Players and teams to watch at the World Junior hockey tournament

When the puck drops at Grand Casino Arena and 3M Arena at Mariucci on Friday, Dec. 26, for the start of pool play in the World Junior Championship, there will be no lack of talent in hockey’s top tournament for under-20 players.

The Canadian lineup reads like a future NHL All-Star team, featuring double-digit first-round draft picks — not surprising for a hockey-mad country that has won this tournament 20 times.

The United States, the two-time defending gold medalist, will try for its first three-peat, relying heavily on a handful of returnees that secured the title with an overtime win over Finland in Ottawa last winter.

Sweden, which finished fourth last winter after winning bronze in 2024, will have a roster with skill and depth, while 2025 silver medalist Finland will bring its usual grit and might have the tournament’s best goalie in Petteri Rimpinen.

Here’s a look at the top players to watch:

How’s this for a No. 1 line? Michael Misa, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft by San Jose, centering Porter Martone, the No. 6 pick by Philadelphia, and Gavin McKenna, the presumed No. 1 overall pick in 2026. That’s a high-powered trio Canada could use as it seeks to end a two-year medal drought.

Misa had 134 points in 65 games for Saginaw of the OHL last season, while McKenna, a Penn State freshman this year, had 129 points in 56 games for Medicine Hat of the WHL in 2024-25. Martone, a freshman at Michigan State, has 11 goals and nine assists in 16 games this season after a 98-point campaign for Brampton of the OHL last season.

Canada’s possible second line features Montreal first-rounder Michael Hage centering Brady Martin, the No. 5 overall pick in 2025 by Nashville, and Tij Iginla, a Utah first-rounder whose father is former Calgary Flames star Jarome Iginla.

A pair of North Dakota freshmen — defenseman Keaton Verhoeff and center Cole Reschny — are expected to play key roles for Canada. The D-corps is deep, too, with projected 2026 first-rounders in Carson Carels and Ethan MacKenzie, who is committed to North Dakota.

While the Americans will miss standouts like defenseman Zeev Buium and forwards Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault from last year’s gold medal-winning team, eight returnees should help fill the gaps. Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson led the tournament in scoring last year with 11 points on three goals and eight assists, while Boston College forward Teddy Stiga notched the golden goal in overtime vs. Finland. A ninth returning player, Trevor Connelly, is out of the tournament after he suffered an injury in an exhibition game against Germany on Sunday.

Gophers sophomore forward Brodie Ziemer of Chaska has 19 points in 19 college games this season after collecting seven points on the way to gold last winter.

Hermantown’s Max Plante (Minnesota Duluth) leads college hockey in scoring with 30 points this season, while forwards James Hagens (Boston College) and Cole Eiserman (Boston U.) are proven scorers at the international level. Hagens had five goals in seven games at last year’s tournament.

Center Anton Frondell, the No. 3 overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 draft, will be relied on to create space to unleash his accurate shooting skills.

Among the youngest players in the tournament at 17, Finnish center Oliver Suvanto has a 6-foot-3, 209-pound frame, plays above his age and is expected to be a first-round NHL pick this summer.

In goal, Finland will feature Rimpinen, a fifth-round pick by Los Angeles in 2025 who was honored as the top goalie in last winter’s World Juniors after compiling a 5-2 record with a 2.34 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.

The Czechs, who won the silver medal in 2023 and bronze the past two tournaments, will be strong along the blue line with Adam Jiricek and Radim Mrtka.

Jiricek, a first-round pick of St. Louis in 2025, has 29 points in 25 games for Brantford of the OHL this season. Mrtka, the No. 9 overall pick by Buffalo last June, has shown point-per-game productivity at different levels.

Team USA will have seven players from Minnesota:

Goalie Caleb Heil of Victoria, who plays for the Madison Capitals of the U.S. Hockey League and is a North Dakota commit.

Defenseman Logan Hensler of Woodbury, who is a sophomore at Wisconsin and was a first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2025.

Adam Kleber of Chaska, a sophomore defenseman at UMD and a second-round pick by Buffalo in 2024.

Forward Brendan McMorrow of Lakeville, a forward at Denver and a seventh-round pick by Los Angeles in 2025.

Will Zellers of Maple Grove, a freshman forward at North Dakota and a 2024 third-round pick by Boston.

Forward Brodie Ziemer of Chaska, a sophomore for the Gophers and third-round pick by Buffalo in 2024.

In addition, Gophers freshman LJ Mooney made the team. He is a forward from West Mifflin, Pa., and was a fourth-round pick by Montreal in 2025.

Ziemer, Plante, Hensler and Kleber were on last year’s gold medal national team.

Jacob Kvasnicka of Wayzata, a forward who plays for Penticton of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League and is committed to the Gophers, was cut on Wednesday when the roster trimmed to 25. Goalie Adam Reyelts of Proctor, who also plays for Penticton and is a UMD commit, was another cut off the original 30-player roster. Zellers was a late addition to that roster before the team’s training camp last week.

Group B: Canada, Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Latvia will play preliminary round games at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.

The tournament schedule is here. Team USA games will be televised by NHL Network, as will many other games. Team USA games will be broadcast on KFAN (100.3-FM) or KFAN+ (96.7-FM).

Format: The top four teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals Jan. 2.