Nashville Predators at World Juniors: Multiple Medals; Winners and Losers

Nashville Predators winger prospect Teddy Stiga and undrafted Finland goalie Petteri Rimpinen have a history. Eleven months ago, the two faced off at the U18 Five Nations Tournament in Plymouth, Mi., where the Americans claimed victory.

Stiga helped Team USA claim victory once again, this time scoring on his only shot on goal in the entire World Juniors tournament, winning Gold for the Americans as a representative of the Predators and defeating Finland, 4-3.

Rimpinen, now draft-eligible for 2025, put himself firmly on the radar for the upcoming draft, leaving no doubts about his talent level this time around.

Stiga knew that, with Rimpinen playing at the level he was, he needed to do something different to beat him. He did.

"I have a few [breakaway moves], but five hole's not usually my move," an amused Stiga said after the game against Finland, recalling his goal from a few moments prior. "I just kind of got in close and wanted to get it on net, at least. Honestly, I wasn't really thinking much about a move. I just saw an open lane at the net, tried to get him open, and put it through."

The rest, as they say, is history. Stiga and fellow Predators prospect Joey Willis, who played less than 10 minutes between his two games and recorded two assists, bring home the Gold for Nashville.

Away from the big spectacle, Czechia defeated Sweden 3-2 in the Bronze Medal game, where Seattle Kraken prospect Eduard Sale scored the winner to end a 14-round shootout.

Predators goalie prospect Jakub Milota, who did not appear in a game for Czechia, earned a Bronze Medal for his time and efforts. On the flip side, David Edstrom, Felix Nilsson, and Viggo Gustafsson all came away empty-handed.

Edstrom scored both of Sweden's goals against Czechia and played no fewer than 22:13 in his final four games of the World Juniors. Four goals and two assists in seven games is not wildly impressive for a powerhouse team in this competition, and it should be noted that Edstrom was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Yaroslav Askarov, Nolan Burke, and a third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in August.

And now that Askarov is showing his best self at the NHL level while Edstrom and Sweden stumbled to a fourth-place finish, the two are almost always going to be superimposed, perhaps unfairly so.

Nilsson, Edstrom's fellow Swedish center and a 2023 second-round pick, finished this year's World Juniors with a goal and five assists in seven games. Nilsson's only goal came in an 8-1 thrashing of Kazakhstan on Dec. 27, and he was limited to just one shot on goal for the entirety of the Bronze Medal game against Czechia on Sunday.

Gustafsson, a 2024 fourth-round pick, barely played in the tournament, and perhaps for good reason. The 18-year-old played just 6:51 against Czechia and 7:52 against Finland, marking two games of a four-game stretch where he played fewer than 10 minutes.

The Timra IK rearguard committed a staggering five penalties in his seven appearances, including two in Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to Finland. Gustafsson did finish with three assists overall, but it was clear that Sweden's coaching staff did not trust him to play meaningful minutes, and the lack of discipline did nothing to help that.

As for the Canadians, Tanner Molendyk and Andrew Gibson had good, but not great, performances as Canada disappointed for the second year in a row and crashed and burned to yet another fifth-place finish.

The two Predators defense prospects combined to comprise Canada's top defense pair, helping their nation to a 4-0 shutout of Finland on Dec. 26 and a 3-0 shutout of Germany on Dec. 29.

Molendyk had a key power-play assist in the eventual tournament-ending loss to Czechia on Thursday, but it was only his second point of the World Juniors. For an offensive defenseman, that was a little disappointing.

As for Gibson, he was more of a complement to Molendyk and is not much of a point-producer regardless.

The former Detroit Red Wings draft pick finished pointless in five games, and his kneeing penalty put Canada on the penalty kill with under three minutes left in the game against Czechia. Adam Jecho scored the power play goal to bury Canada with 40 seconds left on the clock, with Gibson having a front-row seat for it from the penalty box.

Stiga's Golden Goal is the clear high point of a 2025 World Juniors that was otherwise mostly disappointing for the Predators; he's the clear winner here. Willis might have deserved more playing time than he got for Team USA, though the squad was fully loaded.

Molendyk and Gibson will each turn pro at the end of this season, so the unceremonious end to their international junior careers will have to fuel them as they take their next steps towards the NHL with the Predators.

Visit The Hockey News Nashville Predators team site to stay updated on the latest Predators news, game day coverage, player features, podcasts, and more.