NHL
Jordan Ramsay
December 26, 2024

2025 IIHF World Junior Championship Odds, Prediction: Canada vs. Finland

The IIHF World Junior Championship is back on Canadian soil in 2025. Canada will open the tournament on Boxing Day against Finland at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre.

Canada is a -350 favourite to win on the World Junior odds, with the total set at 6.5.

2025 IIHF World Junior Championship Betting Odds

This is a rematch of last year’s tournament-opener in Sweden, with Canada beating the Finns 5-2. Macklin Celebrini scored the game-winner and Canada outshot Finland 31-26. Canada leads the all-time series 27-9-6 (1-1 in OT/SO).

This is Canada’s most frequent opponent at the tournament other than the United States. The Canadians are 13-1 on home soil against Finland.

Canada has won a record 20 gold medals at the World Junior Championship, but they are coming off a disappointing quarterfinal exit last year. Finland has won five gold medals, the last coming in 2019, and they are coming off a semifinal exit in 2024.

These teams actually met in the gold medal game in 2022. That was the epic overtime ending that saw Mason McTavish swat away a sure-goal at the goal line before Kent Johnson scored the winner. It was the first of back-to-back gold medals for Canada.

Entering this year’s tournament, Canada is a +125 favourite to win gold on the World Junior futures board and a +105 favourite to finish atop Group A. Finland is +850 for gold and +600 to win the group.

Team Canada

Canada completed their preliminary tournament action with a perfect record, capped by a 3-2 win against Czechia on Monday. Bradly Nadeau opened the scoring and 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna, who only turned 17 six days ago, scored twice. The Canadians heavily outshot Czechia 39-23, with Carter George making 21 saves.

The most hyped player on this team is clearly McKenna, who has 19 goals and 60 points in 30 games for Medicine Hat of the WHL this season. The Whitehorse, Yukon native is the eighth-youngest player in national team history, but he’s already a veteran of international hockey, winning gold at the 2024 U18 World Championship and at this summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

The roster also includes five returning players from last year’s squad: Oliver Bonk, Easton Cowan, Tanner Molendyk, Carson Rehkopf and Brayden Yager. There are seven players won gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship (Cole Beaudoin, Carter George, Jack Ivankovic, Jett Luchanko, Porter Martone, McKenna, Matthew Schaefer) and three captured gold at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Ivankovic, McKenna, Schaefer).

Team Finland

Finland also closed out their pre-tournament schedule on Monday night, falling 5-2 to the United States. Kasper Halttunen scored both Finnish goals, converting on the power play and on a penalty shot. Noa Vali and Kim Saarinen combined to make 25 saves in the loss.

In addition to his two goals against the Americans, Halttunen, drafted 36th overall by San Jose in 2023, also had a goal and an assist against Slovakia in exhibition play. Halttunen is one of six returning players from Finland’s fourth-place team last year.

It’s also worth paying attention to Finland’s two first-round NHL draft picks. Konsta Helenius, who was taken 14th overall by Buffalo in 2024, has six goals and 17 points this season with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Emil Hemming, taken 29th overall by Dallas in 2024, has five goals and 20 points with the Barrie Colts of the OHL.