Top Performaces at the World Juniors By 16 & 17 Year Olds

Usually dominated by drafted prospects 18 years and older, here are some special performances by undrafted players at the World Juniors.

The 2025 World Junior Championship is only a few weeks away, and it has already become clear that some teams will have undrafted prospects aged 16 and 17 in their lineup when the tournament begins on Dec. 26. Selection camp rosters have been announced for a few nations including Team Canada and Team USA and we see prospects like Gavin McKenna, Matthew Schaefer, Porter Martone, James Hagens, Cole Hutson, Blake Fiddler, and Samuel Hillebrandt dotting the festivities.

While all of them probably won’t make the final rosters, a few like McKenna, Hagens, and possibly Schaefer and Martone will make the trek to Ottawa to compete for a medal - prospects that participated in the 2024 U18 World Championship only a couple of months ago.

So, in the spirit of that, I thought it would be fun to look back at the history of the World Juniors and highlight some of the top performances by 16 and 17-year-olds. There are a few eye-popping displays including one not that long ago by a recent first-overall pick and of course, the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

Top Performances By 16-Year-Olds

Wayne Gretzky, 1978 World Juniors

Of course, Gretzky leads the way when it comes to 16-year-olds at the World Juniors. Amid a season that saw him finish with 70 goals and 182 points in 64 games with the Soo Greyhounds in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL), he starred for Team Canada in the 1978 World Juniors. He finished with eight goals and 17 points in six games, seven points better than Wayne Babych. Amongst older players and future stars Mike Gartner, Stan Smyl, and Rick Vaive, he dominated the competition and still leads all 16-year-olds in scoring at the World Juniors.

Wayne Gretzky, Team Canada (Photo by Frank Lennon/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Unfortunately, Gretzky’s efforts did not lead Canada to a gold medal, as they walked away with a bronze. He did, however, get named the tournament’s best forward and finished with the most assists and points. He never played in another World Juniors after that, as he starred for the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers and Edmonton Oilers in 1978-79, and the NHL until he was ineligible for the tournament. His next international experience came in 1981-82 when he was 21 years old, dominating the 1982 Canada Cup and World Championship with a combined 11 goals and 26 points in 17 games.

Gretzky’s dominance at the age of 16 was a precursor of what was to come as he finished with 894 goals and 2,857 points in 1,487 NHL games. He also had a prominent international career with Team Canada, participating in four Canada Cups, one World Cup of Hockey, and one Winter Olympics.

Robert Reichel, 1988 World Juniors

The next great performance by a 16-year-old came ten years later when Czechia’s Robert Reichel starred in both the 1988 European Junior Championship (EJC) and the 1988 World Juniors. After winning gold at the EJC leading Czechia with eight goals and 12 points in six games, he continued his production at the WJC with three goals and 11 points in seven games. Like Gretzky, he only walked away with a bronze but had two medals from international competitions under his belt at the young age of 16.