The World Junior Championship, which begins on December 26, is a breath of fresh air into the middle of the hockey season. While NHL teams are amid the monotony of an 82-game regular-season grind, this tournament interjects with high-stakes games every night. National pride is on the line as well, and with NHL participation in Olympic and World Cup lacking, this is the highest-stakes international men's hockey on offering.

It's also a glimpse into the future of the NHL. Yes, phenoms like Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, and Logan Cooley have already made the jump and therefore are absent from this tournament. This is still a collection of highly impressive teenagers from around the world, though. Many of them will make the NHL. Some of them will be star players. One of them will probably go first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Here are 10 NHL prospects worth watching at the 2024 World Junior Championship.

Macklin Celebrini (Canada, 2024 Draft)

He's not Connor Bedard, but Macklin Celebrini is the runaway choice for the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 and, at only 17 years old, he should be one of the top players at the World Junior Championship.

An accelerated freshman at Boston University, Celebrini is third in the NCAA in points per game, tallying 10 goals and 15 assists in 15 games. The center is slick with the puck and has elite vision. He's the type of player who can make lesser linemates play above their means and make plays by himself when the game calls for an individual effort.

This is the weakest Canada WJC roster in a while. If they are to win gold, then they will need Celebrini to step up and play beyond his age.

Cutter Gauthier (USA, Philadelphia Flyers)

Make a list of players at the WJC who will have the best NHL careers, and Cutter Gauthier would not top the list. In fact, it's no guarantee that he's top-three on the U.S. roster.

But when it comes to anointing the best player at the tournament right this moment, the Flyers prospect might be the answer.

Gauthier, drafted fifth overall in 2022, is a modern day power forward. The Boston College winger is 6'2" and is fast in his north-south movements. He has a quick, heavy release. It's a lot to ask him to be the next Chris Kreider, but the Flyers do hope he can at least fit that type of mold at the NHL level some day.

The 19-year-old produced six goals and four assists in seven games for Team USA in 2023 and, as the top player on the gold-medal favorites, he is expected to shine above the rest.

Jiří Kulich (Czech Republic, Buffalo Sabres)

The Buffalo Sabres have done the Czech Republic a massive favor. Kulich, 19, leads the AHL in goals (16 in 23 games) and one could make the argument that he belongs in the NHL rather than at a junior tournament.

The center has a hard wrist shot when given the time to load his legs, but he also unleashes devastating one-timers from afar. He's a pure goal-scorer, but that's not the totality of his game. Though he is only 5'11", he plays a heavy game, and his strength should be noticeable in this teenage competition.

The Sabres are spiraling at the NHL level, and with a strong tournament, he might convince the team to promote him to Buffalo.

Lane Hutson (USA, Montreal Canadiens)

Picture in your head what the best defenseman at the World Junior Championship might look like. Is he 5'9" and 160 pounds? Probably not.

Yet that's what Team USA is getting in Lane Hutson, and those measurements are generous. The diminutive Michigan native enters the tournament as the defenseman expected to make the biggest impact. Hutson fell to 62nd overall in 2022. After a freshman season at BU in which he collected 48 points in 39 games, many NHL teams probably have regrets.

Hutson is incredibly agile and moves around obstacles with the puck like it's nothing. the physical mismatch matters little, because opposing players have trouble even touching him. Add in great vision and a quick wrist shot, and you have the makings of a future Montreal Canadien whose potential lies somewhere in the middle of Torey Krug and Quinn Hughes.

Dalibor Dvorský (Slovakia, St. Louis Blues)

Slovakia is in midst of a hockey revival, churning out young talent for the first time in 20 years. Though they'll be without Juraj Slafkovský and Šimon Nemec, the 2024 roster is good enough to earn its first medal since it won bronze in 2015.

To do so, they'll need Dalbor Dvorský to lead the way. The center went 10th overall to St. Louis in the 2023 draft and made the move to Canada; he has 18 goals and 16 assists in 20 games for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL.

There are questions about what Dvorský's ceiling might be at the NHL level, but he is undoubtedly a force at 18 years old. He's strong on his skates, battles hard, and puts the puck in the net. He's a bona fide first-line center at the World Junior level, and it shouldn't be long before he's in the St. Louis Blues' lineup.

Axel Sandin Pellikka (Sweden, Detroit Red Wings)

The best collection of defensemen in the tournament belongs to Sweden, and it's not particularly close. One could argue Tom Willander is the best of them all. The Vancouver Canucks, who drafted him 11th overall in June, presumably take that position.

But Axel Sandin Pellikka is right there with him. At least for this specific tournament, his traits might be separating. Sandin Pellikka is an offensive dynamo. At just 18 years old, he is already one of the premier defensemen in the Swedish Hockey League. The Red Wings' 2023 first-round pick has nine goals and four assists in 25 games for Skellefteå.

If he's not better than Willander, then he's at least more mesmerizing with the puck. He moves in all four directions effortlessly and finds every seam in the offensive zone to exploit. He is very good at unlocking defenses to create high-danger scoring chances. Though he can be inconsistent and prone to errors, he's going to flash his skill the entire tournament and end up on some highlight reels.

Matthew Savoie (Canada, Buffalo Sabres)

This is 2024 Canada roster is weak, which is to say that it is still very capable of winning gold. The defense is fine but unspectacular, goaltending is a major question mark, and while they are incredibly deep at forward, they are light on individual difference-makers.

Their best bet is Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie. He was drafted ninth overall in 2022 and has 24 points in 11 games for the Wenatchee Wild of the WHL this season. Savoie is 5'9" and 179 pounds and has work to in order to become physically ready for the NHL level.

At the World Juniors, though, he is primed to stand out. He plays with a high motor, is a quick skater, and he can make plays in all areas of the ice. He drives possession, he can beat defenders, and he is equal parts shooter and passer. On a Canada roster that is four lines deep, Savoie is a cut above the rest and needs to be Canada's best forward for them to win the tournament.

Will Smith, Gabe Perreault, and Ryan Leonard (USA)

Three players get grouped together here because they cannot—or will not—be separated.

Will Smith (4th), Ryan Leonard (9th), and Gabe Perreault (23rd) were all drafted in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft to the Sharks, Capitals, and Rangers, respectively. All three played on a line together for two years at the U.S. National Team Development program.

The three decided to stick together, committing to Boston College, and they've continued to thrive as a line.

Smith is an all-situations center who plays a complete game and does everything at a high level. Leonard is a good skater who plays with a lot of energy and has a scoring touch. Perreault makes up for subpar skating with phenomenal hockey IQ, hands, and playmaking sense.

As freshmen, Leonard has 10 goals in 17 games, Smith has 23 points as the team's top center, and Perreault leads the team with 25 points.

Familiarity is a luxury at the WJC, where a group of players with limited experience on the ice with each other have just a few practices and warm-up games to figure each other out. Individually, this trio are all top prospects, but their Sedin-like chemistry is an anomaly in a tournament like this, and they should be Team USA's X-Factor.