,)
Quarterfinal 2 (1:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)
Quarterfinal 3 (4 p.m. CT; NHLN)
Quarterfinal 4 (6:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)

Jan. 4

Semifinal 1 (2:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)
Semifinal 2 (6:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)

Jan. 5

Third-place game (2:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)
Championship game (6:30 p.m. CT; NHLN)