2024 World Junior Championship Odds, Prediction: Canada vs. Germany
After opening the World Junior Championship with wins over Finland and Latvia, the Canadians suffered their first setback in a 2-0 loss against host country Sweden on Friday. With Sweden locking up top spot in Group A, Canada needs to beat Germany to secure second place in the group.
For the Germans it’s been a tournament of staggering highs and lows. Germany opened the tournament by beating Finland for the first time ever, but they followed that up with a shutout loss against Sweden then a shocking 6-2 loss against Latvia on Saturday that has them on the verge of the relegation game.
Canada is a massive favourite to win on the WJC betting odds, with the game total set at 7.5.
2024 World Junior Championship betting odds
Germany hasn’t been a staple of the World Juniors’ top division, so they don’t have a lot of history against Canada. Over the last decade, the Germans were relegated to the lower Division I pool between 2016 and 2019, so there wasn’t an opportunity for the teams to meet. Canada has won all five meetings against Germany since 2014 by a combined score of 42-7.
Canada is aiming for their third straight gold medal and 21st overall in this tournament. The Canadians will clinch second place in Group A with a point against Germany, which would mean they will face either Czechia or Switzerland in the quarterfinals. Czechia and Switzerland are set to meet in the final preliminary game and based on how the standings currently read, the winner of that game will face Canada in the quarterfinals and the loser will face Sweden.
Germany has never medalled at the World Juniors, with their best result being a fifth-place finish in 1981 when they hosted the tournament as West Germany. This will, however, be Germany’s fifth straight year in the top division. They would have guaranteed a spot in next year’s tournament if they had earned a point against Latvia, but they’re now in serious trouble. If Germany earns a point against Canada, they move onto the quarterfinals and earn a spot in next year’s tournament, but if they lose in regulation, they’ll be forced to play Norway in the relegation game.
Team Canada
After beating Finland 5-2 and blowing out Latvia 10-0, Canada was humbled in their shutout loss against Sweden on Friday. Canada was only outshot 24-21, but Sweden had much better opportunities. Mathis Rousseau, who earned Player of the Game honours for Canada, was stellar in net, making a number of timely saves to keep Canada in the game. After scoring 15 goals across their first two games of the tournament, Canada seemed to be forcing the pretty play rather than simplifying things and putting the puck on net. Canada failed to capitalize on two power play opportunities against Sweden, although they killed off all four penalties they took.
One concerning development is the absence of Rousseau and forward Matthew Savoie from practice on Saturday. Rousseau has played all three games for Canada and his .944 save percentage and 1.33 goals-against average are each second-best in the tournament. Savoie, who hasn’t recorded a point in the tournament, was described as taking a maintenance day, although Canada added Jagger Firkus to the roster. Firkus, a second-round draft pick of the Seattle Kraken, has registered 59 points in 32 games for the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors this season.
Team Germany
It was, frankly, pretty shocking to see Germany pounded by Latvia. Germany reached the quarterfinals the last three years and they were facing a Latvian team that was outscored 20-0 in their first three games of the tournament. Germany trailed 3-0 at the end of the first period and 6-1 by the middle of the third. They were outshot 28-23 and never really looked like they had a chance to win.
It’s not time for the Germans to panic yet. They still control their own destiny and they only need one point to move on to the quarterfinals. This is still the team that shocked the tournament with a win against Finland, which was Germany’s first win ever in 26 head-to-heads against the Finns. Germany is also a fairly veteran team, with seven returning players from the 2023 World Junior team that finished eighth. Special teams could be key. Germany is the only team in the tournament without a power play goal and their penalty kill is ranked seventh with a 76.9 per cent success rate.
Canada vs. Germany WJC score prediction
Canada 6, Germany 0