It’s officially World Juniors season, Insiders!
A look at the six LA Kings prospects who will be participating in the tournament this season, representing six different countries, as the tournament gets underway today in Minnesota.
Carter George
Back for another run at a gold medal, Carter George enters the tournament as the starting goaltender for Team Canada. George had a terrific tournament debut a season ago, though his team was ultimately knocked out by Czechia in the quarterfinals. Certainly wasn’t due to George’s play, as the 2025 second-round draft selection led the tournament with a .936 save percentage, a 1.76 goals-against average and two shutouts.
In pre-tournament action this winter, George made 19 saves on 20 shots in a 2-1 victory over Sweden and played 30 minutes against Denmark, allowing one goal in a 13-2 victory.
Had the chance to chat with George earlier this month in advance of the tournament, with his episode of All The Kings Men dropping earlier this morning! Enjoy the full conversation with George below, as he prepares for his tournament opener.
Liam Greentree
The only pair of teammates within the Kings system will be with the Canadians, as forward Liam Greentree joins George on the roster. Greentree is putting together another strong offensive season with OHL-Windsor, production and performance that was impossible for Hockey Canada to ignore.
Greentree has 16 goals from 23 games played this season and his 0.70 goals-per-game is the third best clip in the OHL among forwards with at least 20 games played. That follows his 2024-25 campaign, when he ranked third in the league with 49 goals. Greentree looks set to begin the tournament in a bottom-six role, though has the offensive upside to move up in the lineup as needed. Greentree was scoreless in pre-tournament action and will look to open his account at the tournament proper, when Canada plays against Czechia later on today.
More from Greentree below in this interview from over the summer, when he spoke about what playing in this tournament means to him.
Petteri Rimpinen
The only goaltender to outshine George at last season’s event was Rimpinen, who was selected as the tournament’s best goaltender and named to the all-tournament team for his performances with Team Finland.
Rimpinen ranked second in the tournament last season to George with a .933 save percentage but his performances in net won a pair of games in the knockout round, leading Team Finland to the gold-medal game. Rimpinen was outstanding in that game, as he made 36 saves, forcing the contest into sudden-death overtime, but ultimately he and his teammates fell one goal short in the extra session. Rimpinen will get one more shot this winter as he’ll be the starting goaltender once again with Team Finland.
More on Rimpinen here from a conversation over the summer at LA Kings Development Camp.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
Vojtech Cihar
Fresh off signing his entry-level contract with the Kings, Cihar is set to represent Czechia for his second appearance at the World Juniors. Cihar made the team last year as a draft-eligible player and has two seasons of eligibility remaining, including this one. Now a year older, with another season of professional hockey in Czechia under his belt, Cihar looks primed to play an enhanced role this time around after he was a depth player last winter.
Cihar, a second-round selection by the Kings this past June, has eight points (4-4-8) this season with Karlovy Vary HC in the Czech Extraliga, the top men’s hockey league in his native Czechia. It’s a statline that doesn’t look all that impressive when compared to some of the gaudier numbers you see in junior leagues but Cihar is playing regularly against men, as opposed to his peers, so the level of competition is higher, as are the stakes within the games. The tournament should be a step down in competition for Cihar and it’ll be interesting to see how he can translate his experience against players his own age. One to watch for over the next couple weeks.
Brendan McMorrow
McMorrow is an interesting selection here because he will likely play a defined role. In short tournaments, you often see players who might be thought to have higher upside left at home while players who are adept at filling certain roles are brought. That could be McMorrow a bit here. He’s a player who plays in a bottom-six role at Denver University but he’s a workhorse-type player who forechecks relentlessly and is comfortable impacting games even without high-end minutes. You need guys like that and McMorrow should get the opportunity here to show that he can deliver in that way with Team USA.
Playing on home ice, this will be McMorrow’s only opportunity to play in the tournament, as the Kings drafted him in June as an overaged selection, so he will age out next season. I’m excited to see McMorrow play. He didn’t attend Kings development camp over the summer due to a policy that Denver University has with incoming freshmen, so he hasn’t skated yet in a Kings setting. Be good to see what he can do in a higher-level setting and he’s maybe the prospect I’m most interesting in watching during the tournament.
Jan Chovan
Chovan, like Cihar, is returning for his second tournament, after he played in last season’s event as a draft-eligible player. Also similarly to Cihar, Chovan played in more of a depth role last season but could see elevated minutes this year with additional experience under his belt.
After he played last season at the U-20 level in Finland, the Slovakian-born Chovan moved to North America this season to play in the OHL with Sudbury, as he looked to get more comfortable with the game on the smaller rink and continue his development against his peers. Chovan has 18 points (7-11-18) with the Wolves this season, ranking fifth on the team in total scoring. Slovakia is less of a favorite than some of the countries his fellow Kings prospects play for, and an appearance in the quarterfinals would represent a good opportunity to potentially play for a medal. Another player I’m interested in getting a closer look at this week.
Group A Schedule, Kings Prospects
December 26 – Slovakia (Chovan) vs. Sweden, 10:00 AM Pacific
December 26 – United States (McMorrow) vs. Germany, 3:00 PM Pacific
December 27 – Slovakia (Chovan) vs. Germany, 11:00 AM Pacific
December 27 – United States (McMorrow) vs. Switzerland, 3:00 PM Pacific
December 29 – Slovakia (Chovan) vs. United States (McMorrow), 3:00 PM Pacific
December 31 – Slovakia (Chovan) vs. Switzerland, 10:00 AM Pacific
December 31 – United States (McMorrow) vs. Sweden, 3:00 PM Pacific
Group B Schedule, Kings Prospects
December 26 – Finland (Rimpinen) vs. Denmark, 12:30 PM Pacific
December 26 – Canada (George, Greentree) vs. Czechia (Cihar), 5:30 PM Pacific
December 27 – Canada (George, Greentree) vs. Latvia, 1:30 PM Pacific
December 27 – Czechia (Cihar) vs. Denmark, 5:30 PM Pacific
December 28 – Finland (Rimpinen) vs. Latvia, 1:30 PM Pacific
December 29 – Finland (Rimpinen) vs. Czechia (Cihar), 12:30 PM Pacific
December 29 – Canada (George, Greentree) vs. Denmark, 5:30 PM Pacific
December 31 – Czechia (Cihar) vs. Latvia, 12:30 PM Pacific
December 31 – Canada (George, Greentree) vs. Finland (Rimpinen), 5:30 PM Pacific
NHL Network will have broadcast coverage of the event in the United States. Full broadcast information for the tournament is available HERE.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
