The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship resumes with the semifinal round on Thursday at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The championship and third-place game are Friday.
On Tap for the semifinals
All games on NHL Network in U.S., TSN in Canada
Sweden vs. Czechia (9 a.m. ET): Czechia defeated Canada 3-2 in the quarterfinal round to advance to the medal round a second straight year following a 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the 2023 WJC championship game. Five players from that game played Tuesday: defensemen Tomas Hamara (Ottawa Senators) and Ales Cech, and forwards Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights), Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres) and Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken).
"It's great revenge," Czechia forward Jakub Stancl said. "Canada is a really good team, they're good every year and it's just unbelievable."
Sweden has won 14 of its past 15 against Czechia at the WJC. Czechia won 2-1 in overtime against Sweden in the semifinal round of the 2023 WJC on the way to its first top-three finish since taking home the bronze in 2005. Czechia's offense is paced by its captain, Kulich, who has eight points (four goals) in five games. Matyas Melovsky (2024 NHL Draft eligible) has seven points (all assists), Sale has three goals and two assists and defenseman Tomas Hamara (Ottawa Senators) has four points (three goals) while averaging a team-high 24:12 of ice time.
Goalie Michael Hrabal (Arizona Coyotes) has started every game for Czechia, winning three with a 2.75 GAA and .897 save percentage.
Sweden earned shutout victories in its first three games of the tournament before a 5-4 shootout loss to Finland in the final preliminary-round game on New Year's Eve. It rebounded with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win against Switzerland when Axel Sandin Pelikka (Detroit Red Wings) scored a power-play goal at 5:22 of the extra period in the quarterfinal round Tuesday.
Sweden has hosted the World Juniors six previous times but has medaled in three of those events, including two silver (1993, 2014) and one bronze (1979). It hopes to change the narrative this year behind a stellar defense that includes Sandin Pellikka (one goal, two assists), Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks), Theo Lindstein (St. Louis Blues; six points), Tom Willander (Canucks) and Mattias Havelid (San Jose Sharks; five points).
Offensively, Noah Ostlund (Buffalo Sabres; seven points, five assists), Felix Unger Sorum (Carolina Hurricanes; six points, five assists) and Otto Stenberg (St. Louis Blues; seven points, four goals) lead the way. Sweden has the top-ranked power play (42 percent; 8-for-19) and penalty kill (90 percent; 9-for-10) of the tournament.
Expected starting goalie Hugo Havelid, Mattias' twin brother, has three wins with a 0.65 GAA, .966 save percentage and two shutouts in three games.
United States vs. Finland (1:30 p.m. ET):
The United States has outscored the opposition 36-11 in five straight wins, including a 7-2 victory against Latvia in the quarterfinal round Tuesday.
The U.S. has won 11 of its past 15 WJC games against Finland, including 6-2 in the 2023 preliminary round, and is 15-3-0-18 with one tie in 37 games.
The U.S. is playing as advertised after entering the tournament with 10 first-round NHL draft picks and plenty of talent on offense. Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers) leads the team with 10 points and nine assists and is tied for fifth on the U.S. all-time assist list at the tournament; Doug Weight is the leader (14 assists, 1991). Gavin Brindley (Columbus Blue Jackets; six goals) and Frank Nazar III (Chicago Blackhawks; eight assists) each has eight points. Defenseman Lane Hutson (Montreal Canadiens) has six points (all assists) and leads his country in average ice time (23:03).
Goalie Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) could start for the U.S. after Jacob Fowler (Canadiens) made 23 saves in the win against Latvia. Augustine has won each of his two starts with a 1.50 GAA and .952 save percentage.
"I think in single-game elimination, talent gets thrown out the window to a degree, and it comes down to your effort and your execution within your game plan," U.S. coach David Carle said. "We need to make sure our details are locked in in order to accomplish what we need to do."
The U.S. is seeking a sixth gold medal and first since 2021. It finished third last year with an 8-7 overtime win against Sweden.
Finland has won three straight after consecutive losses to Canada and Germany to begin the tournament. It has finished among the top three in three of the past five World Juniors (gold medal in 2019, silver in 2022, bronze in 2021) and is in the hunt for a sixth gold medal.
The country has been led on offense by its captain, Jere Lassila (2024 draft eligible), who has seven points (three goals, four assists) in five games. Kasper Halttunen (Sharks) has six points (three goals), and the Finns have received steady play and big minutes from defensemen Kasper Kulonummi (Nashville Predators) and Otto Salin (Los Angeles Kings), who average 22:37 and 20:02 of ice time per game, respectively.
Goalies Niklas Kokko (Kraken) and Noa Vali have played big roles for Finland. Kokko made 27 saves in a 4-3 overtime win against Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Vali, a W rated goalie on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list and projected sixth- or seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, made 29 saves in a 5-4 shootout win against Sweden in the preliminary round.
