Porter Martone, Matthew Schaefer set for Canada's world junior stage as NHL draft looms

Porter Martone and Matthew Schaefer have won together. They've also battled on opposite sides.

The pair are now eyeing gold for Canada at the upcoming world junior hockey championship. And after that, the teenage stars will pivot to the next hurdle in their young careers.

The 2025 NHL draft.

Martone and Schaefer are expected to be among a handful of players in the mix for the No. 1 selection in June.

Martone is an 18-year-old power forward with a skill set teams covet. Schaefer checks in as a 17-year-old defenceman with elite ability on both sides of the puck.

"Porter is in the fabric of every game," said Hockey Canada's Peter Anholt, who heads the country's under-20 program. "You would never call him a perimeter player."

Anholt added that Schaefer's ability comes from his skating and what's between the ears.

"He defends with his feet and his hockey sense," Anholt said. "He's as elite as there is."

The six-foot-three, 208-pound Martone plays for the Ontario Hockey League's Brampton Steelheads, while the six-foot-two, 183-pound Schaefer suits up for the rival Erie Otters.

The pair also helped Canada win gold at the under-18 world championship in the spring.

"Great guy," Schaefer said of Martone. "I've got really close with him. It's super cool to do this with him."

Martone had similar praise for Schaefer.

"Tremendous hockey player and a tremendous person," Martone said. "What he does every day on the ice is pretty amazing."

Canada is expected to lean heavily on the two underagers along with 2026 projected No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna, who turns 17 on Friday, at the tournament set to run Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Ottawa.

"A lot of golden goals," Schaefer said of his favourite world junior memories. "I loved just every