Matthew Schaefer's World Juniors debut cements status as a No. 1 overall-worthy talent

Matthew Schaefer only played one full game at the World Juniors tournament, but that performance will keep him top of mind when scouts debate the best player in the 2025 NHL Draft.

In his 20 minutes of ice time, he displayed all his qualities. Watching him explode up and down the ice, recover pucks deep in his end, and send them to teammates across zones, one could easily believe that he will become one of the top defencemen in the NHL in a few years.

James Hagens featured ahead of Schaefer on our pre-World Juniors ranking, but that was because we couldn’t place two prospects in the first overall slot. The only element that pushed Hagens ahead was his track record, his 102-point USHL season, and long-standing status as an elite prospect.

Schaefer is now starting to accumulate a similar perfor