Top 2025 Draft Prospect Suffers Injury at WJC

One of the top 2025 NHL Draft prospects suffered a brutal looking injury at this year's World Junior Championship. Canadian defensive prospect Matthew Schaefer, one of the fastest climbers in the 2025 draft rankings, suffered an apparent shoulder or upper-body injury in Canada's game against Latvia.

It was a brutal looking play for the Canadian defender. As Schaefer skated through the neutral zone, he attacked the middle of the ice and dished the puck to team captain Brayden Yager. The give-and-go worked to perfection as Schaefer became wide open in the offensive zone. Yager fed the puck to him and he put a shot attempt on the Latvian goaltender, but as he attempted to round the net he clipped the goal post with his upper body at full speed.

The collision was nasty, and Schaefer stayed down on the ice in visible pain for a few minutes. Thankfully, he was able to get up and skate off the ice under his own power, but he was favoring his left-side and shoulder as he exited to the locker room. He did not return for the rest of the game.

It was an overall disappointing and disheartening day for Canada. The team lost one of their key defenders with Schaefer's injury and dropped a heartbreaking game to Latvia. It puts their record to 1-1 in Group A, and it's already put the team on the brink of another WJC catastrophe.

Following the game, Hockey Canada did not provide any injury status for Schaefer. They have very limited time to get an update and test his readiness to play. Canada plays its third game of group play against Germany in just two days. It would love to have one of their most skilled blue liners available, but it's likely that he will miss at least a few games if he is able to come back for the tournament at all.