Will the first pick in the draft be determined at the World Juniors?

There is nothing certain about the identity of the player who will be the very first pick in the next NHL draft, but the World Juniors could provide us with important clues.

Currently, American center James Hagens, Canadian forwards Porter Martone and Michael Misa as well as Canadian defenseman Matthew Schaefer seem involved in a four-way fight for the title of best prospect of the 2025 NHL vintage.

And the main three, Hagens, Martone and Schaefer, have carved out a place for themselves on their respective national teams.

Who will stand out from the crowd?

A good tournament could greatly help the case of one or other of these talented hockey players. Historically, several prospects have greatly improved their rating by presenting at their best at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Just think of Leo Carlsson two years ago in Halifax. Without dominating, he had a better tournament than Adam Fantilli and, from that moment on, he entered the conversation among the most serious candidates for second place in the draft, behind Connor Bedard, who ended up being finally product.

Same thing for Nico Hischier in 2017. After an excellent tournament with Switzerland, he distanced himself from the one who, at that time, was his closest rival, the striker Nolan Patrick, to become the very first choice in the auction in following June.

“Of course we are aware of the discussions [au sujet de la lutte pour le premier rang du repêchage]but we try not to think about it too much,” Schaefer admitted during the Junior Team Canada selection camp in Ottawa two weeks ago. Nothing will happen until draft day anyway.

Gold before the draft

Schaefer and Martone will have the opportunity to experience this together as they will both represent Canada.

“He’s a great guy and we became very close. I played with him in the Under-18 World Cup and obviously against him. It will be cool to experience that with him,” Schaefer added of Martone.

Hagens, for his part, should pilot an explosive unit with Ryan Leonard and Gabriel Perreault, on the American side.

The December 31 match between the two teams is therefore likely to be interesting from several points of view.