Saskatoon product and Lethbridge star forward Brayden Yager (pictured, centre) will Captain Team Canada at the 2025 Double-I-H-F World Junior Championship later this month in Ottawa.

Blades’ defenceman Tanner Molendyk (pictured, right) and Oshawa forward Calum Ritchie (pictured, left) will serve as alternate captains, Hockey Canada announced Thursday morning. This is Yager’s second time representing Canada at the tournament. The 19-year-old Winnipeg N-H-L prospect scored two goals amongst five points and a plus-six rating through five games at the 2024 edition of the World Juniors. Molendyk also made last year’s World Juniors roster but was injured in pre-tournament play and unable to participate. Canada plays Switzerland Thursday night in Ottawa in pre-tournament action and opens the tournament-proper on Boxing Day, December 26, against Finland in the Nation’s Capital. One other pre-tournament game Thursday has Blades’ forward David Lewandowski and Germany taking on Kazakhstan. Following are news releases from Hockey Canada and the C-H-L…..

December 19, 2024

NR.099.24

BRAYDEN YAGER TO CAPTAIN CANADA’S NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM AT 2025 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Tanner Molendyk, Calum Ritchie to serve as alternate captains

OTTAWA, Ontario – Hockey Canada has announced that Brayden Yager (Saskatoon, SK/Lethbridge, WHL) will wear the ‘C’ for Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.

Joining Yager on the leadership group are Tanner Molendyk (McBride, BC/Saskatoon, WHL) and Calum Ritchie (Oakville, ON/Oshawa, OHL), who will serve as alternate captains.

“I am honoured to be named captain of Team Canada for the World Juniors on a team with so many great leaders, and I am excited for our group to take the ice in Ottawa and continue working towards our goal of winning a gold medal on home ice,” Yager said. “Tanner and Calum are great players and teammates that are deserving of this honour, and I look forward to serving on the leadership group with them and wearing the Maple Leaf with pride in front of Canadian fans.”

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day with four games, which includes Canada taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. Canada’s National Junior Team will also face off against Switzerland on Dec. 19, Sweden on Dec. 21 and Czechia on Dec. 23 in pre-tournament action on the Road to the World Juniors.

Brayden Yager, Tanner Molendyk & Calum Ritchie form Canada’s leadership group at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship

Brayden Yager (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL) will serve as captain, while Tanner Molendyk (Saskatoon Blades / WHL) & Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals / OHL) will be the alternate captains.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2024

TORONTO, ON — The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is pleased to congratulate the three CHL players who will form the leadership for Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. Specifically, Brayden Yager (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL) will wear the ‘C’ for Team Canada, while Tanner Molendyk (Saskatoon Blades / WHL) and Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals / OHL) will serve as alternate captains.

As one of four returnees from last year’s Canada’s National Junior Team, Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Brayden Yager comes into the 2025 World Juniors with plenty of experience. During the 2023-24 campaign, the 19-year-old from Saskatoon, Sask., helped lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to their first WHL title in the franchise’s 40-year history. This season, Yager has secured 34 points (12G-22A) in 23 games split between Moose Jaw and Lethbridge. Over his career, the Winnipeg Jets prospect has earned a WHL award every year. He first took home the 2021-22 WHL Rookie of the Year, before being awarded the WHL’s Sportsmanlike Player of the Year in consecutive years (2022-23 & 2023-24). Yager is also the reigning CHL Sportsman Player of the Year, and he won the CHL Rookie of the Year Award in 2021-22.

Selected for last year’s Canada’s National Junior Team but forced to miss the 2024 tournament due to a wrist injury, Saskatoon Blades defenceman and alternate captain Tanner Molendyk is currently on a point-per-game pace with 21 points (4G-17A) in 21 games this season. In 2023-24, the 19-year-old from McBride, B.C., posted career-highs in goals (10), assists (46), points (56), and plus/minus rating (+40) in 50 games. The 56 points last season were a 19-point improvement from the previous year. The two-way defenceman was also a first-round pick (24th overall) of the Nashville Predators at the 2023 NHL Draft.

Set to represent Canada at the World Juniors for the first time in his career, Oshawa Generals forward and alternate captain Calum Ritchie has registered eight goals and 34 points in 18 games – placing him on a near two-point-per-game average this season. In 2023-24, the 19-year-old from Oakville, Ont., helped lead the Generals to an OHL Eastern Conference title, producing a team-high 80 points (28G-52A) in 50 games during the regular season followed by a team-high 30 points (8G-22A) over 21 playoff contests. In last year’s OHL Coaches Poll, Ritchie was voted the Eastern Conference’s best playmaker. The Colorado Avalanche’s 2023 first-round pick also has experience on the international stage. Playing alongside Yager and Molendyk, Ritchie won gold for Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The Generals forward also earned a bronze medal playing for Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship.

Last Friday, Yager, Molendyk, and Ritchie were three of the 24 CHL players selected to represent Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is scheduled to take place from December 26 – January 5 in Ottawa, Ontario. With 25 players set to represent Canada at the 2025 World Juniors, the CHL accounts for over 95% of the 25-man roster.

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day with four games, which include Canada taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT. Canada’s National Junior Team will also face off against Switzerland on Dec. 19, Sweden on Dec. 21 and, Czechia on Dec. 23 in pre-tournament action on the Road to the World Juniors.