The Nemesis
Semper Tyrannus
It's almost World Junior time so with most teams having their rosters nailed down I figured I might as well make a thread for the tourney. This will serve as both a general discussion thread and the GDT for various games
Sharks in the tournament
As of right now there are 3 Sharks prospects named to the tournament:
Sam Dickinson (Canada/RD, 18 years old, picked 11th overall in 2024) - In spite of being one of the leading scorers in the OHL he is currently likely to play a depth/support role and not star for the team, to the point of not even getting a start in their first pre-tournament tune-up game.
Kaspar Halttunen (Finland/RW, 19 years old, picked 36th overall in 2023) - Returned to the OHL to re-team with Dickinson after a brief run with the Barracuda, Halttunen will likely be counted on to be a scoring fixture for the Finnish squad
Brandon Svoboda (USA/C, 19 years old, picked 71st overall in 2023) - A seeming favorite of the Team USA braintrust, Svoboda is considered a reliable checking and defensive forward, out to provide energy and steady, safe play without much offensive upside. He will likely play on the Americans' 4th line.
The Swiss have yet to name their roster, but it seems likely that goaltender Christian Kirsch will get a spot on the team. I'll adjust this if he is named.
The big misses for the Sharks are that neither Leo Sahlin Wallenius nor Axel Landen were even considered for Team Sweden, nor was Quentin Musty for Team USA. And without Russia in the tournament there were no opportunities for Chernyshov (even though he's hurt) nor Rimashevsky. Also, of course, the Sharks did not release Celebrini or Will Smith for their respective countries, not that it was ever going to be a serious possibility.
Other players of note
Though the Sharks have only the 3 (or 4 if I don't feel like updating this thread in a few days?) players from their system heading to the tournament, there are a few more names to take note of for upcoming drafts:
The Teams
10 teams are at the tournament, 5 in each group. Teams are sorted alphabetically in the table below (in case you get any ideas about why they're in the order they are)
The Schedule
The tournament is set to be held in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre (home of the Senators) for Group A and TD Place (home of the Ottawa 67s) for Group B. The Relegation games, Semi-Finals, and Medal games will all be at the Canadian Tire Centre. But this means that the games will all be on Eastern time and so no middle-of-the-night watching
December 26
Sharks in the tournament
As of right now there are 3 Sharks prospects named to the tournament:
Sam Dickinson (Canada/RD, 18 years old, picked 11th overall in 2024) - In spite of being one of the leading scorers in the OHL he is currently likely to play a depth/support role and not star for the team, to the point of not even getting a start in their first pre-tournament tune-up game.
Kaspar Halttunen (Finland/RW, 19 years old, picked 36th overall in 2023) - Returned to the OHL to re-team with Dickinson after a brief run with the Barracuda, Halttunen will likely be counted on to be a scoring fixture for the Finnish squad
Brandon Svoboda (USA/C, 19 years old, picked 71st overall in 2023) - A seeming favorite of the Team USA braintrust, Svoboda is considered a reliable checking and defensive forward, out to provide energy and steady, safe play without much offensive upside. He will likely play on the Americans' 4th line.
The Swiss have yet to name their roster, but it seems likely that goaltender Christian Kirsch will get a spot on the team. I'll adjust this if he is named.
The big misses for the Sharks are that neither Leo Sahlin Wallenius nor Axel Landen were even considered for Team Sweden, nor was Quentin Musty for Team USA. And without Russia in the tournament there were no opportunities for Chernyshov (even though he's hurt) nor Rimashevsky. Also, of course, the Sharks did not release Celebrini or Will Smith for their respective countries, not that it was ever going to be a serious possibility.
Other players of note
Though the Sharks have only the 3 (or 4 if I don't feel like updating this thread in a few days?) players from their system heading to the tournament, there are a few more names to take note of for upcoming drafts:
Viktor Eklund (Sweden/RW) - The younger brother of William, Eklund is a highly skilled offensive winger with great skating ability. He's a little undersized but that is often less of a problem in the WJCs and a strong touranment could vault him up the 2025 draft board
Matthew Schaefer (Canada/LD) - The presumptive first d-man off the board in the 2025 draft, Schaefer has had a dynamite OHL season and is looking to use the tournament to not only secure his place at the top of the upcoming draft, but to potentially steal the #1 spot away from the forwards who have had a stranglehold on it for the last couple years.
Porter Martone (Canada/RW) - Sitting at around 2 PPG in the OHL, Martone has found himself in the conversation for the #1 pick in the 2025 draft for much of the last year, where his size, physical tools, and offensive craft have made him a serious threat to be the first player chosen next summer.
James Hagens (USA/C) - Hagens has been one of the most consistently named players when it comes to the top pick in the 2025 draft. Whether the fact that Schaefer, Martone, or the not-named-to-the-tournament Michael Misa have closed the gap entirely because of their own play or because Hagens is the victim of prospect fatigue remains to be seen, but a strong tournament could put him back in the driver's seat for the next 6 months or so. Hagens is a little undersized, but is considered a high end skater and creative offenisve player who can drive play as the successor to Will Smith at Boston College.
Gavin McKenna (Canada/LW) - A rare 16-year-old on Team Canada, McKenna is currently the odds-on favorite for the top pick in the 2026 draft. Will the Sharks still be in concention for such a pick in a year's time? Who knows. But until then it's worth keeping an eye on the offensive dynamo, who is the CHL's leading scorer as a 16 year old at the holiday break and challenging the Canadian norm of minimizing the roles of pre-draft players at the tournament by theoretically being the best offensive player on the roster.
Matthew Schaefer (Canada/LD) - The presumptive first d-man off the board in the 2025 draft, Schaefer has had a dynamite OHL season and is looking to use the tournament to not only secure his place at the top of the upcoming draft, but to potentially steal the #1 spot away from the forwards who have had a stranglehold on it for the last couple years.
Porter Martone (Canada/RW) - Sitting at around 2 PPG in the OHL, Martone has found himself in the conversation for the #1 pick in the 2025 draft for much of the last year, where his size, physical tools, and offensive craft have made him a serious threat to be the first player chosen next summer.
James Hagens (USA/C) - Hagens has been one of the most consistently named players when it comes to the top pick in the 2025 draft. Whether the fact that Schaefer, Martone, or the not-named-to-the-tournament Michael Misa have closed the gap entirely because of their own play or because Hagens is the victim of prospect fatigue remains to be seen, but a strong tournament could put him back in the driver's seat for the next 6 months or so. Hagens is a little undersized, but is considered a high end skater and creative offenisve player who can drive play as the successor to Will Smith at Boston College.
Gavin McKenna (Canada/LW) - A rare 16-year-old on Team Canada, McKenna is currently the odds-on favorite for the top pick in the 2026 draft. Will the Sharks still be in concention for such a pick in a year's time? Who knows. But until then it's worth keeping an eye on the offensive dynamo, who is the CHL's leading scorer as a 16 year old at the holiday break and challenging the Canadian norm of minimizing the roles of pre-draft players at the tournament by theoretically being the best offensive player on the roster.
The Teams
10 teams are at the tournament, 5 in each group. Teams are sorted alphabetically in the table below (in case you get any ideas about why they're in the order they are)
| POOL A | POOL B |
|---|---|
| Canada (Dickinson) | Czechia |
| Finland (Halttunen) | Kazakhstan |
| Germany | Slovakia |
| Latvia | Sweden |
| USA (Svoboda) | Switzerland (Kirsch?) |
The Schedule
The tournament is set to be held in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre (home of the Senators) for Group A and TD Place (home of the Ottawa 67s) for Group B. The Relegation games, Semi-Finals, and Medal games will all be at the Canadian Tire Centre. But this means that the games will all be on Eastern time and so no middle-of-the-night watching
| 
|
Candian Tire Centre | Hosts Pool A | TD Place | Hosts Pool B |
December 26
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 9am Pacific / Noon Eastern | Pool B - Slovakia vs Sweden |
| 11:30am Pacific / 2:30pm Eastern | Pool A - USA vs Germany |
| 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern | Pool B - Czechia vs Switzerland |
| 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Finland vs Canada |
December 27
December 28
December 29
December 30
December 31
January 2
January 4
January 5
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 9am Pacific / Noon Eastern | Pool B - Switzerland vs Slovakia |
| 11:30am Pacific / 2:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Germany vs Finland |
| 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern | Pool B - Sweden vs Kazakhstan |
| 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Lavtia vs Canada |
December 28
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern | Pool B - Kazakhstan vs Czechia |
| 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Latvia vs USA |
December 29
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 9am Pacific / Noon Eastern | Pool B - Switzerland vs Sweden |
| 11:30am Pacific / 2:30pm Eastern | Pool A - USA vs Finland |
| 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern | Pool B - Czechia vs Slovakia |
| 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Canada vs Germany |
December 30
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern | Pool B - Slovakia vs Kazakhstan |
| 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Germany vs Latvia |
December 31
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 9am Pacific / Noon Eastern | Pool B - Kazakhstan vs Switzerland |
| 11:30am Pacific / 2:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Finland vs Latvia |
| 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern | Pool B - Sweden vs Czechia |
| 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern | Pool A - Canada vs USA |
January 2
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern | Relegation Game |
| 9am Pacific / Noon Eastern | Quarterfinal #1 |
| 11:30am Pacific / 2:30pm Eastern | Quarterfinal #2 |
| 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern | Quarterfinal #3 |
| 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern | Quarterfinal #4 |
January 4
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern | Semifinal #1 |
| 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern | Semifinal #2 |
January 5
| Start Time | Teams |
|---|---|
| 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern | Bronze Medal Game |
| 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern | Gold Medal Game |
