As Team USA goes for its unprecedented second consecutive gold medal, returning forward Ryan Leonard will wear the “C.” The Boston College star and Washington Capitals prospect was widely expected to be the player picked to be USA’s leader after eschewing an NHL contract in the offseason in part to be part of this team.

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In addition to Leonard, USA will put letters on four other returning players. Zeev Buium (MIN), Oliver Moore (CHI), Danny Nelson (NYI) and Gabe Perreault (NYR) will all serve as alternate captains.

Leonard is currently in his sophomore season at Boston College and is one of college hockey’s best players. He has 12 goals and 19 points in 16 games played so far. He had 60 points in 41 games as a true freshman, including a whopping 31 goals.

At last year’s World Juniors, Leonard had six points in seven games. One of his three goals was the one that iced USA’s gold-medal game victory against Sweden, celebrating the goal by blowing a kiss to the crowd.

Leonard has had a penchant for scoring big goals as he also scored the OT game-winner at the 2023 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship that secured USA the gold medal. There will be a total of 14 players on USA’s World Junior roster from that team as well.

In addition to helping U.S. win gold at the WJC last year, Leonard was invited to the Men’s IIHF World Championship, playing with and against NHL players. He had one assist in six appearances at that tournament.

After last season, Leonard had a chance to sign with the Capitals, potentially even playing for them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but Leonard wanted to stick around for another year of college. Among the reasons was the opportunity to captain this U.S. team and his age group in their final amateur international tournament.

As for the alternate captains, all four are from the 2005 birth year and each played a role in last year’s gold-medal win.

Gabe Perreault, Leonard's linemate at BC, is the top returning scorer from last year’s team as he had 10 points, seven of which came in the playoff round including a three-point effort in the gold-medal game. He is a first-round pick of the New York Rangers.

Minnesota forward Oliver Moore had three points at last year’s event while moving up and down USA’s lineup as a bit of a versatile option that could fit any role he was needed in. He is a first-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks

Danny Nelson had two points in the tournament, but was a factor on USA’s penalty kill and in tough defensive matchups. He is a second-round pick of the New York Islanders.

Buium, meanwhile, had five points from the blue line including a goal in the gold-medal game. As one of USA’s top pro prospects and most experienced players, he is expected to play massive minutes at the World Juniors, being leaned on perhaps more heavily than anyone else. He is a first-round pick of the Minnesota Wild.

USA will play two pre-tournament games before the World Juniors goes live on Dec. 26. The Americans go head-to-head with Slovakia in Kingston, Ont., Saturday night, before taking on Finland on Dec. 23. Neither game is expected to be broadcast or streamed.

The U.S. opens the World Junior Championship on Dec. 26 against Germany at 2:30 p.m. ET. FloHockey will be providing extensive editorial coverage of the tournament with a team on site.

Follow FloHockey's Coverage Of Team USA At The WJC

FloHockey is providing comprehensive editorial and video coverage of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. With a team of content creators on site and leading WJC analyst Chris Peters providing stories and columns throughout the event, make FloHockey your home to learn more about the 2025 World Juniors. FloHockey will be following Team USA and Team Canada closely, while tracking the rest of the tournament on site. See all the stories here.

In addition to comprehensive editorial coverage, FloHockey is helping you learn more about Team USA with a number of video features with select players. Here's what we have so far, with more to come!

Original Video Features

• Trey Augustine Prepares For Third WJC
• James Hagens Ready For The Spotlight
• David Carle Looks To Become First Coach To Go Back-To-Back
• Carey Terrance Looking To Represent USA, Akwesasne Reservation
• Ryan Leonard Says NHL Can Wait As He Chases Another Gold With Team USA

How To Watch The 2025 World Junior Championship

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship will air on TSN and RDS on television in Canada. The tournament will be streamed on TSN+ in Canada, as well. 

In the United States, NHL Network will be the television home of the World Junior Championship. Streaming information for USA is not currently available.

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