Six OHL Players Set To Play In 2025 World Junior Championship Gold Medal Game, Finland vs. USA

The stage is set for an exciting showdown as Finland and the United States compete for junior hockey supremacy at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal game.

Although the host nation, Canada, had hoped for a spot in the final, their disappointing tournament means Canadian fans will likely rally behind Finland as they seek to defeat their southern neighbors.

Related: A Disastrous World Junior Championship From Canada Ends In The Quarterfinals; Head Coach Dave Cameron & Easton Cowan At The Front Of Ridicule

According to the official USA Hockey website, their all-time record against Finland at the World Juniors is not as strong as one might expect. In 39 encounters, the two teams are evenly matched with 19 wins each and one tie.

This match-up marks their second meeting in the gold medal final, the first being in 2019 when Finland triumphed courtesy of a late goal by Kaapo Kakko with less than 90 seconds remaining.

Recently, the USA has won three of their last four encounters with Finland at the World Juniors. However, Finland bested them in this year's tournament during the preliminary round, where OHL Kingston Frontenacs forward Tuomas Uronen scored the decisive overtime goal.

Related: Tuomas Uronen Plays Hero As Finland Upsets USA With Overtime Win At The World Junior Championship

Canada brought 14 OHL players to their roster, but a handful of OHL players will be competing for gold on Sunday, primarily led by the five players on Team Finland.

Those five Finnish players are:

Kasper Halttunen - London Knights
Jesse Nurmi - London Knights
Emil Hemming - Barrie Colts
Tuomas Uronen - Kingston Frontenacs
Emil Pieniniemi - Kingston Frontenacs

Out of those five players, the two London Knight forwards Nurmi and Halttunen lead the Finnish OHL crop in points at the tournament with four a piece.

USA brought three OHL players to the tournament — Carey Terrance, Joey Willis, and Sam Hillebrandt.

Barrie Colts goaltender Hillebrandt has been used as the third-string goalie and has not suited up in a game.

Saginaw Spirit star forward Willis played in two games in the tournament against Germany and Finland, recording an assist in each match, but has been sitting on the sidelines since USA lost that game against Finland.

Erie Otters captain Carey Terrance has played every game for the United States in the tournament and scored against Finland in their preliminary matchup.

Finland versus USA kicks off at 7:30pm EST at the Canadian Tire Center in Kanata, Ontario. Can the Americans win back-to-back World Junior Championships for the first time in history? Or will the Fins provide another upset and repeat what happened in 2019?

Related: Erie Otters Overage Forward Commits To Notre Dame

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