Welcome to the 2021 World Junior Championship predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey will take a look at each game and give our predictions of the results. Saturday, December 26th is Day Two of the tournament and starts out with Sweden vs Czech Republic.
2021 World Junior Championship Predictions
Sweden vs Czech Republic
Well, if there was ever a meeting of equals in this tournament, this would be it. Sweden was looking incredibly menacing before losing multiple stars and even more staff to Covid-19 pre-tournament. They’re now an attractive, but damaged lineup that’ll need to work hard for a Quarter-Finals spot. In their way is a Czech Republic team that many overlooked coming into the 2021 World Junior Championship. But they proved in their exhibition game against Slovakia that they were not a team to take lightly. Team Czech Republic is now looking like a serious contender in a close-knit Group B. This game is going to be among the most influential of the entire tournament… and it’s going to be very good.
Team Sweden
Team Sweden is… stacked. That’s really the best way to put it. Their entire lineup is menacing. The offence is comprised of multiple highly-regarded stars, including the “Terror Twins” in Alexander Holtz and Lucas Raymond. Noel Gunler and Theodor Niederbach back Holtz and Raymond perfectly, giving Sweden amazing depth. And Oskar Olausson, Simon Holmstrom, and Zion Nybeck form a supporting cast from Sweden’s dreams.
It’s incredible. Sweden’s offence is among the best in the tournament, yet it’s not even the brightest feature of their lineup. It doesn’t go to their defence either, even though it’s incredible. Tobias Bjornfot and Philip Broberg, the assistant captain and captain of the team respectively, are simply terrific. They’re both considered the top defensive prospects for their respective NHL organizations and for good reason. There’s no reason to think both players won’t end up as stars in the NHL soon.
Backing Broberg and Bjornfot is 2019 first-round selection Victor Soderstrom and 2020 second-round pick Emil Andrae. That’s a terrific second-line — if deployed as such — and one that effectively makes Sweden a force to be reckoned with. While their offence is full of stars, their defence is built up of players that are already NHL-ready.
But the best part of Sweden’s lineup is their absolutely incredible goaltending. Jesper Wallstedt is a 2021 NHL Draft class member and, despite being a goalie, is banging on the door of the Top 10. That’s an incredible feat for a goalie and one that he takes in stride. Wallstedt is a very confident, capable goalie. He’s a positional-mastermind, flexing amazing vision, angle-work and speed. While he doesn’t have the athleticism as fellow top-end goalie Yaroslav Askarov, Wallstedt’s sound goaltending is what sets him apart. He plays with the mind of an NHL veteran. Backing him up is Hugo Alnefelt, a less-common name but one that many still expect to turn into a top-end goaltender in the NHL. In fact, some people think Alnefelt could win the starting role. The duo is arguably the best in the tournament and will be absolutely menacing throughout the Group stage.
Team Czech Republic
On the surface, Team Czech Republic does not look like a team that could fight with Sweden. But they showed impressive promise in the exhibition games. 2020 second-rounder Jan Mysak led a Czech offence that looked very fluid. He was supported by Pavel Novak and Adam Raska, two names that helped dominate Team Slovakia.
But the stand-out for Team Czech Republic was, without-a-doubt, Stanislav Svozil. The 2021 Draft-eligible Svozil captured two assists in the exhibition, although his play should have earned him at least a couple more. He was dominant in all three zones and quarterbacked the entirety of the Czech Republic movement up the ice. The biggest drawback to his play was, really, that he didn’t get enough help from his teammates.
Svozil won Rookie of the Year in the Czech Extraliga, the top league in the country, last season and has since continued a streak of promising play in the league. But he’s never faced off against a team as strong as Sweden’s is this year. This will be his biggest challenge yet and his performance will likely determine the outcome of the game. This is especially since Adam Raska, one of the strengths of the offence against Slovakia, is suspended for the game against Sweden.
With a Czech offence that’s hurt but still showing signs of potential and a goaltending group that’s shaky at best, Svozil’s star power will seriously be put to the test. If he can perform as well as he did against Slovakia, there’s a strong likelihood that Czech Republic could match Sweden’s speedy style of play. If not, they’ll need to lean on much less reliable names.
Prediction
The outcome of this game will be very exciting to see. Sweden are the easy favourites but the Czech Republic has a game under their wing, whereas Sweden wasn’t able to because of Covid. As seen in the exhibition round, lack of experience can be a serious thorn for teams. If Stanislav Svozil can continue to lead his team, there’s a good chance Team Czech Republic could make the game interesting. With so much at stake, it’ll definitely be a game to watch.
Prediction: Sweden wins 5-2.
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