Thursday is the second-last day of the 2024 World Junior Championship, and is the final day that will feature more than two games. Early in the morning (at least for North Americans) we will get the relegation match and then a bit later on we’ll have both of the Semi-final games which will decide who will compete for Gold and Bronze on Friday.
This year’s relegation will take place as a single match rather than the typical three-game series we’ve seen in some past tournaments which means the loser of tomorrow’s game is immediately relegated to the Division 1A of the World Junior Championship. The winner of the 2024 Division 1A tournament was Kazakhstan so they will be replacing the relegated team in the 2025 World Junior Championship which will be hosted by Ottawa, Canada. This game is as important as it gets for smaller hockey nations to scratch and claw to keep their place in the top division, and it should be a really great game to watch.
Related: Guide to the 2024 World Junior Championship
Each of the four teams remaining in this year’s tournament are serious contenders for the gold medal so let’s dive in and take a closer look at how they could each take home gold!
Relegation Match – Germany vs. Norway
2 AM PT / 5 AM ET
Norway has been in the top division of this tournament multiple times but has never staved off relegation, returning to Division 1A each time. They have been a pleasant surprise in this year’s tourney, pushing the Americans much harder than anyone expected in their first game. Team USA is a perennial gold medal contender and this game was expected to be an absolute blowout but the Norwegians held their ground for the most part, with the final score favoring the Americans 4-1.
Team Norway has been led offensively by Michael Brandsegg-Nygård who is a top prospect in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft. He has also received a ton of support from Petter Vesterheim who went undrafted in last year’s NHL draft but could earn some attention as an overager due to his success in the Allsvenskan (Sweden’s second-tier professional league) as a 19-year-old this season.
A breakout prospect for Norway in this tournament who could be an x-factor in their bid to remain in the top division is Stian Solberg, an 18-year-old defenseman who has built up some real buzz as a potential top-2 round pick in the 2024 Draft. Solberg led all players in ice time throughout the preliminary round, averaging 25:58 of play time while scoring two points in four games. He’s strong in transition and his awareness while defending in his own end is solid as well.
Germany authored the biggest upset of the tournament when they defeated Finland 4-3. That game looked like it could upset the balance of power in Group A but it ultimately had little effect after Germany dropped their following three games in a row and ended up here in the relegation match.
Despite their massive win over Finland, this year’s German group wasn’t their strongest with nobody scoring more than two points in the preliminary round. Julian Lutz, a second round pick in the 2022 Draft by the Arizona Coyotes had a lackluster showing and nobody else really stepped up. While the German’s have the upper hand when it comes to experience in the top division, I think the Norwegians have a slight advantage when it comes to talent, mostly because of the three high-end players at the top of their lineup.
Semi-final #1 – Sweden vs. Czechia
6 AM PT / 9 AM ET
This matchup is going to be an interesting one, as the Czechs look to improve on their silver medal from last year’s tournament and the Swedes hope to win their first gold in over a decade. Czechia has been really strong throughout the tourney, with stars like Jiri Kulich and Michael Hrabal standing tall and great showings from less heralded prospects like Dominik Ryman and Matyas Sapovaliv.
Sweden is a juggernaut in their own right, with an incredibly deep lineup that has been clicking for most of the tournament thus far. Axel Sandin Pellikka, Elias Salomonsson and Tom Willander on the right side of their defense, Noah Östlund, Filip Bystedt and David Edstrom down the middle and a red-hot Hugo Havelid in net. This team is scary and was rightly considered the favorite to win gold this year by many before the games began.
Czechia beat Canada in the quarterfinals, bending but not breaking beneath the pressure of the Canadian squad and sending them home with a dagger of a game-winner with just 11 seconds left in the third period. Sweden was given a bit of a scare in their quarterfinal match against Switzerland which required overtime, but they still won off a great shot by Sandin Pellikka. Soon we’ll find out if that pressure will make the Swedes crack or if it will snap them back into the structure and dominance that we saw from them through the preliminary round.
Semi-final #2 – USA vs. Finland
10:30 AM PT / 1:30 PM ET
Finland had a rough start to this year’s tournament, losing a hard-fought game against Canada in their tournament opener and then losing to Germany the very next day. Credit where it’s due to the players and coaches of Finland for not cracking under the pressure after that, securing a strong win against Latvia and then eeking out a gutsy shootout win against Sweden to close out the preliminary round.
Their overtime victory over Slovakia in the quarterfinals was impressive and it looks like this Finnish team has finally arrived with the strong play of top prospects like Jani Nyman and Konsta Helenius (2024 Draft) finally translating to the score sheet. Jesse Pulkkinen is a candidate to be named the best defender in the tournament after being one of Finland’s best players each and every game.
Team USA is a force to be reckoned with as usual. Cutter Gauthier leads the tournament in scoring with 10 points in five games and I really believe he could reach another level entirely given the fact that his goal scoring and shot selection have really not translated yet. Frank Nazar has looked like a dominant play driver and playmaker as well and this American group can roll at least three lines capable of doing significant offensive damage.
Trey Augustine has looked excellent in net for Team USA, though he missed a game due to a brief bout of the flu and was rested for their quarterfinal match against Latvia. Look for him to be back in the starter’s net against Finland where he’ll play good enough to keep any team in this tournament, let alone a team with the dynamic offensive talent of this American group.
This one won’t be a blowout but I do think that the Americans’ offensive depth will be too much for Finland to weather. Pulkkinen will likely log big minutes but Finland will be in tough to win the minutes where he’s resting on the bench.
What do you think? Will Norway be able to stave off relegation for the first time? Will Sweden crack under the pressure or breeze through to a gold medal match at home? Will Team USA continue to pulverize the competition or will Finland be too much to handle? Sound off in the comment section below!