The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship resumes with the quarterfinals Thursday. The semifinals are Saturday and the championship and third-place game are Sunday.
On Tap: 2024 World Junior Championship quarterfinals
All games on NHL Network in U.S., TSN in Canada
United States vs. Switzerland (2:30 p.m. ET) -- Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) made 38 saves in a 4-1 win against Canada on Tuesday, looking more like the goalie who allowed seven goals in four games to help the U.S. win the gold medal at the 2024 WJC, rather than the one who allowed eight goals in his first two games in Ottawa. "He had his best performance of the event," U.S. coach David Carle said Tuesday. "We know that to do what we want to do here he's going to have to replicate that or potentially even play better." The U.S. will also need more the power play that went 3-for-7 against Canada not the one that was 2-for-11 in its first three games. Defenseman Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) drove the U.S. offense, tying for the tournament scoring lead with eight points (two goals, six assists), including the first goal against Canada. "Very dynamic," Carle said of Hutson. "I knew he was good with the puck. I didn't quite know he was that good, the deception and the ability to attack." Switzerland reached the medal round after a 3-1 win against Kazakhstan on Tuesday. They lost 2-1 to Slovakia on Dec. 27 in a game that was tied until 3:16 was left in the third period, and then scored four power-play goals in the third period of a 7-5 loss to Sweden on Sunday.
Finland vs. Slovakia (5 p.m. ET) -- Petteri Rimpinen (2025 draft eligible) is making the case for being the best goalie in the tournament. His 1.75 goals-against average and .947 save percentage are second in the WJC behind Canada's Carter George (1.01 GAA, .963 save percentage), but Rimpinen has started all four games, compared to three for George. The 18-year-old has a W rating from NHL Central Scouting on its preliminary players to watch list for the 2025 NHL Draft, meaning he's expected to be a sixth- or seventh-round pick. But he could be raising his stock with his play here. "In all of those four games that he has played, he's outstanding, and he's given the opportunity for us to win every night," Finland captain Aron Kiviharju (Minnesota Wild) said. "It doesn't matter who we're playing against ... because he's doing his job as good as he can." Slovakia has been off since its 5-4 overtime win against Kazakhstan on Monday, when they allowed two short-handed goals in the final 3:23 of the third period before defenseman Maxim Strbak (Buffalo Sabres) scored in overtime. Forward Dalibor Dvorsky (St. Louis Blues) is tied for the tournament lead with four goals.
Czechia vs. Canada (7:30 p.m. ET) -- It's a rematch from the 2024 quarterfinals, which Czechia won 3-2 to send Canada to a fifth-place finish. Czechia will have seven players back from that game, including forwards Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken) and Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues), who are tied for the tournament lead with four goals. Also back from that game is goalie Michael Hrabal (Utah Hockey Club), who made 28 saves in that victory. He's been good in his three starts this year, with a .925 save percentage. He made 37 saves in a 4-2 loss to Sweden on Tuesday, but Czechia was whistled for seven penalties, which led to two Sweden goals. Discipline was a constant issue as they were short-handed 19 times in their four games. The only team penalized more was Canada, which was short-handed 22 times, and was called for 29 minor penalties. "It's us," Canada coach Dave Cameron said after a 4-1 loss to the U.S. on Tuesday. "We put ourselves in that position. We talk about it all the time, don't let the referees get involved in it. We didn't do a very good job of that tonight." Canada also has issues offensively, scoring one 5-on-5 goal in its past three games. The players are confident they can play smarter and get their offense back on track. "I think with this group, it's a great group," said Canada captain Brayden Yager (Winnipeg Jets), one of four players back from last year's game against Czechia. "We know that we have to have a short memory and move on the next game. ... I don't think we should be too frustrated. Doesn't change the fact that we have to win the next three games to win a gold medal."
