We are only a few days away from the headline tournament of the junior hockey calendar, the World Junior Championship. This year’s edition will be played in Ottawa for the first time since 2009 and will feature some of the top drafted and undrafted talent the prospect world has to offer. From potential first-overall picks to underrated late-round selections, here is one player to watch from every country.
Canada: Porter Martone
Team Canada has a lot of stars on their roster that deserve attention, but everyone should be keeping a closer eye on first-overall hopeful Porter Martone. Not many 17-year-olds have standout performances at the WJC, but he has the skill set to join the likes of Connor Bedard, Jaromir Jagr, and Niklas Sundstrom at the top of the leaderboard. The last time a projected first-overall prospect dominated was the aforementioned Bedard when he put up nine goals and 23 points at the 2023 WJC, leading Canada to gold.
Related: Guide to the 2025 World Junior Championship
All three potential first-overall picks will be featured in this tournament as Martone is joined by Matthew Schaefer on Team Canada and James Hagens will be playing for Team USA. A burgeoning power forward, Martone has been one of the Ontario Hockey League’s best players this season, recording 21 goals and 54 points in 26 games, which is second only to Michael Misa’s 61 points. He might not play a regular role in the top six, but he is still someone to watch as he tries to pull the spotlight off of Schaefer and Hagens as the projected top pick this June.
USA: James Hagens
Once the hands-down favourite to hear his name first in the 2025 Draft, Hagens has seen two other (maybe even three if you include Misa) prospects emerge as legitimate competition to his throne. He will have a chance at this year’s tournament to silence the debate and reestablish himself as the top pick with a strong performance for Team USA. He should get plenty of opportunities to generate offence as he is set to play on the top line and spend time on the power play.
With his package of smarts, creativity and playmaking, Hagens has all the tools to be an elite first-line center in the NHL one day. He will have some goalscorers to work with on Team USA too as Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard, high first-round picks for the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals respectively, have flanked him in the…
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