2025 IIHF World Junior Championship

First Look At Potential Canada Lineup For 2025 World Juniors

First Look At Potential Canada Lineup For 2025 World Juniors

On Sunday, Canada had its first full team practice since the final roster for the World Juniors was announced. It gave us our first look at their lineup.

Dec 16, 2024 by Chris Peters
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When a roster gets picked for the World Juniors or any tournament, you don’t really get the chance to know what it’s going to truly look like until you see what the staff has in mind for how the lineup could look. Canada had its first full team practice Sunday after its final roster was named Friday night and had all 25 players on the ice once again Monday morning.

Twenty four of the 25 players named to the team were on the ice Sunday. Only Bradly Nadeau, who joined the team after being loaned from the Chicago Wolves by the Carolina Hurricanes following this weekend’s games, was absent. Now he's in the mix and Canada put him right up on their top line.

As a result, we’ve got our first good look at what Canada’s lineup could be for the tournament that begins on Dec. 26 in Ottawa.

TSN’s Mark Masters, one of the most essential follows when it comes to Team Canada news and notes for the WJC shared the lines from Practice 1 and Practice 2.

Here’s our earliest look at Canada’s formation for the tournament, via Masters.

PRACTICE 1 Team Canada Lines

Forward Lines 

Gavin McKenna (2026) – Calum Ritchie (COL) – Easton Cowan (TOR)

Carson Rehkopf (SEA) – Berkly Catton (SEA) – Porter Martone (2025)

Cole Beaudoin (UTA) – Brayden Yager (WPG) – Ethan Gauthier (TBL)

Tanner Howe (PIT) – Jett Luchanko (PHI) – Mathieu Cataford (VGK)

Luca Pinelli (CBJ)

Defense Pairings

Tanner Molendyk (NSH) – Andrew Gibson (NSH)

Matthew Schaefer (2025) – Oliver Bonk (PHI)

Sawyer Mynio (VAN) – Caden Price (SEA)

Sam Dickinson (SJS) – Beau Akey (EDM)

Goalies

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

Note: Forward Bradly Nadeau (CAR) was not present at practice as he is a late arrival after finishing his duties with the AHL's Chicago Wolves.

Practice 2 Team Canada Lines

Forward Lines

Bradly Nadeau (CAR) - Calum Ritchie (COL) - Easton Cowan (TOR)

Carson Rehkopf (SEA) - Berkly Catton (SEA) - Porter Martone (2025)

Cole Beaudoin (UTA) - Brayden Yager (WPG) - Ethan Gauthier (TBL)

Tanner Howe (PIT)/Gavin McKenna (2026) - Jett Luchanko (PHI) - Mathieu Cataford (VGK)

Luca Pinelli (CBJ)

Defense Pairing

Tanner Molendyk (NSH).- Andrew Gibson (NSH)

Matthew Schaefer (2025) - Oliver Bonk (PHI)

Sam Dickinson (SJS) - Beau Akey (EDM)

Sawyer Mynio (VAN) - Caden Price (SEA)

Goalies

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

Canada Early Lineup Analysis

We've now seen two practices of Canada's lines. The biggest change from Bradly Nadeau's arrival to camp was that super underager Gavin McKenna got bumped down the lineup. As much as it is difficult for underagers to make an impact on a more veteran team, I'd have to imagine McKenna is going to force his way into the top six before all is said and done. 

But these two practice lineups from Masters give us an idea of what the structure of this team is going to be. Their top nine has plenty of goal-scoring talent. I'll be interested to see of Beaudoin stays in that mix as his value would appear to be more as a defensive matchups and energy forward than a top-nine scorer. That could be a spot we could see McKenna in, but there's some clear trust in Beaudoin and what he brings to the table.

The fact that Jett Luchanko, who played NHL games this season, is sitting in the No. 4 center slot tells you everything you need to know about the tremendous depth. It also tells you that they believe in Luchanko's versatility to fit into a role and make an impact that way.

Defensively, Tanner Molendyk appears poised to be this team's No. 1 defenseman and likely runs their first power play in the tournament. He's a quick, shifty player and won a lot of fans through Canada's WJC process last year, that unfortunately saw him get injured and not be able to play as they had hoped. He's going to get quite a bit of run.

And to anyone that has been paying attention, the Matthew Schaefer hype train is going to be full steam ahead. It looks like he will legitimately be a top-four defenseman for this team as things are slotted out now. I could see him as the No. 2 power play guy and eating some big minutes despite being the youngest defenseman on the team. The trust that young man has built in his ability through his play is warranted.

Sam Dickinson's place on this team is going to be interesting. He's having a dynamite year, but I'm starting to wonder what role he's going to end up playing for this squad. Perhaps he's in the No. 2 PP slot, but if Molendyk and Gibson are the top pairing, Schaefer and Bonk get a lot of run as the No. 2 pairing, does it make sense to have the offensive-minded Dickinson in the No. 3 pairing? Or perhaps he's a seventh defenseman who slots in when needed. That's going to be an interesting dynamic. Again, it speaks to the depth of this team and the balance they're trying to bring to the table.

Lastly, the goaltending mix really seems to be a competition. Bjarnason is the bigger, older goaltender and I'm sure that brings some benefits to it. That said, George is probably the more consistent and most even-keeled goalie on their roster. He helped Canada win the gold medal at last year's U18 Worlds. And I wouldn't completely count out Ivankovic pushing for some time. It's a good problem to have.

How To Watch The 2025 World Junior Championship

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship will air on TSN and RDS on television in Canada. The tournament will be streamed on TSN+ in Canada, as well. 

In the United States, NHL Network will be the television home of the World Junior Championship. Streaming information for USA is not currently available.

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