2024 World Juniors Semifinal Preview: USA vs. Finland, Sweden vs. Czechia, Canada Out

The 2024 world juniors quarterfinals brought tons of drama, with Czechia, Sweden, USA and Finland advancing. Tony Ferrari has the semifinal preview.

The quarterfinals at the IIHF World Junior Championship are always one of the most exciting days of the tournament. The drama is high, and the stakes are higher – win or go home.

Tuesday's world juniors quarterfinal matchups lived up to that expectation. While Team USA took care of business over Latvia, Team Canada is heading home after an upset to Czechia. There were other thrilling matches as well.

Finland took on Slovakia in an excellent first game of the day. The Slovaks scored a goal to beat the buzzer in the first period and then tied the game in the final minute of the third period to send it to overtime. Unfortunately for the feisty Slovaks, Finnish captain Jere Lassila took just 24 seconds to win the game in overtime.

Czechia and Canada faced off in a rematch of last year’s gold medal game. Czechia controlled the first period, going up 2-0 heading into the intermission. Canada responded with a dominant second period, tying the game. The Canucks carried that momentum into the third period, pushing the Czech squad onto their heels. Czechia would bend but not break, though, scoring the game-winning goal in dramatic fashion with just 11 seconds left in the game to send the Canadians packing.

The Americans took care of Latvia in the most one-sided contest of the day. The Americans were dominant in the game, winning 7-2. Even when Latvia looked as if they were going to try and push back, scoring a first-period goal that brought them within one early on, the Americans scored 13 seconds later to send the message that this game was merely a warm-up for them as they made their way to the semifinals.

Sweden came away with the W against the Swiss in a game that was not supposed to be as close as it was. After taking a two-goal lead to open the game, Switzerland slowly battled back, stayed in the contest and tied things at 2-2. They ended up going to overtime with Detroit Red Wings first-rounder Axel Sandin Pellikka playing hero in a game that shook the home crowd. 

And with that, we have our semifinal matchups with the Americans taking on the Finns and the host Swedes looking to flip the script from last year’s semifinal matchup against the Czech squad.

Although the Americans have run through their competition, the Finns come into this semifinal having won two big games in a row. Team USA has been a powerhouse, overwhelming the competition, while the Finns have found the classic structured game that's allowed them to consistently be better than the sum of their parts.

Team Finland certainly didn’t start this tournament the way it wanted to – at one point being at risk for the relegation game – but with a win over tournament favorite Sweden to finish the round-robin and a dramatic quarterfinal victory over tournament darling Slovakia, the Finns are back.

The Finns have always played with a strong structure, sound defensive play, and a physical brand of hockey that isn’t about big hits but working the cycle and winning the board battles. They wear their opponents down. This group has had to slowly work their way to that typical Finnish game, but they seem to have gotten there now.

Lenni Hameenaho has been unreal for them when it comes to chance creation, beginning to find the scoresheet in recent games. Kasper Halttunen has exemplified Finland’s tournament so far, struggling to convert early on but coming in hot as the event has worn on. Captain Jere Lassila has been arguably the team's most consistent player from the start of this tournament.

The Americans are the only undefeated team at the tournament, and they are coming off a thumping over Latvia. They’ve only been truly tested against Czechia when they needed a shootout to come away victorious. Aside from that game, the Americans have blown everyone out.

They have waves of talent, unlike any team at this tournament. The Boston College trio of Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabe Perreault has been a force, and they’ve gotten better each game, playing a big role against Latvia. Frank Nazar has been one of the best players in the tournament on a line with Gavin Brindley and Isaac Howard. Neither of those lines is the Americans' top line. That’s how deep this team is up front.

On the back end, Lane Hutson has been a bit up and down, but when you have Zeev Buium and Seamus Casey to take away some of the burden of being “The Guy” on the blueline, it makes life much easier. They’ve had good performances from both Trey Augustine and Jacob Fowler in net as well, rotating between the two NCAA netminders. The Americans truly have an embarrassment of riches.

This isn’t going to be an easy game for either team, but the Americans come in as the clear favorites. Finland will need to elevate their game to another level – even beyond what it took to take down Sweden and Slovakia. They will need an impressive game from their netminder, Niklas Kokko, as well as some scoring from their depth. In the end, even if everything goes right, the American squad might still be too much to handle.

In a rematch of last year’s semifinal, the Swedes will be looking to avenge their 2-1 overtime loss to Czechia. The Swedes have been the more consistently dominant team at this year’s world juniors, but Czechia has found ways to win, improving with each game.

After getting revenge on Canada for their gold medal game loss last year, Team Czechia has put itself in a position to get back to the world junior final. The team won’t have it easy, but the players have shown they are a force to be reckoned with as the tournament went on. They are a resilient group that plays hard from start to finish in every game.

Jakub Stancl’s heroics against Canada were an example of just how far Czechia has come in recent years, with depth throughout the lineup. Tomas Galvas has come into the lineup and provided some capable play.

Captain Jiri Kulich has been everything the Czechs could have asked for, scoring timely goals and leading the team in scoring en route to becoming the all-time leading scorer for Czechia at the World Junior Championship. If he can help Czechia to a gold medal, it’s safe to say he would solidify himself as the best Czech player to ever play at the tournament.

Sweden had a tougher time in the quarters than anticipated against the Swiss but found a way to do what it needed to do. Hugo Havelid has been an absolute stud in net. The undersized netminder elevates his game when playing in the national team sweater, and he made a number of notable saves late in the game as the Swiss pushed back against the host nation. Havelid’s play will need to continue being elite for the Swedes moving forward as the competition ramps up.

The depth of scoring that Sweden boats is a major strength as well. Otto Stenberg has been an unreal threat to this team, showcasing his skill and pace every time he is on the ice. Whether he is deflecting a shot from the high slot or sending a slick pass, he’s been a threat for Sweden. Fellow 2023 St. Louis Blues first-rounder Theo Lindstein has been incredible since being added as an injury replacement as well. He’s among the tournament leaders in scoring from the back end.

Noah Ostlund has been fantastic. His ability to create his own shot or elevate his teammates around him has been impressive. He couldn’t buy a goal against the Swiss but was all over the ice, creating chances. His former Djurgarden teammate, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, has been another offensive force for the Swedes, particularly on the power play where he is able to use his biggest weapon, his shot.

You have to expect that, much like last year, this will be a tightly contested game. Whoever takes advantage of their opponent's mistake late in the game will win this one. It may come down to which goalie, Michal Hrabal or Hugo Havelid, can have a better game. Whatever happens, we should see a very entertaining game as both teams try to get to the gold medal they’ve been in desperate pursuit of.