The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship will be played in Ottawa from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Group A for the preliminary round is Canada, Finland, Germany, Latvia and the United States, which won the tournament in 2024. Group B is Czechia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland.

World Junior Championship is upon us. Here are 10 players, one from each country, to watch when it all gets started on Dec. 26.

The World Junior Championship pre-tournament started on Dec. 19, and while the results don’t matter, it’s a great time to get some confidence and momentum before the meaningful games start on the 26th.

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Ottawa, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Today, we preview the Group B preliminary-round bracket. Sweden is looking for its first gold medal at the World Juniors since 2012, and powering that bid will be nine players who won a silver medal at the 2024 WJC.

The tournament has become a holiday tradition for many hockey fans around the world, beginning on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) each year and ending during the first week of the new year. The WJC has grown remarkably since the inaugural (official) tournament was held in 1977 and has massive international support.

After a quarterfinal exit in 2024, Canada returns to home ice as they chase a 21st gold medal at the World Juniors.

At the conclusion of the Gold Medal match the IIHF directorate are asked to vote on a variety of awards for the year’s tournament. They name the best defenseman, best forward, and best goaltender for the tournament while members of the media decide the tournament’s MVP.