The 2025 World Junior Championships concluded on Sunday night with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory for the United States to capture their second straight gold against Finland. It's the first time that the U.S. has ever won gold two years in a row. While none of the Hurricanes' three representatives in Ottawa medaled, they still had a solid showing.
Bradly Nadeau, Canada
It was an overall disappointing tournament for the host country, failing to advance to the semifinals in consecutive years for the first time ever. Both years, their defeat in the quarterfinals came to Czechia, but this year's was especially brutal. It came shortly after one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history as Canada lost to Latvia in a shootout during pool play.
Bradly Nadeau probably would've like to have seen more goals and points on the board. Nadeau scored a pair of goals in five games. He netted Canada's only goal on the power play in their 4-1 loss to the U.S. and the tying goal late in the third period of the quarterfinals before Czechia scored to win with 40 seconds left in regulation.
Nadeau was the only player on Canada's roster to score multiple goals in the tournament. He was one of several players with multiple points, finishing tied for third. Nadeau has already returned to the lineup for the Chicago Wolves. He scored in his first game back on Saturday and is now tied for fourth in goals on the Wolves this season with seven.
Oskar Vuollet and Felix Unger Sorum, Sweden
It was a much better tournament for Sweden, who finished fourth after a marathon shootout loss in the Bronze Medal Game against Czechia. The Swedes won Pool B after a perfect start to the tournament before stumbling in overtime against Finland in the semifinals. The Hurricanes had two players represented on Team Sweden.
Oskar Voullet was sparingly used during their seven-game run. He averaged just over five and a half minutes per contest but did manage to pot a goal during their 8-1 win over Kazakhstan in pool play. It was his only point of the tournament, though he finished with eight shots.
Felix Unger Sorum couldn't be stopped. He was setting up his teammates left and right. Unger Sorum finished tied for second in scoring among all participants with ten points and had a tournament-high nine assists. Two of his helpers came in the Bronze Medal Game on Sunday. Unger Sorum participated in last year's event, recording six points in seven games.
Though none of their representatives are coming home with any hardware, this could serve as a good experience for all three players. It might even propel Nadeau and Unger Sorum to spots with the Hurricanes sooner rather than later. Next year's World Juniors will be in Minnesota as the Americans aim for their third straight gold medal.