Boxing Day marks the beginning of the most-anticipated ten-day span on the hockey calendar: the World Juniors.
This year's edition will take place in Minnesota and feature storylines like the United States' attempt to defend their gold on home soil and Canada looking to re-establish themselves as a force at the junior level. Elsewhere, Czechia will look to continue their run of form, while others like Latvia will look to pull off some more big surprises.
Slovakia vs. Sweden
The opening game of the tournament will see Slovakia and Sweden go head-to-head in Group A action.
For me, the big question in this game will be whether a younger and more inexperienced Slovak entry can make noise against a Sweden side looking to get back to the gold medal game. While Slovakia could have an impact, a younger roster like the one the program is set to field will undoubtedly need some time to gel and grow into the game.
I could see Slovakia getting a few goals, especially in the latter half of the game, however Sweden should do just enough on offence to win this game by a comfortable margin.
Prediction: Sweden 4, Slovakia 2
Denmark vs. Finland
Mismatch of the day? If I'm Denmark, I'd at least be happy the harder matches are out of the way first.
No disrespect to Denmark's World Juniors team, which is making their return to the top division after a six-year hiatus, but considering issues involving roster depth, much of Denmark's focus might already be on their December 30th matchup with Latvia. Winning that game will be crucial in their hopes of surviving relegation.
That said, securing points elsewhere would also be a big help. The good news for them is that Finland has lost each of their last three tournament openers (3-2 to Switzerland in 2023, 5-2 to Canada in 2024, and 4-0 to Canada in 2025). So if Denmark is going to earn a result against any team not named Latvia, this may be their best opportunity.
The bad news? Finland is coming off of a gold-medal game appearance in the last edition of the World Juniors, and they'll be looking to once again survive the preliminary rounds and go on another deep knockout round run.
But if Denmark is going to spring a surprise, it is going to have to start with the goaltending. Keeping Finland's offence at bay and conceding as few goals as possible will give the Danes a foothold in this game. And with a couple of lucky plays, anything could happen.
Considering the above, I'm not going to predict an outlandish result like one involving Finland winning by ten goals. That said, I'm not confident in predicting a Denmark upset victory either, but I'm not ruling out the possibility that the Danes play more confidently than many (myself included) are projecting. Finland will win, but by only a few goals.
The pick: Finland 3, Denmark 1
Germany vs. United States
If Germany is to have any chance at pulling off a surprise result against the United States, the offence is going to have to show up.
The blue-line and potentially the goaltending is set to be one of the bigger sticking points for Germany, however there is promise with regard to the forward group, which is led by the likes of Max Pankin and David Lewandowski.
As for the Americans, there will be pressure, perhaps more so than before. And it doesn't just come from having the chance to play this tournament on home soil.
Not only have the United States won three of the past five editions of the World Juniors, but they will enter this year's tournament with a chance to become the first nation to win gold more than two times in a row since Canada pulled off five straight gold medals from 2005 to 2009. They've also earned a medal in eight of the last ten editions of the World Juniors.
Does that mean the Americans might mess up and make mistakes? Probably, and its happened to teams defending World Junior gold.
If Germany's forwards can pounce on those mistakes early and often, we could be in for a very interesting game. The United States should do enough to win, but don't be surprised if Germany makes things interesting.
The pick: United States 5, Germany 3
Czechia vs. Canada
This is arguably the most interesting game of the four scheduled for the opening day of the World Juniors.
Czechia and Canada have played each other four times over the last three editions of the World Juniors. Of those four encounters, Czechia won three of them, with Canada's lone win coming in overtime of the 2023 gold medal game. Over that span, Czechia has outscored Canada 14-10; three of the four games were decided either in overtime or in regulation by a one-goal margin.
While Canada's focus will undoubtedly be on making it to the gold medal game, this is probably the biggest and most consequential match of the group stage. Canadians are probably all-too-familiar with losing consistently to Czechia in recent years; at this rate, hockey fans from the Mary Brown's Centre to Rogers Arena might be acclimiated entirely to how Leafs fans feel when they lose to Boston/Florida in the opening rounds of the playoffs after a regular season of hype.
Jokes aside, Canada HAS to win this match. Whether it's by Carter George standing on his head in goal or by the likes of Gavin McKenna scoring goal after goal, Canada has to find a way past Czechia or else climb a much bigger mountain to get to the gold medal game.
Do I think they will win this game? I don't know.
I do think this game will end up going to overtime, however I'm not fully sold on this Canadian team's ability to consistently beat top tournament contenders just yet. I'm going to say that Czechia wins this beyond the first sixty, but don't be surprised if a rematch between Canada and Czechia takes up a semifinal or even a medal game.
The pick: Czechia 4, Canada 3