The 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase kicked off a few days ago in Plymouth, Michigan, as players look to crack the lineup for their respective national team for the 2024-25 IIHF World Junior Championships. The defending champions, the United States, will look to defend their gold medal from a year ago and will be joined by Canada, Finland and Sweden.
A majority of players on each team’s roster have already been selected by teams in the NHL Draft but there are a few notable players who are preparing to hear their names called in the 2025 NHL Draft. Here are a few of those players:
James Hagens, Boston College (NCAA), United States
Hagens is the current betting favorite to hear his name called for the first overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft. The young star will be joining the Boston College Eagles next year in the NCAA after an electric performance with the U.S. National U18 Team in which he scored 39 goals and 102 points in 58 games. As one of the most dominant players in his age group, and with future teammates Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault joining him at the top of Team USA’s forward core — Hagens should give the United States a lot of confidence to repeat as champions.
Porter Martone, Brampton Steelheads (OHL), Canada
Projected to fall in the top three of the 2025 NHL Draft, Martone should be a standout player for Team Canada during the showcase. Martone recently wrapped his second season with the Steelheads (formerly of Mississauga) and scored 33 goals and 71 points in 60 games. The young winger was also a force to be reckoned with last year on the international stage as he scored five goals and 17 points in only seven games while captaining Canada’s U18 team.
Victor Eklund, Djurgardens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan), Sweden
Eklund is projected to fall toward the back half of the first round in 2025 but has every opportunity to push his name up the board. He’s undersized at 5-foot-11 but plays with such intensity that his game should translate nicely against North American players. Eklund split time between Djurgardens IF and Djurgardens IF J20 last season where he scored four points in 15 games for the former and 25 points in 30 games for the latter.
