The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship resumes with the semifinals Saturday. The championship and third-place game are Sunday.
On Tap: 2024 World Junior Championship semifinals
Sweden vs. Finland (3:30 p.m. ET) -- Sweden won 3-2 against Latvia in the quarterfinals and has scored 27 goals in five straight victories and is seeking to do one better than last year's silver medal-winning performance at the 2024 WJC. The power play is connecting at a tournament-best 36.3 percent efficiency (8-for-22), led by defensemen Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings), Sweden's captain, and Tom Willander (Vancouver Canucks) with two goals apiece on the man-advantage. Sandin-Pellikka, named the top defenseman at the 2024 WJC, is tied for the tournament lead with nine points (four goals, five assists). No defenseman has outright led the World Juniors in points and only twice have defensemen tied for the lead (Carlo Colaiacovo, Canada, 2003; Erik Johnson, United States, 2007). Among forwards, the Swedes have been led by Felix Unger Sorum (Carolina Hurricanes) with seven points (six assists) and Anton Wahlberg (Buffalo Sabres) with seven points (four goals). Goaltender Melker Thelin (Utah Hockey Club) has four wins and a 2.75 goals-against average in four games. Sweden, which will compete in the final four for the fourth straight time, lost 6-2 to the United States in the gold medal game at the 2024 WJC. The country's last gold medal came after a 1-0 overtime win against Russia in the 2012 WJC in Calgary.
"It feels good," Sandin-Pellikka said. "Obviously we won the game, so that's what we're going for and we're now looking forward to the semis."
Finland advanced with a 5-3 win against Slovakia in its quarterfinal round match, receiving a 33-save effort by Petteri Rimpinen, a W rated goalie on NHL Central Scouting's December players to watch list and projected sixth- or seventh-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Rimpinen, who has earned the nickname "Showtime" in his country, has won four of five games with a 2.00 GAA and .940 save percentage.
"The whole tournament, he has been unreal," forward Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks) said of Rimpinen. "He's a guy that we can trust 100 percent in those big moments."
Finland is led offensively by its "Big Boy Line" with Julius Miettinen (6-foot-3; Seattle Kraken) centering left wing Rasmus Kumpulainen (6-3; Minnesota Wild) and Halttunen (6-3; San Jose Sharks). Jesse Nurmi (New York Islanders) has four points (two goals, two assists), and Konsta Helenius (Buffalo Sabres) and Heikki Ruohonen (Philadelphia Flyers), each have three assists. The Finland penalty kill is tied for the tournament lead with Germany (94.1 percent; 16-for-17) in five games. The Finns seek their first medal since winning silver at the 2022 WJC in Edmonton. They have won gold five times (1987, 1998, 2014, 2016, 2019).
United States vs. Czechia (7:30 p.m. ET) -- The United States has outscored Canada and Switzerland by a combined 11-3 since a 4-3 overtime loss to Finland in its third preliminary-round game on Dec. 29. The Americans clinched a semifinal berth for the eighth time in 10 years and are seeking a second straight tournament championship for the first time in their history and seventh championship overall. The U.S. and Czechia are tied for the tournament lead with 29 goals each, but the U.S. is hitting at a 33.3 power-play efficiency (7-for-21) and 78.9 penalty-killing efficiency (15-for-19). It has gotten goals from 12 different players and the top line of captain Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals; four goals, six points) with center James Hagens (2025 draft eligible; four goals, eight points) and right wing Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers; two goals, seven points) has combined for 21 points. Defenseman Cole Hutson (Capitals) is tied for the team lead with Hagens with eight points (two goals, six assists). Goalie Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) is the expected starter after he helped lead the U.S. to a gold medal last year.
"It's just understanding that we're in a win-or-go-home situation," Hagens said. "You're making sure you give it your all because you don't want to leave this tournament with any regrets. We all have the same goal of winning gold. It's a big game on Saturday and we are all going to get prepared. I'm really excited and it's going to be cool to see what happens."
For the second straight year, Czechia eliminated Canada in the quarterfinal round, winning 4-3 on a power-play goal by Adam Jecho (St. Louis Blues) with 39.4 seconds remaining in the third period. The Czechs will now seek a third straight World Juniors medal after winning silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024. The Czechs are tied for the tournament lead with the United States with 29 goals, including a 27.7 percent efficiency on the power play (5-for-18). Czechia's penalty kill is ranked fourth among the 10 participating countries with an 81.2 percent efficiency (18-for-22).
Czechia is led offensively by Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues; five goals, three assists) and Vojtech Hradec (Utah Hockey Club; four goals, four assists) with eight points each, and Petr Sikora (Washington Capitals; four goals, three assists) and captain Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken; five goals, two assists) with seven points apiece. Defenseman Jakub Fibigr (Kraken) has five assists, and goalie Michael Hrabal (Utah) has won three of four games with a 2.52 GAA and .920 save percentage.
