The most wonderful time of the year is here. We’re not talking about the holiday season — we’re talking about the World Juniors.
Hockey fans, the wait is finally over. The presents have been unwrapped, the stockings have been taken down from the fireplace and the Christmas dinner has turned into leftovers. Now the focus turns to the annual international competition featuring the future stars of the NHL.
Ottawa, Canada is the site for this year’s competition, featuring 10 of the top U20 teams from around the world who are gunning for a gold medal. The United States enters the tournament as the defending gold medallists from 2024, going undefeated at last year’s World Juniors and knocking off Sweden in the gold medal game.
Competing at the tournament is mostly a mix of prospects from the 2023 and 2024 NHL Draft classes, highlighted by first-round picks Ryan Leonard (USA), Gabe Perreault (USA), Zeev Buium (USA), Sam Dickinson (Canada), Brayden Yager (Canada), Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Sweden) and Konsta Helenius (Finland).
However, there are also 2025 and 2026 draft-eligible players highlighting rosters at this year’s competition. That includes James Hagens (USA), Matthew Schaefer (Canada), Porter Martone (Canada) and Viktor Eklund (Sweden), who are all potential top-10 candidates for the 2025 draft. Gavin McKenna (Canada), the leading candidate to go first overall in 2026, will be at the tournament as well.
The Sporting News has fans covered on the latest results and standings from the 2025 World Juniors.
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World Juniors standings 2025
Group A
| Team | Games | Wins | OT Wins | OT Losses | Losses | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group B
| Team | Games | Wins | OT Wins | OT Losses | Losses | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czechia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* = advances to knockout stage
** = plays in relegation game
Teams will play four preliminary games in a round-robin format within their group, followed by a three-round playoff.
In the group stage, teams earn three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss and no points for a regulation loss.
The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, where the matchups are determined by seeding. They will cross over between groups for these games: 1A vs. 4B, 1B vs. 4A, 2A vs. 3B and 2B vs. 3A. The teams that advance to the semifinals will be reseeded.
The winners of the semifinals will face off in the gold medal game. The losers will play for bronze.
2025 World Juniors schedule, results
Thursday, Dec. 26
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Slovakia vs. Sweden | Noon |
| USA vs. Germany | 2:30 p.m. |
| Czechia vs. Switzerland | 5 p.m. |
| Finland vs. Canada | 7:30 p.m. |
Friday, Dec. 27
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Switzerland vs. Slovakia | 1 p.m. |
| Germany vs. Finland | 3:30 p.m. |
| Sweden vs. Kazakhstan | 5 p.m. |
| Latvia vs. Canada | 7:30 p.m. |
Saturday, Dec. 28
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Kazakhstan vs. Czechia | 1 p.m. |
| Latvia vs. USA | 3:30 p.m. |
Sunday, Dec. 29
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Switzerland vs. Sweden | Noon |
| USA vs. Finland | 2:30 p.m. |
| Czechia vs. Slovakia | 5 p.m. |
| Canada vs. Germany | 7:30 p.m. |
Monday, Dec. 30
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Slovakia vs. Kazakhstan | 1 p.m. |
| Germany vs. Latvia | 3:30 p.m. |
Tuesday, Dec. 31
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Kazakhstan vs. Switzerland | Noon |
| Finland vs. Latvia | 2:30 p.m. |
| Sweden vs. Czechia | 5 p.m. |
| Canada vs. USA | 8 p.m. |
Thursday, Jan. 2
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| TBD vs. TBD – Relegation Game | 11 a.m. |
| TBD vs. TBD – Quarterfinal | Noon |
| TBD vs. TBD – Quarterfinal | 2:30 p.m. |
| TBD vs. TBD – Quarterfinal | 5 p.m. |
| TBD vs. TBD – Quarterfinal | 7:30 p.m. |
Saturday, Jan. 4
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| TBD vs. TBD – Semifinal | 3:30 p.m. |
| TBD vs. TBD – Semifinal | 7:30 p.m. |
Sunday, Jan. 5
| Matchup | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| TBD vs. TBD – Bronze Medal Game | 3:30 p.m. |
| TBD vs. TBD – Gold Medal Game | 7:30 p.m. |
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