Rangers Prospects Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue Win Back-To-Back Gold Medal For The U.S. At World Juniors

Sunday night saw a showdown in Ottawa between Finland and the United States to decide the winner of the 2025 World Junior Championship. Rangers prospects Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue had been big contributors for Team USA all tournament long, and didn't disappoint in the gold medal game.

Finland jumped out to a 1-0 lead about seven minutes into the game- threatening to derail the Americans' hopes of repeating as gold medalists. About five minutes later, though, Team USA would find an equalizer partly in thanks to the efforts of Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault.

The 19-year-old forward currently playing at Boston College made a play along the boards in the offensive zone to keep up the pressure- finding teammate Ryan Leonard in the high slot. Leonard would fire a puck on goal and the rebound would be tapped in by James Hagens to level the game at 1-1.

The assist was Perreault's seventh of the tournament, bringing him to 10 points overall and tying him for second in total points for any player in the 2025 World Juniors. When the final horn sounded, Perreault had been on the ice for two of the Americans' goals, earning him a plus/minus rating of plus-two on the night.

The contest could not be decided in regulation, with the third period ending 3-3 and both teams shortening their bench for the final frame. It quickly became clear which players the coaches for either team trusted the most.

Both Perreault and Fortescue featured heavily in overtime for the United States. When a team can have only three players on the ice and one of them is a defenseman, that defenseman often possesses the trust of their coaching staff. Fortescue getting multiple shifts in the overtime frame points to exactly how capable of a player he can be in the future.

Although the Rangers have had some playoff success in recent memory, they've been unable to get over the hump and win the ultimate prize. Prospects like Perreault and Fortescue, who are capable of playing and excelling in high pressure situations, are exactly what the Blueshirts need when planning for the future.