Welcome to our 2023 World Junior Championship predictions. We’ll take an in-depth look at each game taking place in the Canadian Maritimes. These looks will happen for each game until the gold-medal game. We’ll try to give you the information you need to get an edge. We take a look at the Group A matchup between Team Canada and Czechia. Be sure to check out the other games for today.
2023 World Junior Championship Predictions
Canada Vs. Czech Republic
This is the opening game for the host nation, which is must watch game, especially because it’s the nation with arguably the most talented roster, versus a nation which has gotten better and better with each tournament.
Team Canada
Canada has a world class group this tournament, with lots of NHL calibre talent to boot. This year, Canada has the likes of Joshua Roy, Shane Wright, Adam Fantilli, Owen Beck, Dylan Guenther, Connor Bedard, and many more.
Canada also has a defence headlined by Brandt Clarke, Kevin Korchinski, and Ollen Zellweger. As mentioned, Canada has another dominant team this year, and it has the best of the best from three separate draft classes, which should equal out to be a pretty good year for team Canada.
Although the majority of these players on team Canada have been drafted, these games are still the boom or bust games for the players that are a part of the 2023 draft class. Considering that the Canadians have potential 2023 first and second overall picks Adam Fantilli and Connor Bedard on their teams, these games should be very important for them.
Must Watch
For Canada, some of the must watch players this year are Shane Wright, Connor Bedard, and Adam Fantilli.
Shane Wright is having a 2023 season that is nowhere near his expectations. In 8 games with the Seattle Kraken, he has posted a goal and an assist for two points. Although he had a turnaround in Coachella Valley, this season hasn’t looked good for Wright. This tournament should be games that he can make up for his otherwise slow start.
Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli are two of the top prospects for the 2023 NHL Draft heading into the tournament. These games are big deals for these prospects, as this could be one of the factors that contribute to where they get drafted.
Czech Republic
Although the Czech don’t have the level of talent that Canada does, they still do have someone very interesting that will help them out: David Jiricek.
Drafted 6th overall in the 2022 NHL draft, Jiricek has had a very solid year in the AHL this year with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, recording 20 points in 20 games.
The Czech Republic also have the likes of David Spacek, Tomas Hamara, Jiri Kulich, and Petr Hauser on the roster this year.
What To Watch
The main player to watch for the Czech Republic this year is easily David Jiricek. Being the main face for the Czech Republic this year, and being the 9th pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, he has a lot of weight on his shoulders this year.
As mentioned before, Jiricek is a point per game in the AHL this year, and has been playing pretty much up to expectations. Unlike the Canadians mentioned, Jiricek doesn’t have any drive to try and prove his worth to anybody, although he could use this opportunity to try and impress the Blue Jackets further.
Prediction
Overall, this game should be a great kickoff for both sides, and although this game looks to be a blowout for Canada, the Czech Republic have added the talent to put up a solid fight. Unfortunately, this maybe a bit of a stretch considering how powerful this Canadian roster is.
Predicton: Canada Wins 4-1
