Penticton Vees forward Simon Meier is heading back to the World Junior Hockey Championships.
For the second year in a row, the 19-year-old has cracked Team Switzerland at the 2025 edition of the tournament, set to begin in Ottawa on Boxing Day.
Meier, in his second season with the Vees, has four goals and 16 points in 25 games in 2024-2025.
The Regensberg, Switzerland product will be one of seven current or former BCHL players to suit up at the tournament, joining Canadian winger and Vees alumni Bradly Nadeau.
Meier is no stranger to representing his home nation on the world stage, doing so at last year’s world juniors as well as the 2023 IIHF Under-18 World Hockey Championship and 2022 Under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
With this year’s tournament running through New Year’s Eve, Penticton will be without Meier for at least the next two games. The Vees host the Blackfalds and Okotoks on Dec. 28 and 29, respectively.
Switzerland opens its tournament against Czechia on Dec. 26.