With the Preliminary Round just coming to a close now is a good time to do power ranking.
10-Kazakhstan (Group B)
Coming in dead last is Kazakhstan. They got off to an awful start in the tournament getting blown out in their first two games against Sweden and Czechia and while they played much better in their last two games it was not enough. They were tied for fewest goals and gave up the most. They are set for a relegation match against Germany where I believe they are big underdogs.
9-Germany (Group A)
While Germany will be playing in the relegation game, they actually had a decent showing in the tournament. They were in multiple close games against good teams including Canada and Finland and while they got blown out by the United States, they managed to put up 4 goals in that game. At the end of the day Germany was dealt a bad hand being placed in a very good division which had a hand in them being in the relegation game. If they were in the other division, I could have seen them getting one or maybe even multiple wins. Unfortunately, while I believe there are worse teams than them in the tournament, they are in the relegation game and are one poor performance from not playing in the top tournament next year and that is why I cannot go any higher than 9.
8-Switzerland (Group B)
Coming in at 8 I have Switzerland. Expectations were never high and while their tournament was far from great, there are some positives considering what was expected of them coming in. A lot of their games were not all that competitive. While they ended up only losing by two goals to Sweden the reality is they were never in that game and had an impressive third period push and scored with 13 seconds left to make the game look closer than it really was. They also got blown out by Czechia. However, they played well in a loss against Slovakia and were able to narrowly defeat Kazakhstan in a game they dominated to stay out of the relegation match. While they qualified for the next round of the tournament the chances of them getting a medal are very slim as they will be facing off against the United States who are arguably the better than any team they have played so far.
7-Latvia (Group A)
While 7 is not super high Latvia had a very positive showing, and I even considered putting them higher in my rankings. Coming into the tournament Latvia was a favorite to be relegated this year but they proved all their doubters wrong. In their first game they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Junior Championship history beating Canada for the first time in the history of the tournament. They also defeated Germany, lost a close game against Finland and were blown out by the United States. Latvia success stemmed from elite goaltending by Linards Feldbergs and some timely goals. While I believe they had more success in the preliminary round than other teams, the odds of them going further than they already have are very unlikely and that is why I don’t have them higher. They are set to play Sweden in the quarterfinals.
6-Slovakia (Group B)
Slovakia relied very heavily on Dalibor Dvorsky in this tournament especially in the 5-4 overtime win against Kazakhstan where he scored two goals and two assists. I believe Slovakia has an outside chance of making it to the medal round but their lack of offensive production outside of Dvorsky is a little concerning. If Finland can shut down the Dvorsky line, it is hard to see them having much of a chance to win. In addition to their win against Slovakia they beat Switzerland in a close 2-1 game and lost to Sweden and Czechia
5-Czechia (Group B)
If you told me any of my top five teams win gold I would not be surprised. Starting out my top five I have Czechia. I considered having them as high as three but eventually landed on five. While not stacked Czechia has a well-balanced roster with quite a few high scorers and great goaltending. It is also worth mentioning they led the tournament in scoring. While they were in the weaker division, they beat the bad teams by a large amount and held their own against Sweden in their only loss. The reason I do not have them higher is because they play Canada in the quarterfinals and while Canada has not really met expectations, they still have a stacked roster and will not be easy to beat.
4-Canada (Group A)
After last year’s disappointing quarter final loss to Czechia expectations were high coming into this tournament. However, after questionable roster cuts and a key injury to Matthew Schaefer things quickly went south for Canada. Canada’s scoring problem has carried to this year, the team has been undisciplined with bad timed penalties and have not been able to kill enough of them off. While the Latvia loss was partially because of Linards Feldbergs’ incredible performance in net, having to be shorthanded 7 times and not being able to score at even strength played a big factor in the loss and was in their control. While they beat Finland and Germany in both games they relied heavily off of Carter George’s stellar performances in net. In their final game they were not able to defeat the US because of bad, undisciplined penalties and were not able to kill enough of them off. With the way they have played in the preliminary round they are lucky to be 2-0-1-1. While I believe some of the teams I ranked below them have played better so far, the reason I still have them ranked this high is because they arguably have the most stacked team in the tournament and if they play up to their potential and keep getting elite goaltending from Carter George they would be the favourites to win gold in my opinion.
3-Finland (Group A)
While Finland has not blown bad teams out, they have been able to play good teams very closely. This includes an overtime win against the United States and a good game against Canada that eventually got away from them at the end of the game. Like Canada Finland has had great goaltending from Petteri Rimpinen. Their Penalty Kill was perfect this tournament not giving up a single goal. My deciding factor in having them this high is that they have an easier path to the medal round than Canada and Czechia.
2-Sweden (Group B)
Sweden is the only team this year that have a perfect record through the preliminary round. They have been leading every game going into the third period and have not blown any of those leads. The record really speaks for itself and that is why they are so high and a favorite to win gold.
1-United States (Group A)
Coming in at first, I have the United States. This was a really hard decision between them and Sweden, but the United States have the slight edge because of having an easier opponent than Sweden in the quarter final round and having played in a harder division. They blew out Germany and Latvia, beat Canada and lost to Finland in Overtime.
