More Than 50 U.S. Junior Current Players And Alumni In The World Juniors Championships

Nearly half of those players- 24 total - are on Team USA! 

By Joshua Boyd 

The World Junior Championships of 2025-26 is seeing 54 U.S. Junior Hockey alumni suiting up for all 10 teams in the top championship group that dropped the puck Dec. 26. The Champion nation will be crowned on Jan. 5. 

All of us at The Dan K Show wish every one of the participants the very best of luck - and may the best nation win - which would be Team USA, of course! Team USA leads the U.S. junior current player/alumni survey with 24 players (only the OHL's A.J. Spellacy did not play in a U.S. junior league) 

If you want a couple dark horses to cheer for (when Team USA isn't involved), Slovakia and Latvia each have 9 U.S. junior alumni on their rosters. 

Chase Reid, Team USA, D 
Reid played his first junior games with the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2023-24, competing in 10 USHL games during a season in which he also played for Victory Honda's 16U AAA team. In 2024-25, Reid started the season with the NAHL's Bismarck Bobcats, before moving to the OHL's Soo Greyhounds in November 2024. He remains with the Greyhounds this season, and is a consensus Top 10 pick for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. He had a 1-2-3 line in the first three games for the U.S.

William Horcoff, Team USA, F
A first-round pick (24th overall) of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Horcoff is a veteran of 42 USHL games. He played 35 of those with the U.S. National Under-17 team in 2023-24. He played seven more USHL games with the National Under-18 team, and finished with 13 career points. The son of NHL alum Shawn Horcoff, William is currently tied for the team lead at the University of Michigan with 28 points in 20 games. In the first three WJC games, he had a 1-1-2 line. 

Asher Barnett, Team USA, D
Barnett is a current Michigan teammate and former National Team teammate of William Horcoff, playing a total of 56 games and scoring 12 points between 2023-25 with the Under-17 and Under-18 teams. Last summer, Barnett was drafted in the fifth round (131st overall) by the Edmonton Oilers. His younger brother Abe is currently on the U.S. Under-18 Team and will join Asher at Michigan next year. 

Cole McKinney, Team USA, F
You begin to see a pattern that most of these players have represented the U.S. before with the National Under-17 and Under-18 teams. Like Horcoff and Asher Barnett, he is also skating currently for the University of Michigan, and he is an NHL Draft Pick. The San Jose Sharks selected him in the second round (53rd overall) last summer. McKinney posted 37 points in 57 USHL games between 2023-25 for the National U-17 and U-18 teams. He had an assist through the first three games. McKinney earned an assist on Will Zellers' GWG in the 2-1 win against Switzerland.

L.J. Mooney, Team USA, F
Mooney may have once been a National Team teammate of a few of these gents above, but now they are heated rivals - Mooney currently suits up for the University of Minnesota. After posting 51 points in 58 games for the National Under-17 and Under-18 teams between 2023-25, the Montreal Canadiens selected him in the fourth round (113th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. He had his first two WJC assists in the back-and-forth 6-5 win over Slovakia on Dec. 29. 

Max Plante, Team USA, F
Up at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Plante is in his second year with the Bulldogs. Plante played for the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 teams between 2022-24, scoring 54 points in 60 USHL games. Coming off the 2023-24 season, the Detroit Red Wings drafted him in the second round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft with the 47th overall selection. Max is the son of former NHLer Derek Plante. He scored a goal in the Dec. 26 opener against Germany. 

Brendan McMorrow, Team USA, F 
McMorrow is a three-year alum of the USHL, playing two years (2022-24) with the U.S. National teams, before moving on to play for the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2024-25. He had 74 points in 123 regular season games, and added 17 points in 18 postseason contests. Currently playing for the University of Denver, McMorrow was selected in the seventh round (196th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. McMorrow had a 1-2-3 line through three games. 

Adam Kleber, Team USA, D
A second-year University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog alongside Max Plante, Kleber played for the USHL's Lincoln Stars between 2022-24, scoring 35 points in 125 combined regular season and playoff games. Kleber was second round (47th overall) selection by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Kleber had an assist against Germany on Dec. 26. 

Cole Eiserman, Team USA, F
Eiserman makes his second appearance at the WJC (along with Kleber, Plante and other returning Gold medalists to come). He played for both the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 teams in the 2022-23 season, before playing exclusively with the U18 team the next year, totaling 78 points in 56 USHL games. A 2024 NHL Entry Draft first round pick by the New York Islanders (20th overall), Eiserman is in his second season with Boston University. Eiserman opened the tournament with a goal against Germany. 

Teddy Stiga, Team USA, F
Stiga was a two-year teammate at the National Team level with Cole Eiserman, but the two face each other across a stark divide, as Stiga is currently with Boston College. In 57 USHL games, he scored 51 points before being taken in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators in the second round (55th overall). He had two assists in the first three games. 

James Hagens, Team USA, F 
Joining Stiga at Boston College is Hagens, who joined Eiserman in playing for both the Under-17 and Under-18 teams in 2022-23. Hagens finished with 87 points in 57 USHL games, and his 1.53 points per game average ranks third among former National U17/U18 players in this country's top junior league - the two above him are some guys named Jack Hughes and Auston Matthews. Seeing this potential at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft were the Boston Bruins, who selected Hagens with the seventh overall selection. Hagens had assists in each of the first two games of the tournament, and then two goals in the wild outing against Slovakia for four points in three games. 

Ryker Lee, Team USA, F 
Lee played in the USHL for the Madison Capitols, with the bulk of his action in the league coming in 2024-25. He joined the Caps from Shattuck-St. Mary's in 2023-24 for two games. After the end of the next season, he had 79 points in a combined 69 regular season and playoff games. He was also selected in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators, joining them onstage with the 26th overall selection. He scored his first WJC goal against Slovakia on Dec. 29. 

Cole Hutson, Team USA, D
Like his Boston University teammate Eiserman, Hutson split the 2022-23 season between the National Under-17 and Under-18 teams. His two-year USHL tenure saw him produce 37 points in 51 games ahead of landing on Boston's Commonwealth Avenue. He was the leading scorer of the World Junior Championships en route to the Gold Medal. In the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Hutson was selected by the Washington Capitals in the second round (43rd overall). He stepped out with two assists against Germany to kick off his WJC journey.

Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen, Team USA, D  
Rheaume-Mullen joins Horcoff and Barnett at the University of Michigan, which he joined in 2024 after two seasons with the National Under-17 and Under-18 teams, respectively. Rheaume-Mullen finished with 23 points in 68 combined regular season and playoff games in the USHL. His mother Manon Rheaume was the first (and only) female to appear in an NHL game, playing goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992 and 1993 preseason games. 

E.J. Emery, Team USA, D 
Emery joins the long list of players here that played with the National Under-17 team in 2022-23 and the Under-18 team the next year, ultimately finishing with 16 points in a combined 69 regular season and playoff games. In the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Rangers called him to the stage with the 30th overall selection. That fall, he was playing his first of two seasons so far with the University of North Dakota. 

Kamil Bednarik, Team USA, F
Another Boston University Terrier here, Bednarik's National Team resume includes 69 regular season and playoff games in the USHL, over which he produced 61 points. Prior to Bednarik joining the Terriers in 2024, the New York Islanders selected him in the second round (61st overall). Bednarik notched his first point, an assist in the 6-5 win against Slovakia.  

Shane Vansaghi, Team USA, F
Vansaghi joins Team USA from Michigan State University, and he is a 2025 NHL Entry Draft second round (48th overall) selection by the Philadelphia Flyers. Vansaghi's two-year USHL stint with the National Teams saw him post 18 points in 61 combined regular season and playoff games. 

Logan Hensler, Team USA, D
Hensler returns to the World Juniors in the midst of his second season with the University of Wisconsin. Hensler's time in the USHL between 2022-24 was with the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 teams, and he came out with 37 points in 68 regular season and playoff games. He was a 2025 NHL Entry Draft first round selection (23rd overall) by the Ottawa Senators. 

Brodie Ziemer, Team USA, F
Ziemer has been named Captain of Team USA at the World Juniors, and he brings a good resume, including obviously the 2025 Gold Medal as one of the eight returning players. This year, he has been a point-per-game player through 19 games for the University of Minnesota, which he joined in 2024 from the USHL's National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams. He scored 54 points in 69 regular season and playoff games. Ziemer was selected in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in the third round (71st overall) by the Buffalo Sabres, joining Team USA teammates Kleber and Luke Osburn as Sabres prospects on the team. He scored a goal vs. Switzerland and an assist vs. Germany to kick off the tournament, and he is tied with James Hagens for second on the team in scoring with four points in three games. 

Luke Osburn, Team USA, D
A teammate of Hensler at the University of Wisconsin, Osburn came to the Badgers from the Youngstown Phantoms between 2023-25. He scored a combined 67 points in 125 regular season and playoff games. The blueliner was selected in 2024 by the Buffalo Sabres with the 108th overall selection in the fourth round.

Will Zellers, Team USA, F
Zellers is the second currently active University of North Dakota player on Team USA, and the only alum of the Green Bay Gamblers on the squad this year. While playing for Shattuck-St. Mary's alongside Ryker Lee, Zeller played in his first USHL game with the Gamblers during the 2022-23 season. The next year, he played the full campaign for the Gamblers and scored 71 points in 52 games last year to finish third in USHL scoring. The Boston Bruins selected him in the third round (76th overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Zellers' game-winner helped Team USA beat Switzerland in a close 2-1 game on Dec. 27, and he had an amazing 2-1-3 line vs. Germany. Against Slovakia, he had the GWG and an assist to improve to a team-leading six points in three games.

Caleb Heil, Team USA, G 
Heil is one of only two current United States Hockey League players on the Team USA roster. The goaltender was chosen after a season and a half on the Madison Capitols, over which he's played in 89 games and won 49 of those between the regular season and postseason. The University of North Dakota recruit was selected in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning (seventh round, 193rd overall). Heil got the win over Germany in Team USA's opener. 

Nicholas Kempf, Team USA, G
A second-year University of North Dakota goalie, Kempf joined the Fighting Hawks out of the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-17 and Under-18 teams. In 37 combined regular season and playoff games, he won 17. He was selected in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals in the fourth round (114th overall), joining Cole Hutson as a Caps prospect. He got the win against Switzerland with 16 saves, and against Slovakia he stopped 26 shots for that close win. 

Brady Knowling, Team USA, G 
Knowling, the youngest on the team as a 2008-born player, is currently with the U.S. National Under-18 Team. He has played 18 games in the USHL since 2024-25 (when he was on the Under-17 Team), and he has four wins. Knowling is eligible for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.  

Michael Hage, Team Canada, F
Any chemistry Hage has with his University of Michigan teammates playing for Team USA is sidelined until Jan. 5. Hage played for the Chicago Steel between 2022-24, and scored 91 points in 75 games, the third-most of any Steel player during his tenure there, and his 62 points in 53 Michigan games is the second-most for a Michigan player since 2024-25. Hage was drafted 21st overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, one pick after Cole Eiserman was taken by the Islanders. He was a sensation for Canada early on, scoring the OT goal in the 2-1 battle with Latvia, and posting a 1-2-3 line vs. Czechia, including an assist on the GWG in that game. He had two assists vs. Denmark to improve to six total points, putting him at second on Team Canada. 

Vaclav Nestrasil, Team Czechia, F
Nestrasil joined the Muskegon Lumberjacks for 11 games in the 2023-24 season and was a regular the next year in Muskegon. All told, he finished his time in the USHL with 42 points in 72 regular season games, and 13 points in 14 additional playoff games. He joined the University of Massachusetts in 2025-26, after the Chicago Blackhawks selected him 25th overall in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, marking the third of four USHL players picked in a row (joining fellow WJC'ers Hensler, Horcoff and Lee). Nestrasil has the third most points for Czechia, with a 2-2-4 line, including the GWG vs. Denmark. 

Adam Benak, Team Czechia, F
Before joining the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs this season, Benak played for the Youngstown Phantoms in the 2024-25 season. He led last year's Phantoms with 59 points in 56 games, and also had three points in three playoff games. Right after the season, the Minnesota Wild selected Benak in the fourth round (102nd overall pick). Benak has dished out three assists over his first three games. 

Markus Jakobsen, Team Denmark, D
Jakobsen joined the Sioux Falls Stampede in November, just prior to Thanksgiving. Over seven games, he has posted a goal and four assists for five points, after joining from the BCHL. He earned this year's trip to the top group after helping Denmark win Gold in the Division 1 Group A tournament last winter. He had one assist in three games for Denmark. 

Andrew Bjergstad, Team Denmark, F 
Bjergstad played with the Lone Star Brahmas from September through October, skating in six NAHL games before joining Denmark for the run-up to the WJC. He had previously represented Denmark at the World Under-18's. 

Lucas Clian Hjorth Jensen, Team Denmark, F
Jensen skated one game with the NAHL's Amarillo Wranglers before returning to Denmark to play for his hometown Aalborg Pirates. He spent two prior seasons in North America, including an appearance at the U.S. High School Nationals with St. John Bosco High of California in 2024-25. 

Heikki Ruohonen, Team Finland, F
The current Harvard Crimson forward started his North American hockey career with the Dubuque Fighting Saints during the 2024-25 season, the year he also made his World Junior Championship debut and earned the Silver medal. With the Saints, Ruohonen scored 43 points in 56 combined regular season and playoff games. The Philadelphia Flyers selected Ruohonen in the fourth round (107th overall) in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. With a 1-4-5 line, he is tied for the lead in Finland scoring after three games. 

Gustavs Griva, Team Germany, F
Griva is the third leading scorer on this year's Madison Capitols team, with 19 points in 21 games, joining Team USA's Caleb Heil on the 2025-26 Capitols roster. 

Simon Seidl, Team Germany, F
The USHL was also the first hockey stop in North America for Seidl, who played for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders in 2024-25. Over 21 games, he posted a 3-2-5 line and also made his debut in the World Juniors' top group last year. He is currently playing for EV Landshut in Germany's second pro division, but he has also seen time in the top DEL with the Straubing Tigers. He scored one of the goals against Team USA in Germany's 6-3 loss. 

Olivers Murnieks, Team Latvia, F
Voted Latvia's Best Player in the 2024-25 World Junior Championships, Murnieks returns as a USHL alum, having played in 2024-25 with the Sioux City Musketeers. He scored 37 points in 57 combined regular season and playoff games. This year, the 2008-born Murnieks is playing for the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs and NHL eyes are on him. Some pundits see him as a Top 50 pick next summer. 

Rudolfs Berzkalns, Team Latvia, F
Another 2008 keeping NHL scouts' attention over this 10-day period is the second-year Muskegon Lumberjacks forward Berzkalns. Over his 70 games in the USHL, he has scored 24 points. He is also in his second year with Team Latvia at the WJC, and he is bound for Boston College in 2026-27. NHL Central Scouting projected him as a later-round pick, but he could improve his stock with a solid tournament. Berzkalns had Latvia's only goal through two games, but it was a big one as it forced Canada into OT before that perennial power could get a win. 

Nils Roberts Maurins, Team Latvia, G 
Maurins started the season with the NAHL's Bismarck Bobcats before being promoted to the USHL's Omaha Lancers, for whom he has played in 16 games this year. Maurins, in his first WJC U20 event, stopped all 42 shots faced on Dec. 12 in a game against the Youngstown Phantoms, so he certainly has big games in him. Maurins made 36 saves on 37 shots in the OTL against Canada. 

Kristians Utnans, Team Latvia, F
Utnans returned to the U.S. this year for the first time since playing for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes in 2022-23. This year, he's been a regular with the NAHL's Kenai River Brown Bears, scoring eight points in 21 games. 

Dmitrijs Dilevka, Team Latvia, F
In 2024-25, when Dilevka made his WJC debut with Latvia, he played a full season with the Watertown Shamrocks, alongside Team Switzerland's Phileas Lachat and Latvian teammate Antons Macijevskis. Lachat posted 23 points in 51 games there, before moving to the BCHL's Brooks Bandits for this season. Dilevka assisted on Berzkalns' goal against Canada. 

Martins Klaucans, Team Latvia, F
Klaucans is in his third North American season, having started in 2023-24 with the Rockets Hockey Club's 15U team in the Tier 1 Hockey Federation, also seeing time with their 16U and 18U teams that year. His NAHL stint was in 2024-25 with the St. Cloud Norsemen, where he finished with 13 points in 46 games. He made his WJC debut last year, and ahead of his second appearance, he was playing for the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Phoenix. 

Krists Retenais, Team Latvia, D
A Brooks Bandits teammate of countryman and Team Latvia mate Dilevka, Retenais started the 2024-25 season in the NAHL with the Aberdeen Wings before his move to the BCHL. 

Krisjanis Sarts, Team Latvia, D
Sarts is another Team Latvia player out of U.S. junior hockey playing his second WJC, and also another who started in North America with the St. Cloud Norsemen where he teamed up with Klaucans. He scored eight points in 47 NAHL games last year, and is currently with the BCHL's Blackfalds Bulldogs. Sarts had an assist and was a +1 as Latvia pushed Canada into OT on Dec. 26, eventually falling 2-1. 

Antons Macijevskis, Team Latvia, F
Macijevskis is in his second year with the Watertown Shamrocks, suiting up there with Latvian teammate Dilevka and Switzerland's Lachat. Macijevskis has 28 points in 72 career NAHL games, and is also a second-year Team Latvia representative. Macijevskis was among many Latvian players listed here who played the youth ranks together with the HS Riga program. 

Samuel Murin, Team Slovakia, F
Murin is in his first North American season currently with the Tri-City Storm. In 21 games, he has a line of 4-1-5. With the Storm, Murin is a teammate of his Slovakia teammate goalie Michal Pradel. Murin had an assist against Germany in the team's second of three games. 

Adam Belusko, Team Slovakia, D 
A Muskegon Lumberjacks teammate of Latvia's Rudolfs Berzkalns (and Team Slovakia's Luka Radivojevic), Belusko joined the USHL this year after a season in the WHL. Belusko has scored eight points in 27 games this year, and already has one goal in the World Junior Championship after two games. He scored a goal in Slovakia's 4-1 win over Germany on Dec. 27, and a shorthanded goal that put Slovakia up 3-1 over Team USA in an epic game the U.S. eventually turned around for a 6-5 win.  

Alex Misiak, Team Slovakia, F
Misiak's first North American experience came with the 2024-25 Waterloo Black Hawks, with whom he posted 18 points in 28 games last year. There, he was a teammate of Team USA's Brendan McMorrow. Misiak has since moved to the OHL's Erie Otters for the 2025-26 season. He earned an assist in Slovakia's close 3-2 loss to Sweden on Dec. 26. 

Tobias Pitka, Team Slovakia, F
Pitka is Team Slovakia's Captain and also a current freshman at Northern Michigan University. During the 2022-23 season, Pitka played in five games with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL, who had selected him in the 2022 USHL Entry Draft. Pitka was playing for South Kent Selects Academy for the bulk of that season, and then played for the Victoria Grizzlies in the BCHL the next two years before this first NCAA season. He registered an assist against Sweden in the 3-2 Dec. 26 loss, and then opened the scoring against Team USA, giving him two points in three games. 

Luka Radivojevic, Team Slovakia, D
Radivojevic has gotten to know several fellow WJCers such as Berzkalns and Belusko with Muskegon in 2024-25, and USA players Teddy Stiga and James Hagens with Boston College this year. Radivojevic scored 22 points in 42 combined regular season and playoff games last year. He registered an assist in the 4-1 win against Germany on Dec. 27, and had two assists against Team USA, including on the final goal of the game. 

Michal Liscinsky, Team Slovakia, F
Liscinsky played with the Minnesota Wilderness of the NAHL this year through October, competing in a total of eight games and scoring five points. He returned to Slovakia and that country's HC Kosice pro squad before the WJC. He previously played on the Brooks Bandits in 2024-25, helping his teammates (including Krists Retenais of Team Latvia) win the BCHL championship. 

Michal Capos, Team Slovakia, D
Capos, a Western Michigan University recruit, first hit North American ice in 2024-25 with the Johnstown Tomahawks of the NAHL. In 21 games there, he earned two assists. He is currently skating in the WHL with the Wenatchee Wild. 

Michal Pradel, Team Slovakia, G 
Pradel has been a huge bolt of energy for the Storm for the past two seasons, and with that, he has been part of Team Slovakia's WJC entry for two tournaments now as well. Pradel's .916 save percentage is Top Five in the USHL currently, and he carried his strong play in the league into the tournament, earning his first WJC win with 34 saves on 35 shots against Germany. With the Storm, he is 18-14-2-1 with a career .910 save percentage in a combined 38 regular season and playoff games. The 2025 Detroit Red Wings draft pick (third round, 75th overall) made 34 saves in the 4-1 win against Germany, and 35 saves in the loss to Team USA. 

Alan Lendak, Team Slovakia, G 
Lendak had been the Fargo Force's main man in net up until his Dec. 22 trade to Des Moines, for whom he has not yet played with the arrival of the WJC. Including an amazing 42 appearances in 2024-25, Lendak has played in a total of 53 regular season and playoff games with a record of 25-25-1-1. He played admirably with 29 saves in a one-goal 3-2 loss to an always tough Sweden entry on Dec. 26. 

Sascha Boumedienne, Team Sweden, F
Boumedienne played his sole USHL campaign in 2023-24 with the Youngstown Phantoms, scoring 27 points in a combined 51 regular season and playoff games. He was alongside Team USA's Luke Osburn with the Phantoms, and is currently a Boston University Terrier with Team USA's Kamil Bednarik, Cole Hutson and Cole Eiserman. He is the son of former NHL player Josef Boumedienne. After three games, Boumedienne had two assists. 

Phileas Lachat, Team Switzerland, G
Lachat played the bulk of his 2024-25 season with the Watertown Shamrocks of the NAHL, but did see his first three games with the Waterloo Black Hawks. He is now a bedrock goaltender with the Black Hawks, playing there alongside Team USA's Brendan McMorrow and Team Slovakia's Alex Misiak. He has won five games in his 18 appearances with the Black Hawks. He won 12 NAHL games with the Shamrocks in 31 appearances last year.  

Christian Kirsch, Team Switzerland, G 
Before Kirsch came to North America, he was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft with the 116th pick in the fourth round. He started 2024-25 with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL and was then acquired by the Janesville Jets of the NAHL. While playing for the Jets (24 games), he was called up for two additional Green Bay games for a total of three in the USHL. He won eight games last year in the NAHL. This year, he was selected by the Kitchener Rangers in their import draft, and is now playing with Kitchener in the OHL. He is in his second WJC with Switzerland. He played well with 18 saves on 20 shots in Switzerland's 2-1 loss to Team USA. 

Notes: 

- Slovakia's Jakub Dubravik is listed on the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers roster, but has not yet played a game in North America outside of the WJC. The Buccaneers announced he will join the team at the conclusion of the WJC. 

- Czechia's Richard Zemlicka was listed as an "Add" to the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms on Dec. 18, but has not yet played a USHL game.