Peterborough Petes Sign German Defenseman, Who Represented His Country At The 2025 World Junior Championship

Germany lost all four of its preliminary round games at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship and headed to an all-important relegation game against Kazakhstan. The winner will stay and participate in the 2026 World Juniors. The loser will be relegated and replaced by Denmark.

Germany was down 3-2 against Kazakhstan in the hockey game, but they scored three unanswered goals to avoid relegation, winning 4-3.

One of Germany's defensemen decided he isn't heading home to his country to finish off the 2024-25 season. Instead, he is headed for the OHL to play for the Peterborough Petes.

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That defenseman is Rio Kaiser.

Following his 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship performance with Germany — which he was sparingly used as the team's seventh blueliner — he signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Peterborough Petes.

Kaiser, 18, was drafted 31st overall in the 2023 CHL Import Draft by the Petes. He spent the last season playing in his home country, splitting time between Germany's under-20 junior league (DNL U20) and their tier one (DEL) and tier two (DEL2) professional leagues.

He has spent the 2024-25 season churning on that same development path but has made a massive switch to come overseas and play in North America in the OHL.

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The towering left-shot defenseman isn't hard to miss on the ice. He stands at 6-foot-7 and takes up a lot of space with his long reach and wingspan. As you would expect, he is known for his physicality and strong presence in the defensive zone.

“I’m a big defenseman who likes to play physical,” said Kaiser as per Peterborugh's press release. “I’m really excited to be here and to get started with the Peterborough Petes.”

The native of Berlin, Germany, is eligible for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. NHL central scouting didn't give him a letter ranking in their preliminary rankings, but you can expect scouts to keep a sharp eye on him as he begins his OHL career.

As mentioned, he stands out because of his size and physical play, but he moves fairly well for a big man and has raw upside given his body composition.

Kaiser is wearing No. 17 for Peterborough and played his first game this past Friday against the Soo Greyhounds where he was a -1 and recorded three shots on goal.

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