With another day of the 2025 World Juniors in the books, it’s time for yet another day of previews. This is a day of games where all four are circled on my calendar, which doesn’t happen often. I’m looking forward to today’s series of games that make up the tournament’s fourth day.
Related: A Quick Guide to the 2025 World Junior Championship
Sweden vs Switzerland (11:00 AM CST)
I don’t know realistically how to project this game. Sweden hasn’t overly impressed me in this tournament while Switzerland has made me raise an eyebrow. I won’t say it’ll be a blowout, but I won’t say it’ll be a great game for either team.
Sweden has an interesting makeup, they are fuelled by their gold medal loss against the USA last year but are looking to really show off their overall team play. Switzerland is looking to get into that top-five conversation, and this game would be a great test to show just that.
This is one of those games I’ll watch closely while I can, but I generally figure that Sweden will emerge victorious as they are the heavy favourites.
One Player to Watch from Each Team
Team Sweden has all but two players on their scoresheet, but it’s Felix Nilsson who is someone to watch against Switzerland. One goal across two games is still a great performance, but his intensity and overall play scream that he should have more. Switzerland will be looking to push back against Sweden while Nilsson will be looking to pad his point totals.
Switzerland has two goals throughout the 2025 World Juniors, and they’re going to show some fight against Sweden. Endo Meier has been a two-way force for the Swiss, but ultimately it’s the fire that Nils Rhyn has shown that makes him a player to watch.
Finland vs United States (1:30 PM CST)
Finland hasn’t had the greatest start to the 2025 WJC and they’re facing one of the heavyweights in this year’s tournament. This is a true test to both teams and likely a look into a quarterfinal round for us watching from home.
If the USA can keep up their strong shutdown play, they will easily emerge victorious, but if Finland can gel at the right time, they can show that they are a team to watch heading into the quarterfinal round.
One Player to Watch from Each Team
Team Finland has just three goals in the tournament, and they are due for a scoring outburst. Kasper Halttunen, who’s been held off the scoresheet across two WJC games, will be a player to watch against the USA.
The USA will be looking up and down their lineup for their scoring to show up against Finland. However, James Hagens is someone I’d watch as he’s already got six points (2G, 4A) in two games but will continue to pad his stats and have an incredible showing for the USA.
Slovakia vs Czechia (4:00 PM CST)
Across all of the games that will pique my interest the most, this is one game I’ll watch closely. Slovakia hasn’t had a great showing so far while Czechia has been dominant throughout the entirety of the tournament.
Czechia being medal favourites also comes into play regarding the projection of this game. Slovakia is projected to finish around fifth or sixth place, but I think they’re a team that could surprise people. If Slovakia can knock off Czechia, they’ll get some more eyes on them throughout the remainder of the tournament.
One Player to Watch from Each Team
Slovakia’s player to watch is a really simple one for me, it’s Miroslav Satan. The centre has not recorded a point so far for Slovakia and is going to be pushing just a little bit harder to make his way on the scoresheet.
I’ve looked at Czechia’s lineup up and down, and it’s surprised me that Adam Jiricek has not found his way onto the scoresheet yet. He’s going to be a player I watch closely this game and I would hope he finds his way onto the scoresheet before the quarterfinal round.
Germany vs Canada (6:30 PM CST)
This is a game that’s projected to be a lopsided one, especially after Canada’s loss to Latvia. However, it could be the case that Canada is knocked down another peg and loses to Germany, a team that is projected to finish higher than Latvia.
Ultimately, we will find out the result when both teams play each other, but I’m sure that Canada’s going to be seeing red and light up the scoresheet against Germany.
One Player to Watch from Each Team
The Germans will be looking to Linus Vieillard to keep them in the game against Canada. The netminder is a strong and calm player and will be their number-one guy when it comes to the heavy Canadian offence. It will also be a really nice test for the goaltender against such a strong team to really see what he’s made of.
For the Canadians, I actually have two players to watch today. The first is the debuting Sawyer Mynio who’s going to look to make an impact right from the word go after being cut from camp and the second is Porter Martone who’s been held scoreless so far.
Both players are going to excel in many ways and for the right reasons. Canada is one of those teams that you cannot count out of a tournament like this, and they’ll show that through the players I’ve mentioned above.
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