2026 IIHF World Junior Championship Odds, Prediction: Canada vs. Czechia
It’s the 50th anniversary of the IIHF World Junior Championship, with Canada set to open the tournament on Boxing Day against Czechia.
Canada is a heavy -1100 favourite to win on the World Junior odds, with the puckline set at 3.0 and the total listed at 6.5.
2026 IIHF World Junior Championship Betting Odds
These countries have been frequent foes at the U-20 level. Since Czechoslovakia split in 1993, the Canadians have won 21 of 27 head-to-heads, with two games ending in a tie. However, recent history favours the Czechs as they have bounced Canada in the quarterfinals in back-to-back tournaments.
The run of bad luck for Canada was preceded by back-to-back gold medal victories. And for what it’s worth, Canada has reached the gold medal game in six of seven previous tournaments either hosted or co-hosted by the United States.
Czechia’s greatest tournament success came in 2000 and 2001 when they won back-to-back gold medals as the Czech Republic. They’ve also been competitive in recent history, medalling in three straight years with two bronze and one silver.
Despite a couple years finishing without a medal, Canada enters the 2026 World Juniors as -120 favourites to win gold on the World Junior futures board. Czechia has the fifth-shortest tournaments odds at +1500.
Team Canada
It’s always gold-or-bust for Team Canada at the World Juniors, but the sense of urgency is higher than ever after two years of disappointment. This year’s roster includes six returnees, including goalies Carter George and Jack Ivankovic. George was the No. 1 last year, starting four of five games for Canada and posting a tournament-best 1.74 goals-against average and .936 save percentage. He should get the nod to begin this year’s tournament.
Even without players like Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaffer, who are excelling in the NHL, Canada’s roster is littered with high-end talent. Gavin McKenna will likely go No. 1 overall at next year’s draft and three players have NHL experience, including Michael Misa, who is teammates with Celebrini in San Jose.
Team Czechia
Czechia also boasts a wealth of experience as they will have seven returnees from last year’s bronze medal-winning team. They actually intended to have eight returnees, but Adam Jecho, who scored the game-winner against Canada in last year’s quarterfinals, was injured in a pre-tournament game and won’t play in the tournament.
It’s worth keeping an eye on Adam Jiricek, who was drafted 16th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2024, as he gets set to play in his third World Juniors. Other first-round NHL draft picks, include Radim Mrtka (ninth overall to Buffalo in 2025) and Vaclav Nestrasil (25h overall to Chicago in 2025).
