Almost every single year at the World Juniors, the powerhouse teams remain the powerhouse teams. People can pencil in the medal round that will feature one of Canada, the United States, Sweden, and sometimes Finland. But every now and again, there are teams that surprise. That is the beauty of such a short tournament between young and inexperienced players on a big stage.
For the 2025 tournament, there are unfortunately not a whole lot of exceptional talent scattered through the bottom-half teams. We have had previous years where someone destined to go in the top-five of the following Draft or one of the better drafted prospects, drag their team to some respectable and entertaining results -- but not this year.
That doesn't mean that some teams outside of the very tippy top do not pose a threat, though. There are a couple countries that come to mind when thinking about teams that could surprise if they reach the knockout round.
With such a short tournament, the position that can make the most impact on a team is certainly in between the pipes. A goaltender can just have a couple of perfect games -- extremely difficult but not impossible -- and suddenly their team full of mediocre skaters find themselves at the top of their group and in the knockout stage.
Michael Hrabal, the Utah Hockey Club prospect, has an outside chance of being the best netminder of the tournament. There is the United States' Trey Augustine and always one of the Canadian goalies, but Hrabal has been playing some very good hockey this season. In his sophomore year at UMass, he has earned a .917 save percentage and a 2.49 goals against average. The only better Under-20 goaltender in college hockey is Augustine with his .930 save percentage. But still, Hrabal is a heck of a player to have in the crease and he should be very good in Ottawa.
LW/RW Adam Novotny
Yes, we could have always mentioned Adam Jiricek and how he is another top prospect of a team that should be playing lots of minutes on a fairly decent Czech blue line, but that's boring. Adam Novotny is a name to look out for at the top of the 2026 NHL Draft and he will now be getting a chance with Czechia to make an impression.
Other than Gavin McKenna on Canada and another player we mention later in this article, we believe Novotny is the only other 2026 Draft-eligible skater that will be at this tournament. And, to make it even more interesting, because of the Czech's lack of true scoring talent, Novotny could really view this as a coming out party on a big stage. The winger turned 17 years old just last month but has already been playing in the top division of Czech hockey this season, and made his debut last season at just 16 years old.
Now, he gets to take a break from playing against grown men and could just bully around some of his peers.
Our takes
Maddie: These are some really interesting names on this Czech team -- as an absolute draft sicko, I'm really excited to see what Novotny is able to do in this tournament. But on a collective level, I'm still pretty intrigued by the Czech team. I don't super expect them to make a big run, given the roster they have versus those of the big teams -- shocking to hear about a team that we've grouped as a dark horse, wow -- but I expect them to make things difficult on those top teams. Because that always feels like the thing with the Czechs in this tournament, even when they don't have a loaded roster, they're finding a way to be competitive, which is a lot of fun.
Thomas: Czechia is going to be fun to root for as a neutral. There are no Flyers prospects, of course, but they have the substantial and difficult path of having to face the three-headed monster at the top of this year's tournament and are depending on some unknown youth and a couple decent NHL prospects to do it. There's no flash or big name here, but just like past years, they bring the experience of playing against tougher competition all season long, and will now be taking a step down to play among their peers. Will be so interesting to see how it plays out.
Leon Muggli is what he is, but he won't bring flash and skill to a tournament like this. He's just super reliable. The Washington Capitals' 2024 second-round pick is a defenseman that is fleet of foot, can read plays well, but won't get super involved in a team's offense. Through 21 games for EV Zug of the Swiss National League, Muggli has scored one goal and earned five total points. He's not setting the world on fire, here.
But every team needs a player like Muggli and he can play in that role as well as anyone. And especially on a Swiss team that might need him to get up the ice as often as possible.
F Lars Steiner
As we mentioned above, besides Novotny and McKenna there is another player that is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft at this tournament and who just turned 17 years old. Lars Steiner for Team Switzerland is yet another intriguing young player. After making just one appearance in the National League, he transferred to the QMJHL to suit up for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and so far he is playing exceptionally well. Of all 2026-eligible skaters in the QMJHL, Steiner has the most goals (14) and the most points (36) in just 29 games. He is playing very well and should continue to grow and use this World Juniors as a learning experience, rather than being expected to lead his team to a medal.
Heck, are we seeing the Swiss version of Marco Rossi here?
Our takes
Maddie: It feels hard to really bank on this happening, but all the same, dare we say, the Swiss team has a bit of upset potential? Not in that we expect they're going to make noise in the medal round, but if things break right for them, they have a real chance to play spoiler and cause some problems for some of the bigger teams. Their roster isn't so stacked as to allow them to big time compete, but they have enough pieces that if they can all work together nicely, they could find a nice bit of productiveness.
Thomas: If Switzerland wants to make it out of the group and not be a first-round knockout multiple things will need to happen: Their collection of decent goalies will need to be unbeatable, their defense will need to be a complete unit, and players like Steiner and center Jamiro Reber (who is having a very good rookie season in the SHL) will need to step up massively. There is a chance to be better than the bottom teams here, and even slimmer chance at finishing within the top five, but we can believe it we want to.