The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Today, we preview the Group B preliminary-round bracket.
Will Smith and Cutter Gauthier are two of 10 first-round NHL draft picks hoping to bring the United States back to prominence at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Since winning a gold medal at the 2021 WJC, the Americans have finished fifth (2022) and third (2023).
"We have depth from the goal right on out, and we have interchangeable parts," U.S. general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said. "We have a lot of players who can really shoot the puck. I also think that they want to defend hard and a lot of times, when you look at great players, and we have a deep team that way, you look at the offense and not how they want to defend. I think we have a passionate team that way."
Smith, a freshman center at Boston College, was selected No. 4 by San Jose Sharks in the 2023 NHL Draft. He has 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 17 games. Gauthier, a sophomore forward at Boston College, was selected No. 5 by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022 NHL Draft. He leads the Eagles with 13 goals in 17 games and is tied with Smith for second in points.
Other first-round selections on the United States roster include defenseman Sam Rinzel (Chicago Blackhawks, No. 25, 2022); and forwards Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg Jets, No. 14, 2022), Jimmy Snuggerud (St. Louis Blues, No. 23, 2022), Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals, No. 8, 2023), Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers, No. 23, 2023), Isaac Howard (Tampa Bay Lightning, No. 31, 2022), Oliver Moore (Blackhawks, No. 19, 2023) and Frank Nazar (Blackhawks, No. 13, 2022).
The United States will participate in Group B with Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Norway, with games at Frolundaborg. Group A consists of defending champion Canada, along with Sweden, Finland, Germany and Latvia, and will play its games at Scandinavium.
The United States opens the WJC against Norway at 11 a.m. ET on Dec. 26.
All games will be broadcast live on NHL Network in the United States and TSN and RDS in Canada.
Here's a look at each Group B team, in predicted order of finish:
United States
Coach: David Carle
2024 NHL Draft watch: Zeev Buium, D, University of Denver (NCAA)
Schedule: Dec. 26, Norway (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 28, Switzerland (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 29, Czechia (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 31, Slovakia (6 a.m. ET)
Outlook: Carle wants to incorporate a fast, puck-possession game, with a quick transition from defense to offense. The U.S. may be undersized to some degree on the back end, but it certainly has speed, skill and creativity with pairings that could include Lane Hutson (Montreal Canadiens) and Ryan Chesley (Washington Capitals) and Buium, an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list for the 2024 draft, and Seamus Casey (New Jersey Devils). The expected top line of Perreault, Smith and Leonard has combined for 66 points (23 goals, 43 assists) at Boston College this season. McGroarty, the U.S. captain and one of seven returning players, wore a no-contact jersey during selection camp but is expected to be ready for the start of the tournament, and possibly be on a line with Gauthier and Snuggerud. Carle could incorporate a checking line of Howard, Nazar and Gavin Brindley (Columbus Blue Jackets), who will be playing following the recent death of his grandfather, Marty Brindley. Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) went 4-1 with a 2.85 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in six games to help the United States win the bronze at the 2023 WJC as a 17-year-old. He will be challenged for playing time by goalie Jacob Fowler (Montreal Canadiens).
Czechia
Coach: Patrik Augusta
2024 NHL Draft watch: Adam Jiricek, D, Plzen (CZREP)
Schedule: Dec. 26, Slovakia (6 a.m. ET); Dec. 27, Norway (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 29, United States (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 31, Switzerland (11 a.m. ET)
Outlook: Czechia came up short in the 2023 gold-medal game, losing 3-2 in overtime against Canada. It was the country's first gold-medal game since winning championships in 2000 and 2001, and it won its first medal of any kind since 2005 (bronze). Czechia returns a solid, competitive, group that includes nine players chosen in the NHL Draft. Among them are goalie Michael Hrabal (Arizona Coyotes, No. 38, 2023) and forwards Matyas Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights, No. 48, 2022), Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres, No. 28, 2022) and Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken, No. 20, 2023). Sale had six points (one goal, five assists) and averaged 15:30 of ice time in seven games in last year's tournament. Adam Jiricek (6-2, 178), a right-shot defenseman and projected first-round pick in the 2024 draft, is the younger brother of defenseman David Jiricek, who was chosen No. 6 by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022 draft. Czechia ranked second on the penalty kill (90.5 percent) and fourth on the power play (23.8 percent) in 2023.
Slovakia
Coach: Ivan Fenes
2024 NHL Draft watch: Peter Repcik, F, Drummondville (QMJHL)
Schedule: Dec. 26, Czechia (6 a.m. ET); Dec. 27, Switzerland (6 a.m. ET); Dec. 29, Norway (6 a.m. ET); Dec. 31, United States (6 a.m. ET)
Outlook: Slovakia will have six players on the team chosen in the first- or second-round of the NHL draft: goalie Adam Gajan (Blackhawks, No. 35, 2023); defenseman Maxim Strbak (Buffalo Sabres, No. 45, 2023) and forwards Dalibor Dvorsky (St. Louis Blues, No. 10, 2023), Martin Misiak (Chicago Blackhawks, No. 55, 2023), Filip Mesar (Montreal Canadiens, No. 26, 2022) and Samuel Honzek (Calgary Flames, No. 16, 2023). Gajan was named the tournament’s best goalie in 2023. In four straight starts, he had a 2.40 GAA, .936 save percentage and one shutout. He made 33 saves in a 6-3 win against the United States in the preliminary round and 53 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to Canada in the quarterfinals. Mesar, who has 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) in 20 games with Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League this season, had six points (two goals, four assists) in five games at the 2023 WJC. Slovakia seeks its first medal since 2015 (bronze).
Switzerland
Coach: Marcel Jenni
2024 NHL Draft watch: Daniil Ustinkov, D, Zurich (SUI); Leon Muggli, D, Zug (SUI)
Schedule: Dec. 27, Slovakia (6 a.m. ET); Dec. 28, United States (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 30, Norway (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 31, Czechia (11 a.m. ET)
Outlook: Defenseman Rodwin Dionicio (Anaheim Ducks), who has 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 26 games with Windsor and Saginaw of the OHL this season, will make his third tournament appearance. He'll provide leadership and grit. Center Mattheo Reinhard is capable of providing some offense on the top line. The 19-year-old has nine points (three goals, six assists) in nine games with Biel-Bienne's team in Switzerland's junior league this season. Switzerland finished seventh at the 2023 WJC, with overtime wins against Finland (3-2), Latvia (3-2), and Slovakia (4-3).
Norway
Coach: Christer Nylund
2024 NHL Draft watch: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW, Mora (SWE-2); Stian Solberg, D, Valerenga (NOR)
Schedule: Dec. 26, United States (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 27, Czechia (11 a.m. ET); Dec. 29, Slovakia (6 a.m. ET); Dec. 30, Switzerland (11 a.m. ET)
Outlook: Norway will participate in the top division of the WJC for the first time since 2014 and the third time overall. It was promoted after winning the 2023 Division IA tournament, outscoring the opposition 19-8 in five wins. Norway has one of the top 2024 NHL Draft-eligible players on the board in right wing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who is in his second season playing in Sweden. The A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list has six points (two goals, four assists) in 22 games with Mora in Allsvenskan, Sweden's second tier professional league. He'll have a familiar face beside him in the lineup in Mora teammate Petter Vesterheim, who had two goals and seven points in the 2023 Division 1A tournament. Goalie Markus Stensrud went 5-0 with a 1.60 GAA and .928 save percentage in D-1A and the 19-year-old is 11-1-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .906 save percentage in 22 games with Storhamar in Norway's top professional men's league this season.
