Ottawa is hosting the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship through Jan. 5, including eight Seattle Kraken prospects on four of the tournament teams.
Each morning, we’ll list the schedule of games involving Kraken draft choices, as well as results of games played the previous day, with a focus on Seattle prospect achievements.
Dec. 30 Games Involving Kraken Prospects
Canada, Sweden, Finland and Czechia all resume play on New Year’s Eve.
Dec. 29 Results Involving Kraken Prospects
Team records in parentheses.
(2-0-1) Canada 3
(0-3-0) Germany 0
(3-0-0) Sweden 7
(0-3-0) Switzerland 5
(2-1-0) Finland 4
(2-0-1) USA 3 (OT)
(3-0-0) Czechia 4
(1-2-0) Slovakia 2
Kraken Prospect Highlights
Team Sweden: One of the less-heralded Kraken prospects in the tournament continues to make a name for himself. Forward Zeb Forsfjall (pronounced Fors-fall, ignoring the “J”) scored once and added an assist in the 7-5 victory over Switzerland. Through three games for Sweden, all wins, Forsfjall has four points and is +3.
Team Canada: Defenseman Caden Price added offense, a badly-needed insurance goal against Germany with five minutes to play. Billiard pros don’t make bank shots any finer.
Remarkably, for the second straight game, that was the only 5-on-5 goal scored by Canada. TSN (Canada’s ESPN) asked Berkly Catton if his team was getting frustrated with a lack of scoring chances. Catton, who assisted on Canada’s first goal, replied, “I am generating a lot of chances. They’re just not falling.” This is true – Catton had five more SOGs Sunday, lifting his total to 16 in three games.
Carson Rehkopf did see action for the first time in the tourney, but not much. His nine shifts and 7:48 of ice time were by far the lowest of all Canada’s forwards.
Team Czechia: Captain Eduard Sale (at left in photo, wearing the C) has led Czechia to a perfect 3-0 start to the tournament.
He scored two goals Sunday (see videos below) and now has three for the tournament on nine shots. Two of those goals have come on the power play.
In the highlight below, watch for Sale’s precision snipe on the PP. The super-slo-mo replay shows how Sale threads an almost impossibly small opening between the goalie’s shoulder and the crossbar.
Team Finland: Julius Miettinen didn’t want to be left out of the Kraken prospect scoring parade. While Team USA momentarily relaxes, expecting a whistle for offside, Miettinen takes advantage to give Finland the lead in a game they eventually won in overtime. The Everett Silvertips standout took three total shots and finished +1.