World Junior Hockey Championship Final Prediction: USA vs. Canada

Andrew Rogers
January 5, 2021

The Canadians have barely broken a sweat in their quest to repeat as tournament champion, outscoring their foes by a combined tally of 41-4. They’re heavy favourites Tuesday against an American team that earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over Finland in the semifinals.

2021 IIHF World Junior Championship Final Odds

The Canadians come in as -376 favourites – and while those odds are the slimmest of any game the Canadians have played at the tournament, they’re still a strong sign that oddsmakers see the hosts rolling to victory. Bettors who agree but are looking for a better return might want to consider the puckline play, in which Canada is installed at -125. Like the Americans to keep things close? The USA +1.5 puckline option is set at -111.

The total for Tuesday’s gold-medal showdown is 5.5, with the Over at -139 and the Under coming in at +100. The teams come in riding divergent totals trends, with the Americans having seen seven total goals scored in each of their first two elimination games and the Canadians riding a pair of playoff shutouts into the title game. Four of their past five head-to-head meetings at the tournament have fallen below 5.5 goals.

Here’s a look at the Sports Interaction World Junior Hockey Championship odds board.

Team USA

It’s no secret who the Canadians will be preoccupied with stopping on the American side. Tyler Zegras has been the star of the tournament for the U.S. with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in six games. If the Americans are going to be competitive Tuesday night, Zegras will need to be front and center – and that reality should make him popular in the player prop department. He’s +200 to score a goal, and -263 to record at least one point.

Team Canada

Only one player in the entire tournament has been as proficient as Zegras – and he happens to play for the host team. Dylan Cozens is the tournament leader in goals (eight) and is tied with Zegras at 16 points – and he’ll no doubt be the focal point of the American defence. It’s no surprise that Cozens carries the best odds to score of any player in the game at +140, while the odds of him scoring two or more are +450 (if you’re feeling particularly bold).