Believe it or not, we’re already into the elimination round of the World Juniors as Czechia and Canada are set to meet in the quarterfinals for the second straight tournament.
Canada finished the round-robin with a disappointing 2-1-1 record and will face a Czechia team that boasts the best offence and goal differential in the tournament, at plus-16.
Will Canada finally find its stride or will Czechia pull off the upset for the second straight year? I’ll discuss that and more in my Czechia vs. Canada WJC predictions for Thursday, January 2.
Canada vs. Czechia Odds, Puck Line, Over/Under
Below is an odds breakdown of the game between Canada and Czechia on Thursday. Odds are provided by FanDuel Sportsbook, but are currently available across most hockey betting sites.
| Puck Line | Moneyline | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | -1.5 (122) | -330 | O 6 (-122) |
| Czechia | +1.5 (+102) | +260 | U 6 (+102) |
Czechia vs. Canada Analysis
It’s a tale of two very different teams heading into the quarterfinal game between Czechia and Canada.
The former scored a tournament-best 25 goals with a plus-16 differential through four round-robin games, while the latter suffered arguably its biggest upset loss ever at the World Juniors to Latvia and lost again to the United States on New Year’s Eve.
It’s been discussed at length but we can’t ignore just how disappointing Canada’s offence has been at this year’s tournament. The Canadians scored just 10 goals in four games and three goals or fewer in three of those outings.
The United States, who were by far Canada’s toughest opponent so far, held the host nation to just one goal on New Year’s Eve as an undisciplined Canadian team took 22 penalty minutes.
Head coach Dave Cameron was seemingly lost for words following the 4-1 defeat, telling the media, “I can’t do anything (about the lack of discipline). I can’t do anything. They know it. I can’t start benching everyone who gets a penalty.”
Czechia comes into the quarterfinals following their first loss of the tournament as they fell 4-2 to Sweden on the final day of 2024, though the team’s confidence should be much higher than Canada’s following the round-robin.
While the Czechs drew some easy Group B matchups against nations like Switzerland, Kazakhstan, and Slovakia, they generally made easy work of lesser competition — something that cannot be said for the Canadians.
Czechia also boasts a pretty deep offense with Vojtech Hradec, Jakub Stancl, and Eduard Sale each tallying four goals and at least six points in the round-robin.
Defensively, Czechia has looked pretty stout with just nine goals against in four games, while their likely starter tonight, Michael Hrabal, owns a .925 SV% and a 2.36 GAA in his three starts.
Czechia vs. Canada Best Bet
While I won’t go as far as to say that Czechia will pull off the quarterfinal upset against Canada for the second straight World Juniors tournament, I do think this game will be much closer than the Canadians are hoping for.
The Czechs come into the elimination round with plenty of confidence and offensive depth, boasting six players with at least five points in the tournament. Canada, on the other hand, has only two forwards with more than a single point: Easton Cowan (three) and Calum Ritchie (two).
Czech goaltender Michael Hrabal, a second-round pick of the Coyotes in 2023, is having a solid season at UMass in the NCAA with a .917 SV% and a 2.49 GAA through 16 games. The six-foot-six netminder has also been solid at the WJC with just seven goals against in his three starts.
The Canadians know all about getting shut down by a hot goalie after losing to Latvia and it’s not hard to see that happening again versus a much tougher Czech team.
If there is one positive talking point for Canada it’s the fact that they have yet to allow one goal at five-on-five in the tournament, but their lack of discipline has almost rendered that moot.
The Canadians lead the tournament with a whopping 29 minor penalties — an average of more than seven per game — and are operating at just 77.3 percent on the penalty kill, which ranks sixth out of 10 nations.
Meanwhile, Czechia’s power play is clicking at 23.1 percent, tied for fourth-best in the tournament. That could cause headaches for an undisciplined Canadian squad that just gave up three power-play goals to the United States.
