For the first time in history, the United States has successfully defended gold at the IIHF world junior championship.

Outstanding performances were the story of the tournament this year. For the first time in recent memory, there were no complaints of “too many blowouts” or “not enough parity.” Every team in the tournament was capable of a competitive game, making for a very unpredictable round robin and medal round.

From surprise upsets to last-minute goals to overtime thrillers and a shootout that lasted far too long, Ottawa put on a fantastic tournament from top to bottom.

In addition to the team competition, this was also a showcase for top prospects (both drafted and those who will be selected in 2025 and 2026), with execs and scouts from all 32 NHL teams in attendance. Here’s a look at players who stood out the most for each team, along with my take on each country’s overall performance:

Jump to a team:
Canada | Czechia
Finland | Germany
Latvia | Slovakia
Sweden | Switzerland
United States

Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, continuing the future Hall of Famer’s career at age 42 in one of the pitcher-friendliest stadiums in baseball.

Verlander, entering his 20th major league season, is considered perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, with the most innings pitched, strikeouts and wins among active players. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and joins a Giants team likewise looking for better results than 2024. The deal is pending a physical.

Shoulder and neck injuries limited Verlander to 17 starts, and over his last seven he posted an 8.10 ERA. With a falling strikeout rate and climbing home run rate, Verlander began to show signs of aging after a career in which he seemed impervious to it.

After a dominant 13-year stretch with the Detroit Tigers, Verlander found a second life after joining the Houston Astros in 2017. He won Cy Youngs in 2019 and 2022 — and after the latter signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the New York Mets. Verlander spent 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to the Astros in August 2023.

Over his career, Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA over 3,415⅔ innings. He has struck out 3,416 batters, walked 952 and won a pair of World Series with the Astros.

Returning to Houston wasn’t an option for 2025. With Oracle Park a dream for pitchers, Verlander gravitated toward the Giants, whose rotation includes right-hander Logan Webb, left-handers Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, and a number of other options for the fifth spot, with right-hander Hayden Birdsong seen as the likeliest candidate.

The Giants had spent a month with limited action before signing Verlander. A month ago to the day, they agreed with shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract.

San Francisco, which hired former star catcher Buster Posey as its president of baseball operations in September, went 80-82 last season and finished in fourth place in the National League West, which is arguably the best division in baseball.

After showing signs of life on offense in 2024, Iowa is making moves to carry that momentum into 2025.

Former South Dakota State star quarterback Mark Gronowski has committed to Iowa, he told ESPN on Tuesday.

Gronowski, who made an official visit to Iowa on Jan. 3, also strongly considered the NFL, as he had already been issued an invite to the NFL scouting combine, sources told ESPN.

He is the top remaining quarterback in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings, the No. 4 overall quarterback and No. 19 overall player. He’s the most experienced and accomplished quarterback available in this cycle.

“It’s a great coaching staff,” Gronowski told ESPN of the Hawkeyes. “With Coach [Tim] Lester being there and being in the NFL last year and bringing an NFL offense to Iowa, it’s a great opportunity to develop as a player, learn an NFL offense and win a lot of games.”

He comes from a dominant career at South Dakota State, where he tied the FCS all-time mark with 49 wins as a starting quarterback and won two national titles.

Gronowski brings dual-threat capability to the Hawkeyes, as he’s thrown for 10,330 yards and 93 touchdowns and ran for 1,767 yards and 37 touchdowns.

“The culture at Iowa reminds me a lot of the classic Midwest culture I grew up in,” Gronowski said. “It’s a family atmosphere, and all the coaches are welcoming. It’s a similar situation to where I’ve been. It’s a big part of why I ended up going there.”

Iowa finished 129th out of 130 teams in scoring offense in 2023, averaging 15.4 points per game. The Hawkeyes improved this season under Lester, averaging 27.7 points per game to rise to No. 72 in the rankings.

Lester worked for the Green Bay Packers prior to coming to Iowa and brought with him the NFL offense run by Matt LaFleur that’s derived from Kyle Shanahan’s tree.

That appealed to Gronowski.

“It’s the Shanahan system that they are running there,” Gronowski said. “That’s what a lot of NFL teams are running. My goal throughout the process of transferring was getting in a situation to become the best player and be the best potential prospect for the NFL.”

There’s still plenty of work to go in Iowa’s passing game after they averaged 131.6 yards per game through the air this season — fifth worst in college football.