Ottawa, Ontario (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A trio of Buffalo Sabres prospects came away from the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship with some hardware following Sunday's medal games at the tournament.
2024 second-round defenseman Adam Kleber and 2024 third-round forward Brodie Ziemer were part of a United States roster that ended up going back-to-back at the World Juniors for the first time in tournament history, earning a gold medal.
Meanwhile, 2024 first-round pick Konsta Helenius ended up falling just short to the United States in Sunday night's Gold Medal Game, earning a silver medal with Finland.
The United States got off to a bit of a slow start in the Gold Medal Game on Sunday, falling behind 3-1 just 4:52 into the second period. However, the U.S. got a pair of goals from forward Brandon Svoboda (San Jose Sharks) and defenseman Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) to tie the game at 3-3 late in the frame.
After a scoreless third period, the game went to a 3-on-3 overtime period, which was mostly controlled by the Americans.
At the 8:04 mark of the first overtime period, the game ended up falling on the stick of Teddy Stiga (Nashville Predators), who cut in behind the Finnish defense and slid a puck through goalie Petteri Rimpinen for the golden goal in Ottawa.
Brodie Ziemer
The 2025 World Juniors was an impressive tournament for Ziemer, who only got better with each and every game he played.
Over his seven games at the tournament, Ziemer ended up scoring three goals and adding four assists for seven points, while also registering 13 shots on goal, and a +4 rating, while averaging 15:25 of total ice-time.
Ziemer played in just about every situation possible for the United States throughout the tournament, which included time on the second power play unit, a key contributor on the penalty kill, and even moved himself up the lineup during the tournament with his solid play.
In Sunday's Gold Medal Game, Ziemer was on the ice in the 3-on-3 overtime, and provided the secondary assist on Stiga's golden goal after leaving the puck behind the U.S. net for defenseman Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild) to begin the breakout.
Ziemer was, arguably, the hardest working forward on the Team USA roster at the World Juniors tournament. The 18-year-old was impressive on the forecheck, tenacious on pucks, played with plenty of confidence, and was constantly providing a presence at the opposing net.
The Freshman at the University of Minnesota will return to college to continue his 2024-25 season with the Golden Gophers. So far through 20 games in college, Ziemer has scored eight goals and added three assists for 11 points.
Adam Kleber
After Kleber found himself as a healthy scratch for the U.S. in Game 1 of the tournament, the 18-year-old was able to play in six games for the Americans, picking up an assist, two shots on goal, a +5 rating, and a pair of penalties taken in 12:29 of average ice-time.
In Sunday's Gold Medal Game, Kleber only played 9:58 of ice-time, but was a +1 on the evening for the U.S.
The right-shot defenseman brought his size and solid two-way game for the Americans, and provided some nice depth minutes on the blue line throughout the tournament.
The lumbering defenseman will return to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he will continue his Freshman season with the Bulldogs. He has registered an assist, as well as a -1 rating in 15 games played.
Konsta Helenius
Helenius' second World Juniors tournament saw him play a significantly more prominent role for Finland, and he seemed to step up to the challenge.
In his seven games for the Finns at the 2025 tournament, Helenius finished with six assists, while also putting up 15 shots on goal, and registering a -1 rating in 19:20 of average ice-time.
Where Helenius struggled a bit was in the faceoff dot, especially playing as Finland's top line center throughout the tournament.
Despite that, Helenius was still one of the more reliable forwards for Finland at even strength, while also contributing on the off-wing on the Finn's top power play unit.
That solid play also earned Helenius honors as one of the Top-Three Players for Finland in the tournament, as selected by the coaches.
Helenius did have a stellar game against Sweden in the semifinal round, in which he picked up three assists in Finland's overtime win to punch their ticket to Sunday's Gold Medal Game. That game did see him have a good day in the faceoff circle, winning 77.8% of his draws, while also recording a shot on goal and a -1 rating in 20:41 of ice-time.
In Sunday's loss to the Americans, Helenius struggled again in the faceoff dot (18.2%), while putting up a -1 rating in 21:06 of work on the ice.
Now Helenius will return to the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League, where he will look to continue building on a strong start to his first season in North America. The 18-year-old so far has 17 points (6+11) in 28 games played with the Amerks.
Anton Wahlberg
Unfortunately for Wahlberg and his home nation of Sweden, they, once again, fell short of a medal at the World Juniors, this time losing in a shootout in the Bronze Medal Game to Czechia.
Despite coming away empty-handed in the end, Wahlberg certainly stepped up his play at the World Juniors in his second year with the Swedes. In his seven games played, Wahlberg scored four goals and added four assists for eight points, while registering 25 shots on goal, a +7 rating, and averaging 18:48 of ice-time.
Wahlberg did all he could to try and help the Swedes to a medal in the tournament, putting up an assist, 10 shots on goal and a +1 rating, while averaging an impressive 23:17 of ice-time in the final two games of the tournament.
In Sunday's Bronze Medal Game, Wahlberg was a physical force against a sturdy Czech group, using his size and strength to outmuscle opposing defenders and get into position to create offense. While he had an assist and a team-high six shots on goal through regulation and overtime, the Swedes never turned to him in the 14-round shootout with a medal on the line.
Czechia ended up getting the game-winning goal in the shootout from captain Eduard Šalé (Seattle Kraken) to capture the nation's third medal in the tournament (one silver, two bronzes) in as many years.
Wahlberg still comes away with some hardware in his time at the World Juniors, though, having won a silver medal with Sweden at the 2024 tournament back in his home country.
The 19-year-old will also be returning to Rochester following the tournament, where he will also look to build off a strong start to his first full season in North America. The power winger so far has four goals and six assists for 10 points in 25 games with the Amerks.
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