The 2025 World Juniors is going to have a distinct NHL Draft feel.<\/p>\n
The annual holiday tournament is set to feature the top three prospects in FCHockey\u2019s Winter ranking for the 2025 draft<\/a>, with Matthew Schaefer<\/a>, James Hagens<\/a> and Porter Martone<\/a> set to skate in the tournament.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s just a start.<\/p>\n In total, 13 players who\u2019ve cracked FCHockey\u2019s top-100<\/a> are set to represent their nations \u2014 in a variety of roles \u2014 that will have fans and draft pundits alike keeping a close watch on those eligible for next June\u2019s selection process.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quote on each 2025 NHL Draft eligible set to participate, via FCHockey\u2019s scouts:<\/p>\n Matthew Schaefer | D | Canada | Winter ranking: 1<\/p>\n \u201cSchaefer\u2019s elite skating and vision with the puck should lead to a big-minute role with Canada, a rarity for an under-18 defenseman. He has the frame to defend against older, bigger players at even strength and he could fit seamlessly with, or even elevate, a top Canadian power-play unit if given the chance as the tournament goes on.\u201d \u2014 Joseph Aleong<\/a>, Regional scout (Ontario)<\/p>\n MATTHEW SCHAEFER ARE YOU SERIOUS?<\/p>\n The top-rated #NHLDraft<\/a> prospect with a GORGEOUS move to give the @ErieOtters<\/a> the lead late in the second period!#OHL<\/a> | @CHLHockey<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/oEVNsKFK7a<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) November 14, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n James Hagens | F | Team USA | Winter ranking: 2<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a dominant forward who controls the pace of play whenever he\u2019s on the ice. Hagens, playing with a loaded Team USA, ability to generate zone entries at a high level could be a difference-maker, while his playmaking ability could help drive a lot of chances throughout the tournament. With the expectation of playing with his Boston College teammates, there could be some added chemistry that could lead to more comfort and confidence for all three forwards on that line.\u201d \u2014 Kyle Pereira<\/a>, Regional scout (USA)<\/p>\n James Hagens with the OT snipe for @BC_MHockey<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/oXOSLzOqD2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) December 5, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Porter Martone | F | Canada | Winter ranking: 3<\/p>\n \u201cMartone is a willing combatant in all situations and I love his multifaceted game. He can beat you by finishing checks and being a total pest to play against while at the same time displaying his high-end skill and shooting ability. It seems he will be deployed in more of a checking role for Canada at this year\u2019s World Juniors but his versatility will allow him to move up and down the lineup as needed.\u201d \u2014 Mike Kennedy<\/a>, Regional scout (Ontario)<\/p>\n WHAT CAN\u2019T THIS KID DO?! \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n Top prospect Porter Martone continues his case for the top spot in the 2025 #NHLDraft<\/a> with a goal for the @OHLSteelheads<\/a> you\u2019ll have to see to believe!@BarDown<\/a> | @NHL<\/a> | @BR_OpenIce<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/kxAGwVXCLN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) December 4, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Victor Eklund | F | Sweden | Winter ranking: 5<\/p>\n \u201cVictor Eklund<\/a> is a fun one. What I like about him is just his aggressive nature of the game\u2026 he always goes 100 percent, likes to engage physically despite his size, and get in and around the dirty areas to get scoring chances for himself or his teammates. That\u2019s extremely translatable into modern NHL, and you can already project what type of role and player he would be once he translates. Eklund likely ends up with lesser ice time than his talent probably deserves as an under-age selection, but I expect him to still be an electric presence in Swedish team\u2019s high-pressure creating offense.\u201d \u2014 Samuel Tirpak<\/a>, Chief scout (Europe)<\/p>\n Vilket m\u00e5l av Victor Eklund som ut\u00f6kar ledningen f\u00f6r Djurg\u00e5rden i Scaniarinken \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n Matchen p\u00e5g\u00e5r \u2013 streama p\u00e5 TV4 Play \ud83d\udcfa pic.twitter.com\/J1PAkLyg1E<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 HockeyAllsvenskan (@hockeyallsvensk) October 9, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Logan Hensler | D | Team USA | Winter ranking: 9<\/p>\n \u201cLogan Hensler<\/a> is a polished defender with pro size and skating ability. He\u2019s shown the ability to move the puck efficiently, primarily on breakouts and in transition, but it hasn\u2019t translated to the offensive zone. He\u2019s proven he can defend against the best, but the question for Hensler is if he can step up production offensively. He is not expected to play heavy minutes at the World Juniors, but I think he could prove to be one of the better defensive players on the team and play key minutes late in games.\u201d \u2014 Jacob Roth<\/a>, Regional scout (USA)<\/p>\n DO YOUR THING, 21! \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n The freshman scores his first NCAA goal on the power play!<\/p>\n \ud83c\udf4e: Logan Hensler & Tyson Dyck pic.twitter.com\/paHAjq10Hc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Tomas Pobezal | F | Slovakia | Winter ranking: 18<\/p>\n \u201cI love Tomas Pobezal<\/a>\u2018s detailed approach to the game. He makes the right decisions consistently, makes a lot of little plays that lead to chances as well. He is incredibly versatile, plays all situations, he drives play really well on a pro level already and can be a really aggressive presence on the penalty kill. He is going to be Slovakia\u2019s number two centerman this tournament and likely play on the team\u2019s first powerplay as a net-front presence and be their number one center option on the penalty kill.\u201d \u2014 Tirpak<\/p>\n Tom\u00e1\u0161 Pobe\u017eal ne\u0161pekuloval, vystrelil a zaznamenal 6. g\u00f3l v sez\u00f3ne. #2025NHLDraft<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5: Sport1 pic.twitter.com\/W0EJCW7Owd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matej Deraj (@MatoDeraj) October 27, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Luka Radivojevic | D | Slovakia | Winter ranking: 44<\/p>\n \u201cLuka Radivojevic<\/a> is a smallish, skilled, mobile, minute-eating defender that can drive play forward and control the play on the power play with his great puck skill. He is extremely good puck-mover and a reliable offensive threat, but his size is a legitimate issue. He is not as strong defensively, and to get as good results as you can get from him I expect Slovak coaches to limit him to a highly-offensive role with a lot of offensive zone draws and be the team\u2019s top power-play defender.\u201d \u2014 Tirpak<\/p>\n \ud83d\udca5 Luka Radivojevi\u010d sk\u00f3roval pri svojom debute v drese Muskegon Lumberjacks (6 striel, +2).<\/p>\n Tri hviezdy noci v USHL: \u2014 Marian Michalovsk\u00fd (@MichalovskyM) October 19, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Jack Ivankovic | G | Canada | Winter ranking: 48<\/p>\n \u201cJack Ivankovic<\/a>\u2018s movement and ability to play bigger than his frame makes him an intriguing goalie to analyze. He plays aggressively, and does his best to take away space from shooters consistently. I\u2019m not sure how much he will play at the World Juniors, but I expect maybe one or two round-robin games against weaker competition could be in the cards to get him seeing the puck a bit in case he needs to come in for relief.\u201d \u2014 David Phillips<\/a>, Chief scout (Goaltending)<\/p>\n A #HlinkaGretzkyCup<\/a> shutout for #NHLDraft<\/a> eligible goaltender Jack Ivankovic (@OHLSteelheads<\/a>) for Canada on Monday! \ud83c\udfa5 pic.twitter.com\/cbbrNnH8gK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) August 6, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Vojtech Cihar | F | Czechia | Winter ranking: 53<\/p>\n \u201cVojtech Cihar<\/a> is a typical, fast, north-south winger who plays an aggressive board game, gets in and around the net and finds ways to be a solid support piece on a pro level. The fact coaches trust in him on a pro level in Czechia is a really telling sign about this player\u2019s detailed approach and consistency even at this age, which earned him a spot in Czech team\u2019s top-six. I expect him to be a support piece to more skilled, play-driving linemates, with a lot of it being a player who wins puck battles, makes the little connecting plays between linemates to get scoring chances. Not sure what type of production to expect, maybe his game won\u2019t accommodate for a lot of scoring, but I expect Cihar to make a strong impact.\u201d \u2014 Tirpak<\/p>\n Vojt\u011bch \u010ciha\u0159 (2007) si p\u0159ipisuje sv\u016fj 2\ufe0f\u20e3 g\u00f3l v sezon\u011b! Skv\u011bl\u00e1 pr\u00e1ce v p\u0159edbrankov\u00e9m prostoru \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb#2025NHLDraft<\/a> #TELH<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/B3tMc7WjpF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Eli\u0161ka (@eliska_tweetuje) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Carlos Handel | D | Germany | Winter ranking: 74<\/p>\n \u201cCarlos Handel<\/a> is a all-situational, two-way defender that plays a simple but efficient game. He\u2019s poised when initiating breakouts, thanks to his smooth hands and heads-up play. He\u2019s as calm when defending rushes and in defensive-zone coverage, exploiting solid gap control and stick checking. I expect him to be trusted by his coaches against the better opponents and to be one of few bright spots for Germany.\u201d \u2014 Joey Fortin Boulay<\/a>, Chief scout (Quebec)<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 Carlos Handel dances around a defender and lets it rip. #GoMooseGo<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9hRaboGtHU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) December 5, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Michal Pradel | G | Slovakia | Winter ranking: 77<\/p>\n \u201cMichal Pradel<\/a>\u2018s size and positional awareness make him tough to beat off the first shot. Throughout this tournament, I\u2019ll be interested to see how Pradel deals with rebounds and how his rebound recoveries have developed since the Hlinka tournament.\u201d \u2014 Phillips<\/p>\n Michal Pr\u00e1del (2007) je v SHL oporou SR18 a ukazuje kvality na draft: \u2014 Peter Vreteni\u010dka (@vretenicka) November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n David Lewandowski | F | Germany | Winter ranking: 84<\/p>\n \u201cDavid Lewandowski<\/a> is going be in tough on a German team that isn\u2019t expected to compete with the top teams, but that doesn\u2019t mean he can\u2019t impress. He\u2019s not the strongest skater but he\u2019s got good hands, a solid release on his shot and details in his game that are impressive. Usually draft eligible prospects who aren\u2019t at the top of the board would be in tough ice time wise but on a team like Germany, he should play an important role.\u201d \u2014 Kareem Elshafey<\/a>, Regional scout (Western Canada)<\/p>\n David Lewandowski has some silky mitts \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25@NHLCentralScout<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/wOjv4mc6p3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) November 9, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Elijah Neuenschwander | G | Switzerland | Winter ranking: 94<\/p>\n
\u2b50\ufe0f Peter C\u00edsar 1+1, +2
\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f Richard Baran 1+1, -2
\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f Shika Gadzhiev 25\/27, 92,6%#HockeySlovakia<\/a> #USHL<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/c0JbgTQyUi<\/a><\/p>\n
\ud83e\udd45 z 8 z\u00e1pasov mal 5x \u00faspe\u0161nos\u0165 nad 90%
\ud83d\udcaa vychytal 2 v\u00fdhry, proti Trebi\u0161ovu kryl 32 z 33 striel a proti Leviciam 59 zo 61 striel
\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf0 bud\u00faci t\u00fd\u017ede\u0148 ide na turnaj so SR20
\ud83c\udfa5 zostrihal som jeho najlep\u0161ie z\u00e1kroky: pic.twitter.com\/bYHMsb0t28<\/a><\/p>\n