Canada has its roster for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. Four returning players will be looking to improve on a disappointing quarterfinal finish from last year’s event as they take to home ice in Sweden. They’ll get some help from a trio of highly-regarded prospects yet to be drafted including No. 1 candidates in 2025, Matthew Schaefer and Porter Martone, and the consensus No. 1 pick for 2026, Gavin McKenna.

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Canada will enter the tournament as one of the favorites, having the benefit of home ice and a roster chock full of future NHL standouts. It is one of the hardest teams to make every year, and as usual, there were several notable cuts.

Canada's Final Roster For The 2025 World Junior Championship

Forwards

• Cole Beaudoin (UTA)
• Mathieu Cataford (VGK)
• Berkly Catton (SEA)
• Easton Cowan (TOR)
• Ethan Gauthier (TBL)
• Tanner Howe (PIT)
• Jett Luchanko (PHI)
• Porter Martone (2025)
• Gavin McKenna (2026)
• Bradly Nadeau (CAR)
• Luca Pinelli (CBJ)
• Carson Rehkopf (SEA)
• Calum Ritchie (COL)
• Brayden Yager (WPG)

Defensemen

• Beau Akey (EDM)
• Oliver Bonk (PHI)
• Sam Dickinson (SJS)
• Andrew Gibson (NSH)
• Tanner Molendyk (NSH)
• Sawyer Mynio (VAN)
• Caden Price (SEA)
• Matthew Schaefer (2025)

Goaltenders

• Carson Bjarnason (PHI)
• Carter George (LAK)
• Jack Ivankovic (2025)

Players Cut From Team Canada Selection Camp

• F, Denver Barkey (PHI)
• F, Andrew Cristall (WSH)
• F, Riley Heidt (MIN)
• F, Beckett Sennecke (ANA)
• F, Matthew Wood (NSH)
• D, Cameron Allen (WSH)
• D, Zayne Parekh (CGY)
• G, Scott Ratzlaff (BUF)

Canada Roster Analysis

Canada's strength is going to be in its forward group, which includes a number of players with World Junior experience, but also a pair of youthful impact players in McKenna and Martone. Easton Cowan has been one of junior hockey's most dominant players over the last two seasons. He came into camp banged up, but as long as he's healthy for puck drop, he should see a lot of ice time.

Matthew Wood was cut from the team despite being on the team last year and that likely had more to do with how much of an impact a player like Martone can make, while also bringing a bit more of a physical edge and some better two-way value. When you see Beckett Sennecke, Riley Heidt and Andrew Cristall, all highly-productive players in the junior ranks this season on the cut list, you'd have to think there was some doubt about the versatility those players bring to the roster, because their offensive capabilities are without question.

Defensively, Canada left home some of its most skilled blueliners by cutting Zayne Parekh and not even inviting Carter Yakemchuk (OTT), but that is likely because of how much they believe in Sam Dickinson and more directly how much of a role NHL Draft-eligible defenseman Matthew Schaefer can have on this team. Expect the 17-year-old to see some serious minutes in this tournament.

Canada also clearly wanted some stout defenders, hence the inclusion of Sawyer Mynio and Andrew Gibson, who bring some size and physicality to the back end. This team also clearly emphasized skating with the likes of Beau Akey and Tanner Molendyk getting a regular shift for the club. It's a less dynamic blue line, but a balanced one.

In net, Carter George and Carson Bjarnason will likely battle it out for No. 1 reps. Meanwhile, young Jack Ivankovic will likely be the team's No. 3, but the draft-eligible's impressive season continues with his inclusion this roster. George won gold for Canada at the World U18s last year and could be riding that wave to the No. 1 job here, but Bjarnason has certainly earned his shot at getting reps in the cage.

Canada has every reason to believe they will contend for gold as they should expect to every single year. We'll wait and see how this roster construction works for making the most of home ice and getting another gold medal added to Canada's record haul historically.

Canada Schedule For The 2025 World Juniors

• Dec. 26: Canada vs. Finland, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Dec. 27: Canada vs. Latvia, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Dec. 29: Canada vs. Germany, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Dec. 31: Canada vs. USA, 8 p.m. ET
• Jan. 2: Quarterfinals, TBD
• Jan. 4: Semifinals, TBD
• Jan. 5: Gold-Medal Game, 7:30 p.m. ET

How To Watch The World Junior Championship 2025

TSN will carry the World Junior Championship English broadcasts in Canada. RDS is the French-language television network for the World Juniors in Canada. TSN+ is set to stream all games from the event in Canada.

In the United States, NHL Network is slated to carry all Team USA games and many others during the tournament.

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