Andy Devlin | Hockey Canada Images
FCHockey
Staff
December 24, 2024

The top 2025 NHL Draft eligibles to watch at the World Juniors

The 2025 World Juniors is going to have a distinct NHL Draft feel.

The annual holiday tournament is set to feature the top three prospects in FCHockey’s Winter ranking for the 2025 draft, with Matthew Schaefer, James Hagens and Porter Martone set to skate in the tournament.

But that’s just a start.

In total, 13 players who’ve cracked FCHockey’s top-100 are set to represent their nations — in a variety of roles — that will have fans and draft pundits alike keeping a close watch on those eligible for next June’s selection process.

Here’s a quote on each 2025 NHL Draft eligible set to participate, via FCHockey’s scouts:

Matthew Schaefer | D | Canada | Winter ranking: 1

“Schaefer’s elite skating and vision with the puck should lead to a big-minute role with Canada, a rarity for an under-18 defenseman. He has the frame to defend against older, bigger players at even strength and he could fit seamlessly with, or even elevate, a top Canadian power-play unit if given the chance as the tournament goes on.” — Joseph Aleong, Regional scout (Ontario)

James Hagens | F | Team USA | Winter ranking: 2

“He is a dominant forward who controls the pace of play whenever he’s on the ice. Hagens, playing with a loaded Team USA, ability to generate zone entries at a high level could be a difference-maker, while his playmaking ability could help drive a lot of chances throughout the tournament. With the expectation of playing with his Boston College teammates, there could be some added chemistry that could lead to more comfort and confidence for all three forwards on that line.” — Kyle Pereira, Regional scout (USA)

Porter Martone | F | Canada | Winter ranking: 3

“Martone is a willing combatant in all situations and I love his multifaceted game. He can beat you by finishing checks and being a total pest to play against while at the same time displaying his high-end skill and shooting ability. It seems he will be deployed in more of a checking role for Canada at this year’s World Juniors but his versatility will allow him to move up and down the lineup as needed.” — Mike Kennedy, Regional scout (Ontario)

Victor Eklund | F | Sweden | Winter ranking: 5

“Victor Eklund is a fun one. What I like about him is just his aggressive nature of the game… he always goes 100 percent, likes to engage physically despite his size, and get in and around the dirty areas to get scoring chances for himself or his teammates. That’s extremely translatable into modern NHL, and you can already project what type of role and player he would be once he translates. Eklund likely ends up with lesser ice time than his talent probably deserves as an under-age selection, but I expect him to still be an electric presence in Swedish team’s high-pressure creating offense.” — Samuel Tirpak, Chief scout (Europe)

Logan Hensler | D | Team USA | Winter ranking: 9

“Logan Hensler is a polished defender with pro size and skating ability. He’s shown the ability to move the puck efficiently, primarily on breakouts and in transition, but it hasn’t translated to the offensive zone. He’s proven he can defend against the best, but the question for Hensler is if he can step up production offensively. He is not expected to play heavy minutes at the World Juniors, but I think he could prove to be one of the better defensive players on the team and play key minutes late in games.” — Jacob Roth, Regional scout (USA)

Tomas Pobezal | F | Slovakia | Winter ranking: 18

“I love Tomas Pobezal‘s detailed approach to the game. He makes the right decisions consistently, makes a lot of little plays that lead to chances as well. He is incredibly versatile, plays all situations, he drives play really well on a pro level already and can be a really aggressive presence on the penalty kill. He is going to be Slovakia’s number two centerman this tournament and likely play on the team’s first powerplay as a net-front presence and be their number one center option on the penalty kill.” — Tirpak

Luka Radivojevic | D | Slovakia | Winter ranking: 44

“Luka Radivojevic is a smallish, skilled, mobile, minute-eating defender that can drive play forward and control the play on the power play with his great puck skill. He is extremely good puck-mover and a reliable offensive threat, but his size is a legitimate issue. He is not as strong defensively, and to get as good results as you can get from him I expect Slovak coaches to limit him to a highly-offensive role with a lot of offensive zone draws and be the team’s top power-play defender.” — Tirpak

Jack Ivankovic | G | Canada | Winter ranking: 48

“Jack Ivankovic‘s movement and ability to play bigger than his frame makes him an intriguing goalie to analyze. He plays aggressively, and does his best to take away space from shooters consistently. I’m not sure how much he will play at the World Juniors, but I expect maybe one or two round-robin games against weaker competition could be in the cards to get him seeing the puck a bit in case he needs to come in for relief.” — David Phillips, Chief scout (Goaltending)

Vojtech Cihar | F | Czechia | Winter ranking: 53

“Vojtech Cihar is a typical, fast, north-south winger who plays an aggressive board game, gets in and around the net and finds ways to be a solid support piece on a pro level. The fact coaches trust in him on a pro level in Czechia is a really telling sign about this player’s detailed approach and consistency even at this age, which earned him a spot in Czech team’s top-six. I expect him to be a support piece to more skilled, play-driving linemates, with a lot of it being a player who wins puck battles, makes the little connecting plays between linemates to get scoring chances. Not sure what type of production to expect, maybe his game won’t accommodate for a lot of scoring, but I expect Cihar to make a strong impact.” — Tirpak

Carlos Handel | D | Germany | Winter ranking: 74

“Carlos Handel is a all-situational, two-way defender that plays a simple but efficient game. He’s poised when initiating breakouts, thanks to his smooth hands and heads-up play. He’s as calm when defending rushes and in defensive-zone coverage, exploiting solid gap control and stick checking. I expect him to be trusted by his coaches against the better opponents and to be one of few bright spots for Germany.” — Joey Fortin Boulay, Chief scout (Quebec)

Michal Pradel | G | Slovakia | Winter ranking: 77

“Michal Pradel‘s size and positional awareness make him tough to beat off the first shot. Throughout this tournament, I’ll be interested to see how Pradel deals with rebounds and how his rebound recoveries have developed since the Hlinka tournament.” — Phillips

David Lewandowski | F | Germany | Winter ranking: 84

“David Lewandowski is going be in tough on a German team that isn’t expected to compete with the top teams, but that doesn’t mean he can’t impress. He’s not the strongest skater but he’s got good hands, a solid release on his shot and details in his game that are impressive. Usually draft eligible prospects who aren’t at the top of the board would be in tough ice time wise but on a team like Germany, he should play an important role.” — Kareem Elshafey, Regional scout (Western Canada)

Elijah Neuenschwander | G | Switzerland | Winter ranking: 94

“Elijah Neuenschwander has calm feet and excellent tracking abilities that help him swallow up pucks from all over the offensive zone. His ability to find pucks through traffic is a notch above his peers, but I’d like to see his scanning habits and play anticipation take a step at the World Juniors.” — Phillips

 

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