Scout Survey: What we learned about the 2025 NHL Draft class at the World Juniors
The 2025 World Juniors provided plenty of excitement and drama over the course of the two-week tournament, giving fans excitement and scouts something to pour over at the midway mark of the 2025 NHL Draft season.
There were memorable performances — and not so memorable performances — from those in the 2025 draft class, including those that excited, disappointed, and put themselves on the radar. Of course, things need to be put into perspective with the nature of the World Juniors, widely regarded as a 19-year-old tournament, so we enlisted the help of three scouts — David Phillips, Samuel Tirpak, Jacob Roth, Joey Fortin Boulay, and Kareem Elshafey — to answer five burning questions from the 2025 World Juniors.
Welcome to our post 2025 World Juniors scout survey.
Which NHL Draft eligible raised his stock the most at the World Juniors?
Phillips: I think that Victor Eklund has proven himself even more at this tournament. He’s a player who has moved up draft boards all season long and for good reason. This tournament, he showcased his versatility and never quit hockey night in and night out.
Tirpak: For me, it was James Hagens. He has been key to Team USA’s success as a top-line center who drives play this whole time. He was absolutely phenomenal in all games I saw and did not dip in performance at all. An excellent tournament from him.
Roth: For me, it is Latvia’s Bruno Osmanis. He didn’t crack our previous two NHL draft rankings but that will not be the case for our next edition. Unfortunately, he got hurt after three games but was super impressive. He drove a lot of offense for Latvia. I would like to see some improvements defensively but overall an impressive showing. I now have him ranked just inside my top 100 for the 2025 draft.
Fortin Boulay: Since Hagens was already in consideration for the No. 1 pick at the 2025 draft even before the tournament and Eklund as a top-10 option as well, I’m going with Luka Radivojevic here. He only had two points in the tournament but he a positive impact on Slovakia’s blue line, controlling the puck with confidence, elusively driving plays, and supporting offense without sacrificing the defensive aspect of his game. Though undersized, he managed well against bigger and older opponents in his own end and wasn’t troubled by the physicality of the game. He wasn’t a first-round candidate for me at all before the World Juniors, but he may be close to it now.
Elshafey: Radivojevic. He played a prominent role for Slovakia and looked comfortable, showing a good two-way game by being solid defensively while also contributing in creating offence with impressive playmaking moments. His draft stock definitely improved with his performance.
Which NHL Draft eligible performance fell flat?
Phillips: I didn’t like what I saw from Elijah Neuenschwander. A goalie who has been as high as top-10 for my goalie rankings this year, he didn’t look very good in either appearances he made.
Tirpak: Not really his fault because of his usage, but I expected a whole lot more from Tomas Pobezal. I had previously picked Pobezal as a player that I’m most excited to watch and he still kind of did that with his strengths such as defensive play, penalty kill efficiency, faceoffs, but never really excelled or looked comfortable out there and had consistency issues offensively all tournament long. It surprised me a lot given the nature of his game here in Slovakia.
Roth: Pobezal played a lot for Slovakia in this tournament but failed to stand out. They were counting on him to provide some offense as their second-line center and he really struggled even with plenty of power-play time. He is a smart player who limits mistakes but I think he will fall in our next set of rankings.
Fortin Boulay: I would say Porter Martone. We need to keep in our minds the whole messy situation with Canada and the lack of confidence and opportunity by the Canadian coaches, but for the little ice time Martone had in the tournament he wasn’t looking like his usual self and made little impact. I thought he crucially lacked pace here, which didn’t help his case of climbing through the roster and getting opportunities into the top-nine group of forwards.
Elshafey: A bit hard to say. I thought most performed well and the ones that struggled, like Martone, could be attributed to not being put in the right position to succeed. I think after this tournament, along with the way I was leaning before the tournament, Hagens and Matthew Schaefer are a tier above Martone.
Which NHL Draft eligible surprised you the most with his performance?
Phillips: I was surprised by the perfomance from Radivojevic. I didn’t think he would be playing much on the Slovak team and would just be a power-play quarterback. Radivojevic showed he isn’t just an offensive defenseman this tournament, but he showed his defensive abilities as well.
Tirpak: I wouldn’t even go for a first-year eligible, which would be an obvious answer, but honestly double overage forward David Granberg has had a stellar tournament overall. He was strong defensively, used in shut-down situations while still producing offense, and was fast and physical and driving the net every shift. He definitely put himself on top of the overage for the 2025 draft list for me.
Roth: Eklund was a player I had not seen but had heard a lot about and was pleasantly surprised by his skill level. I had heard all about is high-motor and work ethic, but feel like his skill was never mentioned as the strength of his game. I think it should be because he was really good with the puck on his stick and impressed me as a playmaker.
Fortin Boulay: I’ll go with Eklund here. I know how he usually plays and how he makes an impact in Sweden and in other international events, but I was quite surprised of him making the top-six and power-play unit for the whole tournament as a draft-eligible player on a team that just made it to the gold medal game a year ago and multiple players returning from this year. Players this young generally make mistakes or don’t have the same impact at the World Juniors that they have in their respective leagues, but Eklund was incredibly impactful from day one.
Elshafey: Was so impressed with Eklund and, more specifically, the way he plays. He’s known for that tenacity but it blew me away more than I expected. It seemed like every time he was in a battle along the boards he came away with the puck despite being the smallest guy there. Production may not have been there, but he was great in the tournament.
Which NHL Draft overager did the most to boost his stock for the 2025 Draft?
Phillips: This answer is pretty easily Linards Feldbergs for me. Feldbergs stopped 210 out of 226 shots in just five games for Latvia, and his ability to get in front of pucks was showcased every game. His performance was historic and will be remembered for years to come.
Tirpak: Feldbergs and Petteri Rimpinen. Those guys were incredible. Both Feldbergs and Rimpinen have stood out from the crowd with clutch performances all tournament long.
Roth: I have a feeling most people will say Feldbergs, which is totally fair, but just to mix it up a little, I will say Julius Sumpf. He played an impressive two-way game leading the Germans in scoring and, outside of the Team USA game, was only on the ice for one even-strength goal against. His skating really stood out to me. He’s got size, speed, and strength that I think can make him a solid bottom-six NHLer if a team gives him a chance.
Fortin Boulay: One noticeable overager for me was definitely Benjamin Rautiainen. He’s been flying with speed all tournament long, displaying great puckhandling skills off the rush and being an offensive menace. I also liked his compete level and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets selected in the 2025 draft.
Elshafey: Even though he’s a double overager, Sumpf really put himself in consideration for 2025. He was Germany’s most dangerous forward and when you pair that with a really good year playing with Caleb Desnoyers in Moncton, his stock has risen significantly thus far.
Which 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft eligible caught your eye?
Phillips: I liked what I saw from Olivers Murnieks on Latvia. He displayed a mature two-way game while being given the toughest minutes among all Latvian centers. Murnieks’ performance leads me to be excited for him as a 2026 eligible.
Tirpak: There were two for me that really stood out in Murnieks and Czech forward Adam Novotny. Both stood out in their own way. Murnieks with his incredible maturity and incredible all-around play as a center with tough matchups. Novotny has been such an incredibly skilled presence in Czechia’s bottom-six., always pushing the play forward, being involved in the battles, but predominantly he was a skilled presence to his more straightforward linemates.
Roth: I was so impressed by Murnieks. He did not look like a 16 year old playing in his first World Juniors. He plays such a mature game and he looked super comfortable playing against older players. His defensive game is so advanced for his age and while his offensive game doesn’t wow you, it’s solid and his skating and vision give him a good base to build upon.
Fortin Boulay: Murnieks. He’s already pro-sized 16 years old player contributing offensively and excelling at both ends of the ice. I’m really eager to see how he’ll do at the next World Juniors.
Elshafey: Lars Steiner. I liked his all around game. Thought he was responsible defensively but was also able to create offensive opportunities through his playmaking and puck carrying ability. He’s a candidate to go in the first round in the 2026 draft and should play a major role again in the 2026 World Juniors.
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