Several top 2025 NHL Draft prospects will take the spotlight at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, but the player who could outshine them all is defenseman Matthew Schaefer.
That’s the belief of Flo Hockey draft expert Chris Peters, who helped co-hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale preview the tournament on the latest edition of the “NHL Draft Class” podcast.
Schaefer, who turned 17 in September, could move into the top four for Canada when the tournament begins in Ottawa on Dec. 26, and the 17-year-old could use the WJC’s attention to propel himself to the top pick in the 2025 draft.
“If he plays a top-four role like we think he could for this team, if he becomes one of their key defenders, if he gets ahead of guys like Sam Dickinson (San Jose Sharks) and others who were very good draft picks to be on the power play two, on the power play one, whatever he ends up with, that’s a pretty significant indication of the confidence we have in him right now,” Peters said. “The problem with Matthew Schaefer is he only seems to be scratching the surface. He will be one of the youngest players in this draft class, having been born 10 days before the deadline. This is an opportunity for him to show…that upside and that runway he has is a separating factor for the No. 1 pick. »
Other topics discussed with Peters included the potential impact that American forward James Hagens and Canadian forward Porter Martone could have at the WJC. They are considered along with Schaefer as candidates to go with the No. 1 pick.
“I think in terms of opportunities, Hagens will probably have more opportunities than Porter Martone,” Peters said. “I think Hagens is a lot more important to the United States than Martone is to Canada. … It’s never really one-on-one, how long they’ll be on the ice together, all those things. But everyone is going to treat it like a 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 type situation.”
Prospects to watch were discussed and tournament predictions were made.
The World Junior Championship runs through January 5 and all games can be viewed on NHL Network in the United States and on TSN in Canada.
The “NHL Draft Class” podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms, including iTunes and Spotify. It is also available here and the NHL app.
