By Owen Cameron, The Hockey News intern

With the 2025 NHL season now at a close, the focus shifts to the off-season with free agency and the draft. Teams are now looking for players who can show up when it’s most needed, that being the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The best way to judge the draft prospects on how they perform under the bright lights is in their respective junior and national tournaments.

Let’s have a look at some prospects all over the globe to see just how well they play when the moment is at its peak.

Canada

Forward: Caleb Desnoyers, Moncton (QMJHL)

Desnoyers is a top prospect who played in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the CHL vs. USA Hockey National Team Development Program Prospects Challenge, and he played in the Memorial Cup for the Moncton Wildcats. Amongst all those tournaments, he combined 11 games played, nine points, and a minus-4. His top performance came in the Hlinka Gretzky, where he put up five points in five games while being a very solid center in his own zone and scoring the game-winner in the gold medal game.

Defenseman: Matthew Schaefer, Erie (OHL)

Schaefer is the top-rated in this year's draft for a good reason. He was one of three draft-eligible players to play for Team Canada at the world juniors, but his tournament was cut short after he fractured his collarbone against Team Latvia. Schaefer still managed to put up two points in his two games played at the world juniors, but his performance at the Hlinka Gretzky is what put him in the first-overall pick conversation, where he had six points in five games, securing gold for Canada.

Goalie: Jack Ivankovic, Brampton (OHL)

Now committed to the University of Michigan, Ivankovic was a stud for Canada this past year. In 12 international games played, he put up a .921 save percentage and a 1.41 goals-against average. He was also the youngest player on Team Canada’s world junior roster. While only playing one game in the tournament against Latvia, the 6-foot goaltender became the first 17-year-old to start a game for Canada in the world juniors since Jimmy Waite in 1987.

USA

Forward: James Hagens, Boston College  (NCAA)

Hagens only played one international tournament this year, that being the world juniors, but in it, he was amazing. In seven games played, he dropped five goals, nine points and finished as a plus-9. Hagens may have slid down draft boards for scouts, but when the lights were bright, he stepped up.

Defenseman: Blake Fiddler, Edmonton (WHL)

Blake, son of long-time NHLer Vernon Fiddler, developed his talents in Dallas and then moved to his Dad’s hometown of Edmonton, Alta. where he plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Although he can play for Canada, Fiddler throws on the red, white, and blue jersey when playing internationally.

In 12 games played for Team USA at the world juniors and Hlinka Gretzky, Fiddler had seven points while having a plus-4 average rating. Despite playing in Canada, he was named captain of Team USA at the Hlinka Gretzky tournament last summer and produced four points in five games.

Goalie: Ryan Cameron, Lone Star (NAHL)

In a very weak goaltending class for the Americans, it was very hard to find a goalie with any tournament experience at all, but Ryan Cameron was the starter for Team USA during the Hlinka Gretzky and put up serviceable numbers, considering he wasn’t coming from a big program like the NTDP. In four games played, Cameron had a 3.02 GAA and a .882 SP.

Sweden

Forward: Victor Eklund, Djurgarden (Swe.)

Eklund has been playing internationally for Sweden since he was 15 years old, and he produced yet another great year in front of NHL scouts. He had an amazing tournament at the world juniors where in seven games played he posted six points as well as a plus-7 rating. Not too many junior players can put up consistent numbers like Eklund, especially with the energy and grit that Eklund plays with.

Defenseman: Sascha Boumedienne, Boston University (NCAA)

Boumedienne took over the World Men's Under-18s, posting the second-most points in the entire tournament with 14, and he did that in just seven games. This tournament showed improvement from his last U-18 tournament, which was the Hlinka-Gretzky. In five games at the Hlinka-Gretzky, he had no points, but he secured the bronze medal with Sweden.

Goalie: Love Harenstam, Skelleftea AIK (Swe.)

One of my favourite goalies in this draft, Harenstam, played 12 international tournament games this year and had a 3.02 GAA and a .895 SP. His performance at the Hlinka Gretzky caught the eyes of many scouts, with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 SP in four games.

Finland

Forward: Roope Vesterinen, HPK (Liiga)

Although Vesterinen isn’t a highly touted prospect, he was the only draft-eligible player on the Finnish world junior team. In seven international tournament games played, he posted two points, with both of those coming at the Hlinka Gretzky.

Defenseman: Lasse Boelius, Assat (Liiga)

I mentioned Sweden’s Harenstam as one of my favourite goalies in the draft, and Boelius is one of my favourite sleeper picks in this year's draft. In nine games played, he put up seven points and a minus-4 rating. Boelius is currently rated as the 12th-best international skater by NHL Central Scouting.

Goalie: Patrik Kerkola, KalPa (Liiga)

Kerkola is the 6th highest-ranked goalie according to NHL’s Central Scouting list, and in his eight international games played, he averaged a 2.38 GAA and a .889 SP. His top performance came at the Hlinka Gretzky, like most players, where he put up a 2.32 GAA and a .912 SP in three games.

Czechia

Forward: Adam Benak, Youngstown (USHL)

There were Czech-born players with more tournaments played, but with Benak comes a little bit of controversy. The 5-foot-7 center tore the Hlinka Gretzky tournament apart as a 17-year-old and as a 16-year-old.  In a combined 10 games at the tournament over two years, Benak had 21 points, which should have earned him a spot on the World Junior team this year. However, that wasn’t the case for him.

After moving to America for junior hockey, there was speculation that he would get snubbed off the team, and that ended up becoming true. It was also the case for another Czech-born player who went to play in North America.

Defenseman: Radim Mrtka, Seattle (WHL)

Mrtka seemed to be more of a slam dunk than Benak when it came to making the world junior team. Mrtka was the No. 1 defenseman for Czechia at the Hlinka Gretzky and led them to the gold-medal game, where they lost to Canada. In 10 international games, he put up six points at a minus-2 rating. The kicker is that the guy is 6-foot-6 and a projected lottery pick.

Goalie: Michal Orsulak, HC Energie (Cze.)

Not a huge sample size to go off of but Orsulak played in four international games and posted a 3.40 GAA and a .846 SP. The main portion of his games came at the World Men's Under-18s, where he had a 3.79 GAA and a .854 SP.

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.