The 2025 World Junior Championship odds are backing hosts Canada to win gold with +130 odds. But looking at the American's roster I believe they should be the tournament favorites and will win another gold at +140 odds.
If you're searching for a dark horse to put a unit on how about the Czechs who've medaled in the last two tournaments and hold +3300 odds to win in 2025?
2024 World Juniors Odds
| Team | Current Odds |
|---|---|
| Canada | +130 |
| USA | +140 |
| Sweden | +600 |
| Finland | +900 |
| Czechia | +3300 |
| Slovakia | +5000 |
| Switzerland | +15000 |
| Germany | +20000 |
| Latvia | +25000 |
| Kazakhstan | +40000 |
Odds as of December 23 at BET99
2024 World Juniors Favorite: USA
The Americans are desperate to defend their gold medal for the first time in their program's history, while they've won gold six times and twice in the last four tournaments they've yet to do so in back-to-back years. To make history they're bringing back several players from last year's tournament like defenseman Zeev Buium and forward Danny Nelson to name only a few.
Adding to their gold-medal core is the projected number-one pick at the 2025 NHL Draft James Hagens. The Boston College forward has been outstanding as a freshman with five goals and 20 points in 16 games ranking eighth in college hockey for points.
James Hagens is coming into his own as an #NCAA hockey player. He is a consensus #1 pick in the 2025 #NHL draft. He scored the overtime winner for BC tonight against UConn. Listen to our call and his answer when asked how it made him feel to score such an ELECTRIC goal. 👂👂 pic.twitter.com/6qSf0fEpGQ
— WZBC Sports (@WZBCSports) December 5, 2024
The Americans will be hard to beat as defending champions now that they've added a gold-chip prospect and have kept a large portion of their core including standout goalie Trey Augustine who dominated last year's tournament with a 0.936 save percentage and 1.75 goals against average.
They've got quality throughout the lineup and should be the favorites. They've also begun pre-tournament life well with a resounding 6-2 win over Slovakia on the 21st.
2024 World Juniors Best Bet: Czechia
The Czech program has taken big steps in the last couple of years with fourth, second, and third-place finishes in the last three tournaments. We've seen them stand up against the big nations too, in 2024, they went toe-to-toe with the Americans in the group stage only losing 4-3 in a shootout.
Czechia will also welcome back several quality players like Eduard Sale who finished the 2024 tournament with three goals and seven points in seven games. The 19-year-old is doing very well in the AHL with the Coachella Firebirds scoring four goals and 12 points in 19 games.
Nifty pass from #SeaKraken prospect Eduard Sale to spring Ian McKinnon clean in, and McKinnon finishes. pic.twitter.com/4nhCmlR5Ru
— Deep Sea Hockey (@DeepSeaHockey) November 3, 2024
They'll also welcome a crop of newbies including 6'6" defenseman Radim Mrtka who joined the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL earlier this year, in seven games the two-way defender has five points. Mrtka has size, skating ability, and hands, he could be the defenseman that the Czechs need to stand up to top-caliber forwards and push the game forward to their explosive forwards like Sale.
Oh, and Czechia also got off to a flying start in pre-tournament play with a 5-1 win over Latvia.
2024 World Juniors Groups
Group A
- United States
- Finland
- Canada
- Latvia
- Germany
Group B
- Sweden
- Czechia
- Slovakia
- Switzerland
- Kazakhstan
Last 10 World Junior Champions
| Year | Team | Runner-Ups | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | USA | Sweden | Czechia |
| 2023 | Canada | Czechia | USA |
| 2022 | Canada | Finland | Sweden |
| 2021 | USA | Canada | Finland |
| 2020 | Canada | Russia | Sweden |
| 2019 | Finland | USA | Russia |
| 2018 | Canada | Sweden | USA |
| 2017 | USA | Canada | Russia |
| 2016 | Finland | Russia | USA |
| 2015 | Canada | Russia | Slovakia |
Canada has won five of the last 10 tournaments and two of the last three, they own this tournament, but the Americans are challenging their dominance with three gold medals and finishing on the podium seven times in the last 10 years.
I feel for Sweden, they're the only top-4 nation that's not won the tournament in the past 10 years, the Three Crowns last won it all in 2012 when Mika Zibanejad, Filip Forsberg, and William Karlsson were still fresh-faced teens.
World Junior Championships & Appearances
The tournament dates back to 1977. Here’s how each nation has medaled over the past 49 tournaments.
| Team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Last Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 20 | 10 | 5 | 2023 |
| Russia* | 13 | 13 | 11 | 2011 |
| Finland | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2019 |
| USA | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2021 |
| Sweden | 2 | 12 | 7 | 2012 |
| Czechia** | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2001 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 2 | N/A |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A |
*Russia and the Soviet Union have been combined
**Czechia and Czechoslovakia have been combined
Czechia has the longest gold-medal drought, their last championship was in 2001 when Pavel Brendl put up a tournament-leading 10 points in seven games and goalie Tomas Duba had a 1.14 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.
The Czechs have medaled in back-to-back years with a silver and a bronze, is this the year they get their hands on their first gold in 24 years?
