After six days worth of preliminary round action at the 2026 World Juniors, we have reached the next stage of the tournament.
This second phase of the tournament will feature the knockout round - consisting of a quarterfinal round, a semifinal round, a gold-medal game, and a bronze medal game - in addition to a relegation round between the fifth-place teams in each group. All of the knockout rounds, in addition to the relegation round, are of a single-elimination format.
Unlike past tournament game days, the action on January 2nd will feature five games, including a relegation round game and all four quarterfinal games.
The relegation round game, which features Denmark and Germany, will get underway at the 3M Arena at 11:30 AM CST. This will be followed by the first of four quarterfinal games, which will be a rematch of last year's quarterfinal game between Sweden and Latvia. Puck drop in that game will take place at 1:00 PM CST.
The third game of the day will feature two tournament dark horses/underdogs in the form of Switzerland and Czechia. Those two teams will play at the 3M Arena with a 3:30 PM CST puck drop.
The last two games of the day will feature tournament heavyweights. The first of these games will see the United States and Finland do battle at the Grand Casino Arena, with puck drop set for 5:00 PM CST. The final game of the day will see Canada play Slovakia in what should be a closely-contested encounter. That game will be played at the 3M Arena, with puck drop set for 7:30 PM CST.
Let's take a look at each of the five games on the schedule for January 2nd.
Germany vs. Denmark
My initial opinion of this game backed a Germany win.
But after doing a little more thinking, this game might be a little closer than anticipated.
Offensively, it's 50-50. Denmark has scored slightly more goals than Germany throughout the group stage while also doing so against tougher opposition. That said, Germany has proven itself to be better at creating chances, but converting them is a completely different issue.
Denmark's strategy will likely rely upon a stronger start; not only has Denmark looked better at the start of their games, but they've also been able to score a good portion of their goals in the earlier stages of games. If Denmark can do that and play good defence, they'll be able to catch Germany off guard and eventually pull away.
The pick: Denmark 3, Germany 2
Latvia vs. Sweden
This quarterfinal matchup will serve as a rematch of last year's quarterfinal round, which saw Sweden survive a rally from Latvia to advance by a score of 3-2.
While Latvia will look to play off of a defensive-minded game plan with scoring chances coming off the break, Sweden will hope that the confidence acquired from the end of their group stage run will be enough to eventually get past a determined Latvia side.
Considering Sweden's relative inability to defend leads and completely keep opponents behind, I could see Latvia getting a couple of goals and putting the pressure on Sweden. However, I think the Swedes will play the better game and advance to the semifinals by a comfortable margin.
The pick: Sweden 4, Latvia 2
Switzerland vs. Czechia
While Czechia can be seen as the tournament dark horse, they're most certainly going to be on upset alert when they enter their quarterfinal game against Switzerland.
Outside of the tournament favourites, Switzerland might be the likeliest team to make it to a medal game. Not only did they perform valiantly against Group A's top dogs, the United States and Sweden, but they also put up strong performances against Relegation Bowl bound Germany and previous underdog Slovakia, who entered their game against Switzerland off the heels of a near-upset of the United States.
Offensively, Switzerland's offensive depth will be key in breaking down Czechia's defence and in matching a Czech offence that might be one of the nation's more improved units. Even though Czechia will be the favourite and should end up doing enough to win this game, I do think Switzerland will do just enough to force this game into overtime and give the Czechs a couple of scares in that extra time period.
The pick: Czechia 2, Switzerland 1
Finland vs United States (puck drop set for 5:00 PM CST)
Finland isn't exactly entering this game with the strongest form, but the United States should still be on high upset alert.
Say what you will about the Americans' strong start to the group stage, but Finland has arguably looked better in all facets of the game. They've scored more, they've defended better, and they've been a little more disciplined than the Americans.
While a lot of those advantages dissipated against Czechia and Canada, Finland remains nonetheless in a better position to advance than the Americans. While the United States should still play determined and force Finland into a high-scoring game, I do think the Finns are still well-equipped to win the high-scoring games. Finland should win this game and end the United States' three-peat bid.
The pick: Finland 5, United States 3
Canada vs. Slovakia
The last time these two teams played in the knockout round of the World Juniors, Canada was bound for a gold-medal game appearance. However, Slovakia was able to provide a strong challenge to the Canadian entry, ultimately falling in overtime by a score of 4-3.
This time around, both teams find themselves in relatively similar positions. Canada enters the knockout round off the heels of their best group stage performance since 2023, which saw them top Group B with eleven points and twenty-five goals scored. Meanwhile, despite a poor finish to the group stage, Slovakia has caused some of the top teams issues, forcing the United States to reverse several deficits while coming close to stealing a point off of Sweden. And with the tournament's top goalscorer Tomás Chrenko in their ranks, Slovakia finds itself in a decent position to keep pace with the Canadians on offence.
While the Canadians will enter as the favourites to advance, two of Slovakia's last three quarterfinal appearances went to overtime; the lone regulation loss for Slovakia was a 5-3 decision against Finland in last year's tournament.
With all of the above considered, I could see Slovakia providing a similar challenge against a strong Canadian side. Even if the game does end up going to overtime, I think Canada will end up doing just enough to win their first knockout round game since 2023.
The pick: Canada 4, Slovakia 3