<p>Joshua Neuenschwander has become the youngest player to play at the World Juniors since 2001 after officially lining up in Switzerland’s game against Slovakia on Friday.</p>



<p>Neuenschwander started the game on the third line with Jamiro Reber and Jan Dorthe.</p>



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jonah Neuenschwander, Switzerland's 15-year-old forward, has officially been added to the team ahead of their game against Slovakia today.</p>— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEllisHockey/status/1872687681001668778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



<p>Neuenschwander becomes the first 15-year-old to compete in the tourney since Andrei Kostitsyn and Konstantin Zakharov played up front for Belarus, while Viktor Alexandrov did the same for Kazakhstan in 2001. Prior to that, the only other 15-year-old in World Junior history was Belarus goaltender Vitali Aristov in 1999.</p>



<p>Neuenschwander has played for the Swiss National League club Biel-Bienne’s U-20 team this season, where he has notched 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 26 games. Neuenschwander has also appeared in five games at the top National League level, registering one assist.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="153"></div>



<p>Neuenschwander recorded 20 goals and 12 assists during the 2023-24 campaign. </p>



<p>The 15-year-old is not draft-eligible until 2027. Among other youngsters participating in the 2025 World Juniors are chock full of 16-year-old Latvians, which include Roberts Naudins, Olivers Murnieks, Martins Klaucans, and Rudolfs Berzkalns, as well as Canada’s Gavin McKenna, who just turned 17-years-old. </p>



<p>Switzerland dropped their first game to Czechia on Thursday by a score of 5-1, but will look to bounce back in the game against Slovakia. The Swiss have lost in the quarterfinal in each of the the past three tournaments, and last made the medal round when they finished fourth back in 2019.</p>
