When Kraken draft choices Julius Miettinen and Jakub Fibigr skate onto the ice for the Dec. 26 start of the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Minnesota, they both arrive as leaders for their national teams. Miettinen, starring for Western Hockey League Everett this season, is a returnee from Finland’s silver medal finish at the 2025 World Juniors in Ottawa. Fibigr, enjoying a breakout season with the Ontario Hockey League's Brampton, notched five assists and served as a top penalty-killer for Team Czechia’s bronze-medal squad last winter.
“There's a natural tendency to look up to players like Julius and Jakub,” said Cory Murphy, Kraken director of player development. “Julius has been very involved in his pro game development, and our suggestions he’s done with no questioning.
“We had lunch recently in Everett. I asked him, what's the leadership group going to look like at World Juniors. He said, ‘I'm a leader on the team.’ He recognizes that’s a role he has now because he’s played in the tournament and he's played well [especially as a physical center with 6-foot-3, 207-pound size]. The coaches are going to be looking to Julius as a guy who can lead the way. The way he plays is in leadership. He plays hard, he's competitive, he competes on every puck, every faceoff. Teammates on the bench will be watching and realize they have to follow his lead.”
Fibigr turned heads last winter with near-perfect penalty killing as an 18-year-old. His upgraded offensive production with OHL Brampton this fall will be a factor as Czechia looks to medal in its fourth straight WJC tourney and fifth straight advancement to medal rounds, which would be the best since Czechia and Slovakia split nations.
“I had a call with ‘Fibs’ the night before he left [to join Team Czechia],” said Murphy. “We talked a lot about how they have a good team and that he will be counted on as a returning player. He said he remembered stepping on the ice for the first time last year and can appreciate what is going through the minds of players on his team, new to the experience, including fellow highly touted defensemen eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft. He knows part of his job is to bring that team together and settle everything down, let them know to go out and play. It's still just hockey.”
Fibigr and his Czech teammates will face a steep challenge in the final game on opening day, matching up with Team Canada for a Group B round robin game at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis (5:30 p.m., NHL Network is covering most games, including all involving the USA and Canada). Look for the Kraken prospect to build off his 2025 World Juniors play and his ongoing OHL season, in which he has notched eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points in 27 games. His goal total is already an OHL career-high in his third season, while he is on track to set career highs in assists and points.
Schedule Unfolds Dec. 26 to Medal Games Jan. 5
Miettinen and his Finnish brethren start against Denmark in another Group B game on Dec. 26 (12:30 p.m.) Miettine. That means Fibigr and Miettinen will meet in the round-robin in a Dec. 29 game (12:30) that will likely be pivotal to seedings for the quarterfinal round on Jan. 2.
Four of five teams in each group have a chance to move to the medal rounds of the semifinals, bronze medal, and gold medal games. Group B includes Czechia, Finland, Canada, Latvia, and Denmark, while Group A consists of USA, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Germany. Quarterfinals are Jan. 2 with semifinals Jan. 4 and medal games Jan. 5.
