Yahoo Sports World Juniors: 10 Players Whose Play Demanded Attention, Including Leonard, Willander
The world juniors are an excellent chance for NHL fans to see hockey's future as their favorite team’s top prospects often take center stage. It’s the biggest stage in junior hockey, so players are eager to put their best foot forward.
The Americans took home the gold medal, with Finland and Czechia taking silver and bronze, respectively, so it’s no surprise that each of those teams had plenty of standout players. But some fantastic players shone throughout the world juniors.
Let’s look at a few of the standout performers from the 2025 World Junior Championship.
Ryan Leonard, RW, USA (WSH)
The American captain led by example, blending power and skill the way he always has while consistently getting under the skin of every opponent he faced.
Leonard is a force at both ends of the ice, and his physical strength is a major reason why. He is a handful to deal with, and he can lower his shoulder to attack a defender head-on or deke and dangle his way through traffic to generate a scoring chance.
Leonard tied for second in tournament scoring with five goals and five assists, collecting MVP honors as well.
Related: Ryan Leonard At The World Juniors: "It's Cool To Be Hated."
Petteri Rimpinen, G, Finland (undrafted)
If there was one reason for the Finns making it as far in the world juniors as they did, it would be the stellar goaltending of Petteri Rimpinen.
The six-foot netminder was phenomenal and deserved consideration for MVP. Whether it was massive saves when his team bled chances late in games or holding down the fort while the Finnish attackers did their best to get on the board, Rimpinen was the sole reason Finland was even in games at times.
With a fantastic season in the Finnish top league, Rimpinen could be well on his way to being drafted as an overager this June.
Tom Willander, D, Sweden (VAN)
Axel Sandin-Pellikka got all of the love, and he deserved it as he led the tournament in scoring until right at the very end. But Willander often looked like the Swedes' most consistent and effective player at both ends of the ice.
His combination of size and mobility, as well as his tactical approach to the game, allowed him to make some really solid plays at both ends of the ice. Willander was fantastic in this tournament, and Canucks fans should be very pleased with what they saw.
Related: Tom Willander Embraces Canucks’ Swedish Connection At World Juniors
Carter George, G, Canada (LA)
Plain and simple, Canada stunk it up at the World Junior Championship. They were consistently uninspired, and they didn’t seem to start pushing the issue until the end of the quarterfinal in which Czechia eliminated them. Frankly, if it weren’t for Carter George's play, they may not have even been in that game as long as they were.
The issue with Canada is often their unreliable goaltending, but this year, George (and Jack Ivankovic in his lone start) did everything they could to give Canada stability in net. George was Canada’s best player on most nights. Unfortunately, they didn’t help him out much.
Cole Hutson, D, USA (WSH)
The dynamic blueliner led the tournament in scoring and set an American record for scoring by a blueliner in a single tournament.
Hutson constantly created offensive plays, and he scored the game-tying goal against the Finns that sparked the turn in momentum in the final.
Hutson showed his mobility at every turn, and his puckhandling was silky smooth. He was the first defenseman in WJC history to lead the tournament outright in scoring, and he was as deserving of the MVP as anyone.
Jakub Stancl, RW, Czechia (STL)
The WJC leader in goals, Stancl always seemed to find a way to put the puck in the back of the net for Czechia. He was a big reason Czechia got out to leads early in many games. His finishing ability from a distance and around the net was impressive.
Stancl was expected to be a pivotal piece, but I don’t think anyone expected him to lead the tournament in goals. He was a major reason for Czechia medalling for a third-straight year.
Eriks Mateiko, LW, Latvia (WSH)
The Latvians were the story of the tournament through the round-robin, doubling their all-time win total in the preliminary round and recording an upset win over Canada.
Netminder Linards Feldbergs was a big reason for it, and he deserves his flowers after standing on his head all tournament long. But without Eriks Mateiko’s goal-scoring, the Latvians wouldn’t have had the offensive punch to stay in games. The Latvians pushed Sweden right until the very end in the quarters, and they showed they can be a feisty team moving forward.
Dalibor Dvorsky, C, Slovakia (STL)
After starting a little bit slow, Dvorsky had quite a solid tournament, leading in points per game by the end of it all.
Slovakia didn’t make it past the quarterfinals, but that didn’t stop Dvorsky from sitting just two points back of the tournament lead with nine points. The Slovak’s offense ran through Dvorsky, and it was a large burden to bear, but he did so with pride and improved as the event went on. He came up big in the quarters with a goal and an assist.
Eduard Sale, LW, Czechia (SEA)
In his third world juniors with Czechia, Sale buried the bronze medal-winning goal in the shootout for his third medal at the event. Sale wasn’t dominant from shift to shift, but he always found a way to show up when it mattered.
Sale has been the embodiment of Czech junior hockey for a few years now, and he showed up when it mattered most. With a silver and two bronze medals to his name, Sale will be one of the most respected Czech junior players in history.
Anton Wahlberg, LW, Sweden (BUF)
Every time Sweden seemed to need a big play, Wahlberg was around the puck. His impressive puckhandling, smooth puck movement and good shot allowed him to affect the game in a number of ways.
Wahlberg showed plenty of promise as a dual-threat two-way presence on the wing for Sweden. He used his size well to protect pucks around the boards and pull them into space. Wahlberg was a steadying presence for the Swedes at the tournament, even if things didn’t go the way they wanted toward the end.
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