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Ryan Leonard, Eriks Mateiko And 10 Players Who Defined World Juniors 2025 – FloHockey

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Ryan Leonard, Eriks Mateiko And 10 Players Who Defined World Juniors 2025 – FloHockey

OTTAWA – The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship is among the most memorable I’ve covered. The storylines were incredible, the results sometimes shocking and we were introduced to so many personalities over the course of the tournament that hockey fans will remember for a long time.

I wanted to put a list of players together that were not the best. We have all-star teams and directorate awards and MVPs to put that on the historical record. Instead of a list like that, I wanted to put together the 10 players that I will often think about when I think back to 2025. It’s not always for on-ice exploits, though that’s a big factor. It’s about how they put their stamp on this event and the moments they provided over the two weeks we saw them in Ottawa.

So here it is, my 10 players who defined the 2025 World Junior Championship.

Ten Players Who Defined The 2025 World Junior Championship

Linards Feldbergs, G, Latvia

The 2025 World Juniors will be remembered largely for Latvia and specifically the heroics and exploits of undrafted goalie Linards Feldbergs. He stopped all eight Canadian shooters and made 55 saves during regulation and OT as Latvia beat Canada for the first time ever at the World Juniors. He turned around less than 24 hours later and faced 41 more shots from USA. He played every minute of every game and even gave Latvia a chance against Sweden.

Latvia won two games for the first time ever at the WJC, but were bounced in the quarters. Feldbergs finished with a .929 save percentage and I think probably picked up a number of all-star votes and even some MVP votes. 

When my colleague Lizz Child asked Feldbergs about what he would tell himself the morning he woke up of the game against Canada, he replied “Everything is possible.” Feldbergs certainly made us believe that. I’ll never forget his performance here.

Ryan Leonard, RW, USA (WSH)

The MVP of the tournament and named best forward, Leonard became a bit of a villain in Ottawa. So much so that he eventually was booed just about every time he touched the puck. In the end, Leonard had 10 points, tied for second in the tournament. He assisted on two goals in the gold-medal game including Cole Hutson’s game-tying marker. Leonard has had a decorated career and now has gold medals in three IIHF tournaments. After deciding not to turn pro following his freshman year, he’s accomplished one of his goals by helping Team USA win back-to-back golds for the first time. He took making history personally. Now he wants to help Boston College win the NCAA championship, even though he’ll probably have to go through some of his World Junior teammates to do it. Leonard has really put a nice cap on an incredible amateur career.

Petteri Rimpinen, G, Finland

We now know him as “Mr. Showtime.” But before this World Juniors, Petteri Rimpinen was an undrafted goalie who was having a breakout season in Finland’s top pro league at just 18 years old. He’ll probably find himself drafted next summer and will definitely have more eyes on him now. His performances throughout this tournament were spectacular. One of his best games may have been the World Junior gold-medal game. He did everything he could to give his team a chance to win with 36 saves including a few amazing ones in overtime. 

Easton Cowan, RW, Canada (TOR)

For all the wrong reasons, Easton Cowan became a scapegoat for Canada’s problems at the World Juniors. I don’t think it was particularly fair to the individual because there were so many things that went wrong for Canada. Cowan didn’t have his best at this tournament beyond a strong performance against Finland on opening day, but he didn’t deserve the vitriol that was thrown his way on social media. Canada’s failure at this tournament is one of the top storylines and Cowan was one of the few returning players from last year’s team who now would rather forget the World Junior experience.

Cole Hutson, D, USA (WSH)

No defenseman has ever led the World Junior Championship in scoring outright until now. With 11 points, Hutson became the first blueliner to do it, edging out four players including teammate Ryan Leonard who had 10 points in the tournament. Hutson’s final point was his biggest, the game-tying goal against Finland on a beautiful showcase of skill and his high-end shot. It seemed like if USA needed a big play in a big moment, Hutson delivered. He scored the first goal against Canada as well, plus assisted on a major insurance goal in that game. Hutson also set USA’s single-tournament record for scoring by a defenseman, edging out three prior players with 10 points. His older brother Lane, who won gold with Team USA last year, scored 10 points over two World Junior appearances. Score one for the little brother.

Eriks Mateiko, C, Latvia (WSH)

While Feldbergs was the biggest reason Latvia had the upsets they did, Eriks Mateiko scored big goal after big goal. He finished the tournament with five and that does not include his shootout game-winner against Canada, which was on his second attempt of that shootout.

The big forward was one of the guys who helped a young Latvian team keep pace with the big boys. He has size, skill and a good shot. His performance at this tournament was big-time, and he looked more like an NHL prospect than I’ve seen. He has enough tools to give himself a chance. Either way, he was awesome in this event.

Dalibor Dvorsky, C, Slovakia (STL)

In his fourth and final World Junior Championship, Dvorsky was not able to get Slovakia over the quarterfinal hump. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. He scored nine points in five games for a career-best performance with points in every game he appeared in. The Springfield Thunderbirds forward did everything he could to get his team to the next level, but they just did not have enough depth. His World Junior career ends with 10 goals and 20 points in 19 career games.

Axel Sandin Pellikka, D, Sweden (DET)

Sweden left empty-handed, but Sandin Pellikka was named defenseman of the tournament for the second straight year. He also made the media all-star team and was utilized five times in the bronze-medal game shootout. There’s no question that he is among the more intriguing offensive talents on the back end. But this tournament will also be remembered for the disappointment for Sweden, which maybe had its best path to a gold medal in recent memory, went undefeated in the prelims once again but failed to win the biggest games. 

Trey Augustine, G, USA (DET)

Now USA’s all-time wins leader at the World Junior Championship with 12 career wins, Augustine is also now the only goalie to win back-to-back gold medals at this tournament for Team USA. He has had a historic run and will go down as one of USA’s most successful international goalies ever on the men’s side. What made this run a bit more unique is I don’t think we saw Augustine play his best games in this tournament, but he was good enough. His ability to win the big games for his team and make key saves in big moments is such a factor. He still has more development time ahead and will need some refining before he’s ready for the big time, but when the lights shine brightest, he wins.

Michael Hrabal, G, Czechia (UTA)

How many goalies can say they’ve eliminated Canada from the tournament in back-to-back quarterfinals? Just one and it’s Hrabal. He did it twice in as many years, forcing Canada not to play for a medal in consecutive years for the first time in the modern format of this tournament. Beyond that, Hrabal gave his team a chance in every game, was stellar in the bronze-medal game shootout and now has two straight medals at this tournament. Hrabal is a massive human who is only getting better at his craft. As he becomes more consistent, he’ll have a better chance of being a higher-end goaltending prospect.

FloHockey’s Coverage Of Team USA At The WJC

FloHockey is providing comprehensive editorial and video coverage of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. With a team of content creators on site and leading WJC analyst Chris Peters providing stories and columns throughout the event, make FloHockey your home to learn more about the 2025 World Juniors. FloHockey will be following Team USA and Team Canada closely, while tracking the rest of the tournament on site. See all the stories here.

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