Rangers Prospects Gear Up for 2025 World Junior Championships

Winter is coming, and with it comes the 2025 World Junior Championships.

Countries from across the globe are starting to assemble their rosters and many NHL teams’ prospects, Rangers included, are answering the call. Last year’s event saw a high-powered American team stampede its way to a gold medal, never getting the chance to play against Team Canada, who underwhelmed throughout the tournament.

This year, a new country will participate, with Kazakhstan replacing Norway as the final qualifying team. Other changes include reuniting Team USA and Team Canada in the same group but splitting up Team Sweden and Team Finland, meaning we’ll get to see the two North American countries battle it out in the round-robin but won’t have the chance to see the two Scandinavian powerhouses play each other in the round-robin.

The tournament consists of two groups that hold five teams each. The groups play one single round-robin series, and then the top four teams from each group advance into a single elimination playoff. If you’re interested in reading all the rules for this international tournament, you can find them here.

This year, the Ranger's representation is a bit light, but that could have more to do with the quality and quantity of recent picks the Blueshirts have made. Many of their picks hailed from North America and were in later rounds. Team USA and Canada are typically filled with first-round and projected first-round picks, so the competition is tough. This year, we’ll see three prospects from the Rangers organization play, two for Team USA and one for Team Switzerland. Let’s get into it.

Team USA

Gabe Perreault, 23^rd Overall 2023, RW

At this point, you’ve heard all about Gabe Perreault. Check out our previous story here if you’d like to read up on his progress and development. He will likely feature on USA’s top line alongside Ryan Leonard and top prospect James Hagens. Team USA’s success will live or die by Perreault and his linemates' ability to take over games, and with Canada looking for revenge this year, Perreault and the rest of Team USA will need to be at the top of their game. Perreault will rep his usual number 34 for Team USA.

Drew Fortescue, 90^th Overall 2023, D

Fortescue won’t wow you with his offense, but his stable defensive stick and solid breakout pass have helped Boston College succeed over the last two seasons. Fortescue will likely be relied on to kill penalties, play solid defense, and protect leads late in games for Team USA. He can be found on the back end wearing number 5 for the Americans.

Honorable Mentions:

I wanted to talk about the Rangers' 2024 first-round pick, EJ Emery. He was among the last four skaters cut from the final Team USA roster. It’s disappointing that we won’t be able to see Emery showcase his immense athletic ability on the international stage, and many folks are already theorizing this was a mistake for Team USA. Emery is an effective shut-down defender who can join the rush due to his swift skating.

Schedule:

USA vs. Germany – 12/26 9:30 AM EST

USA vs. Latvia – 12/28 10:30 AM EST

USA vs. Finland – 12/29 9:30 AM EST

USA vs. Canada – 12/31 3 PM EST

All games will be broadcast on the NHL Network or TSN

Team Switzerland

Rico Gredig, 191^st Overall 2024, LW/C

Gredig was an overager in this year’s draft when the Rangers took him. He is one of four players on Team Switzerland drafted by an NHL team. He posted 15 points in 17 games for HC Davos’ under-20 team before being promoted to their National League, where he’s contributed at a much lower pace. As a teenager, he has experience playing against older players, which could be helpful against the powerhouse countries Switzerland will be facing off against. Gredig will likely be centering the second line, wearing number 8.

Schedule:

Switzerland vs. Czechia – 12/26 12 PM EST

 Switzerland vs. Slovakia – 12/27 8 AM EST

Switzerland vs. Sweden – 12/29 7 AM EST

Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan – 12/31 7 AM EST

All games will be broadcast on the NHL Network or TSN