As the NHL takes their holiday break, the players of the future will take center stage in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota for the 2025-26 World Juniors.
The World Juniors will kick off on Boxing Day, Dec. 26 and the group stage will run through Dec. 31. The quarterfinals begin Jan. 2 with the gold medal game taking place on Jan. 5.
The Flyers will have six prospects attending, with two representing their countries for the first time at the U-20 tournament. They have the second-most prospects playing, with Nashville and Utah having seven apiece to lead all teams.
Six Flyers prospects will suit up at the World Juniors
Four countries will be represented amongst the six Flyers prospects. Two apiece will be playing for Canada and Finland, while Sweden and USA will also be represented.
Porter Martone was recently named captain for Canada, a huge honor with some of the older talent on the roster. He is having an excellent freshman campaign at Michigan State. Martone has posted 11 goals and 20 points in 16 games. He is tied for second-most goals by a freshman and has the fourth-most points.
Jett Luchanko is a part of Canada for the second-straight year, along with Martone. After two goals and 17 points in 11 games for Guelph, Luchanko was traded to Brantford and has found success on a loaded Bulldogs roster. He has two goals and eight points in six games.
Heikki Ruohonen was named an alternate captain for Finland and has had some mild success at the tournament before. He’s in his freshman season for Harvard, posting one goal and five assists in 11 games.
Max Westergard is the other Finnish representative after a very successful Summer Showcase where he had five goals and eight points in 10 games. He’s split time between the top junior league in Sweden and the SHL. While he has no points in 15 games in the latter, Westergard has four goals and 21 points in 12 games for Frölunda HC’s U20 squad.
Jack Berglund will captain the Sweden team after having to back out of the tournament last year due to injury. He opened up plenty of eyes during the summer, amassing seven goals and 13 points in 11 games. Berglund has spent most of the season in the SHL where he has three goals and five points in 22 games.
And lastly, Shane Vansaghi will suit up for the United States. During his sophomore season at Michigan State, he’s chipped in one goals and six points in 16 games.
The World Juniors will kick off on Boxing Day, Dec. 26 and the group stage will run through Dec. 31. The quarterfinals begin Jan. 2 with the gold medal game taking place on Jan. 5.