The preliminary games at the 2025 World Junior Championship just concluded.
Let’s take a look at how the Utah Hockey Club’s prospects are faring in the tournament.
Vojtěch Hradec, Czechia
Vojtěch Hradec’s seven points have him tied as the third-highest scorer of the tournament.
It’s easy to assume that such an achievement doesn’t mean much because the bulk of those points came against a bottom-feeding Kazakhstan team, but keep in mind that every team in Group B played Kazakhstan.
Dozens of players had the chance to pad their stats like Hradec did, but he’s still among the top scorers.
The 6-foot-4 winger plays in the Czech Extraliga, where he has seven points in 20 games playing among men. He’s not likely to make the NHL in the next year or two, but it’s certainly possible that he does at some point.
Michael Hrabal, Czechia
Goaltender Michael Hrabal has the fourth-best save percentage of any goalie in the tournament. He has played three of Czechia’s four games, with his only rest coming against Kazakhstan — a game they could confidently win without him.
In 16 NCAA games with UMass this year, Hrabal has a 2.49 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
Goalies typically take much longer to develop than skaters do, so it’s unlikely that he finds himself in a Utah jersey anytime soon. He will likely head to the AHL once he’s finished in college, at which point he’ll get the chance to play occasional NHL games and ease into the big league.
Melker Thelin, Sweden
Another goalie, Melker Thelin, has been Sweden’s go-to guy this tournament. Like Hrabal, the only game he didn’t play was against Kazakhstan. He has a 3.00 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage in his three games.
Thelin has been decent in the Allsvenskan league, Sweden’s second tier of professional hockey. He’s still a long way out from the NHL at this point, but all it takes is one or two really good seasons to get a serious chance.
Veeti Väisänen, Finland
Finnish defenseman Veeti Väisänen managed a secondary assist in his team’s 3-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday. Offense is hardly in his job description, so don’t take that as a bad thing.
Väisänen has played a shutdown role all tournament and has done an excellent job at it.
It’s Väisänen’s first year playing in North America. He joined the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers and has played a similar role for them.
Cole Beaudoin, Canada
Like Väisänen, Cole Beaudoin has managed just one assist in the tournament. But also like Väisänen, his responsibility is less about putting the puck in the net and more about keeping it out of his own.
Beaudoin has been an agent of chaos all tournament long, creating havoc around the net and battling it out in the corners.
At the end of the first period in Canada’s game against the United States on Tuesday, Beaudoin mixed it up with American defenseman Drew Fortescue, making sure to return all the punches he received. That’s the type of grit that Beaudoin brings — and it will fit in perfectly in the NHL.
Beaudoin has scored more than a point per game in the AHL this year. He had an incredible showing at Utah’s training camp in September, to the point where the coaching staff chose to keep him in the top group, rather than maintaining the scheduled rotation which would have put him back in the lower group on certain days.
Whether it’s in the NHL or the AHL, nobody would be surprised to see Beaudoin switch to professional hockey next season.
What’s next?
All of Utah HC’s prospects made the elimination rounds of the tournament, which begins on Thursday.
All games will be broadcast on the NHL Network. For a full game schedule, see the NHL website.