2025 World Juniors Preview: Groups, predictions, championship odds and more explored

While NHL fans eagerly await the league's return to play after a Christmas break, the World Juniors (WJC) is preparing to kick off on Thursday. Team USA won gold last year and will look to go back-to-back. However, there are plenty of other teams eager to make their presence felt, namely, Canada, a team brimming with talent.

This year's World Juniors Championship will be in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre and TD Place Arena. The tournament will begin on Thursday until Jan. 5, when the gold medal game will be held.

The tournament will see the 10 teams split into two groups of five, with each team playing the others in their group before the four best teams from each group collide in the knockout rounds.

WJC 2025 Groups:

Group A: Canada, Finland, Germany, Latvia, United States

Group B: Czechia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland

2025 World Juniors odds

Heading into this year's WJC, Teams USA and Canada are big betting favorites. The former will look to go back-to-back as gold medalists, while the latter will look to retake the top spot after winning gold in 2022 and 2023.

Below you can see the full odds for this year's tournament courtesy of Bovada Sportsbook:

• USA: +130
• Canada: +130
• Sweden: +600
• Finland: +900
• Czech Republic: +2500
• Slovakia: +2800
• Germany: +10000
• Switzerland: +10000
• Kazakhstan: +20000
• Latvia: +20000

2025 World Juniors preview & prediction

We're in for a competitive race between Teams USA and Canada heading into the 2025 World Juniors as both look to capture gold.

While Team USA has never won back-to-back championships, this year's tournament will see coach David Carle back in action alongside many players who won gold last year in Sweden.

Considering that, Team USA may have a bit of an advantage this time though Gavin McKenna, who is expected to be the top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will be looking to lead Team Canada to gold.

Of course, several European-based teams are looking to make their presence felt. Team Czechia, for example, has been on fire at the youth level over the past few years, winning gold in Prague last year.

Additionally, with teams like Team Sweden and its famed defense looking to make a statement, there's a good chance that we see the team, which ranks third in betting odds, make some waves.

Despite that, this year's tournament will be played in Canada, which could help Team Canada boost as the tournament goes on. With hometown fans eager to see the team retake their spot atop the podium, look for the team to pick up its 21st gold medal.

Prediction: Team Canada to win gold