OTTAWA — It’s a very busy Thursday here at the world junior championship with every team scheduled to play, starting with Germany taking on Kazakhstan in relegation action at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT. The quarterfinal matchups break down as follows:
Sweden vs. Latvia: Noon ET / 9 a.m. PT at TD Place
USA vs. Switzerland 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT at Canadian Tire Centre
Finland vs. Slovakia 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT at TD Place
Canada vs. Czechia: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT at Canadian Tire Centre
Here’s a preview of the four quarterfinal matchups:
Sweden vs Latvia
• The Swedes ran the table in the preliminary round, posting a perfect 4-0 record. They’ve outscored their opponents 24-10 and have the top power-play in the tournament (35 per cent).
• Sweden is led by the leading point producer at the tournament, defenceman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who contributed four goals and four assists in pool play.
• An area Sweden can be exposed, however, is its penalty kill. It is only killing off 60 per cent of its man disadvantages, having given up six of its ten goals when down a man.
• Team Latvia is the Cinderella team at this year’s world junior hockey championships. Goaltender Linards Feldbergs has played every minute of every game for Latvia and he’s been busy. Feldbergs has faced, on average, over forty shots per game, but he’s been up to the challenge so far, posting a 3.14 goals against average and .926 save percentage.
• Despite only capitalizing on 2 of 15 power-play opportunities, Latvia has enough skill to expose a weak penalty kill.
• Team captain Eriks Mateiko is a hulking forward (six-foot-six, 209 pounds) who has the skill and shot to score timely goals. He leads Latvia with three tucks, including the game-winning goal versus Team Canada in the shootout.
• Latvia’s penalty kill will have to be up to the challenge of facing Sweden’s power play. Latvia only killed 50 per cent of their penalties in the round-robin.
USA vs Switzerland
• Team USA is coming off a huge rivalry win over Canada and appears to be rounding into form overall. They scored three power-play goals versus the Canadians and netminder Trey Augustine played his best game of the tournament.
• Defenceman Cole Hutson is tied with Sweden’s Sandin-Pellikka for the tournament-scoring lead. Hutson quarterbacks the American’s power play. He contributed two goals and six assists in the preliminary round.
• The American team is loaded with elite scoring depth. Cole Eiserman, and draft-eligible forward James Hagens have both produced two goals and four assists, while Danny Nelson, Brodie Ziemer, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault are all averaging a point per game.
• Team Switzerland arrives in the quarter-finals after defeating Kazakhstan in their final preliminary-round game by a score of 3-1. The Swiss play an up-tempo, aggressive style of hockey. They aren’t the most skilled group overall, but they usually aren’t an easy out.
• The Americans will have to play a disciplined game versus Switzerland. The Swiss have the second-ranked power-play at the world juniors. They have capitalized on 32 per cent of their man-advantage opportunities (6-for-19).
• Swiss goaltender Christian Kirsch is a San Jose Sharks draft pick (4th round, 116th overall in 2024). He’s a big body (six-foot-four, 196 pounds) who tends to get a bit too active in his crease, but also sprinkles in some timely saves. He will have to be Switzerland’s best player if they plan to give the Americans a close game.
Finland vs Slovakia
• Team Finland lost their first game of the tournament 4-0 to Team Canada. They ran off three straight wins to finish the preliminary round, including a hotly contested win over Team USA in overtime (4-3).
• Finland’s success on the world stage is predicated by its overall team game and structure. It has to play with exceptional detail to have success. This version of Finland sits ninth in tournament shooting percentage (6.37 per cent) and ninth on the power play (12.5 per cent). The good news is It has been perfect on the penalty kill, not allowing a goal on thirteen disadvantages, and it leads the tournament with a .940 team save percentage.
• Buffalo Sabres prospect Konsta Helenius is Finland’s most dangerous forward off the rush and in the offensive zone. He’s always in motion, plays quick and sees the ice to make plays. Helenius has three assists in the preliminary round. Helenius averages over 19 minutes per game for Finland. Almost all of his ice time comes at even strength and on the power play.
• Slovakia is a team that can take advantage of opportunities it is given when their opponent lacks discipline. It has enough skill to capitalize on the power play.
• Team Slovakia is led by forward Dalibor Dvorsky. Dvorsky is playing in his fourth world junior tournament. He’s sitting one point out of the tournament scoring lead with four goals and three assists. Dvorsky is exceptionally dangerous on the man advantage, and when time and space open up for him to direct pucks on net. He has the kind of release that can beat goalies clean from long range. Last year, he produced 45 goals and 43 assists for the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL. This season, the St.Louis Blues prospect has posted 11 goals and 10 assists in his first year at the AHL level playing in Springfield.
Czechia vs Canada
• Czechia won three games in the preliminary round. Its only loss was to Sweden by a score of 4-2.
• Team Czechia is made up of a relentless group of competitors. They roll over the boards in waves and compete to their maximum capabilities every shift. They don’t really have an elite strength or weakness on their roster.
Their team stats verify what I am describing:
• Czechia has three players in the top six of tournament scoring. Forwards Vojtech Hradec and Jakub Stancl have both produced four goals and three assists, while Seattle Kraken prospect Eduard Sale has contributed four goals and two assists.
• Towering goaltender Michael Hrabal (six-foot-six, 209 pounds) doesn’t give shooters much net to look at when he’s square to the play. Teams have to get him moving side to side to get him to open up and expose some net to shoot at. Hrabal sits fourth in the tournament goalie stats with a 2.36 GAA and .925 save percentage.
• Team Canada won’t stand a chance against Team Czechia if they don’t match their work ethic and play with more discipline. Canada has averaged 5.5 penalty kills per game so far in the tournament. It was short handed for a total of 11:40 in its final preliminary-round game against the USA and allowed three goals against.
• Canada’s power play has looked marginally better in its last two games. If it gets opportunities it is going to have to capitalize with the man advantage. Especially since it sports the worst shooting percentage in the entire tournament.
• Goaltender Carter George will likely be called upon to be Canada’s best player vs Czechia. He’s been the most consistent player for Canada and leads the tournament with a 1.01 GAA and .964 save percentage
• Calum Ritchie, Gavin McKenna and Berkly Catton have been the most active and consistently visible forwards offensively for Team Canada.
• Ritchie has averaged 16:59 TOI and has contributed one goal and one assist in the tournament.
• McKenna has one goal. He’s averaging 14:35 TOI.
• Catton has been creating all kinds of chances offensively, but he’s been held to one assist so far in the tournament while averaging 15:06 TOI.
• Assuming Canada has learned some lessons in the preliminary round, and plays with more discipline and consistent compete, it’s time to give Ritchie, Catton and McKenna north of 20 minutes of ice time. It could lead to more control of the game offensively for Team Canada. All three of those forwards average over 21:00 TOI with their junior clubs.
