The World Junior Ice Hockey Championship is an annual holiday tradition that begins the day after Christmas and goes into the New Year. The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship will begin on December 26, 2022, and end on January 5, 2023, at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. We have the latest World Junior odds and our World Junior predictions at TheSportsGeek.
This is the 47th edition of the World Junior Championship. Note that this is a U20 ice hockey tournament. If you are not familiar with hockey too much, these players are equivalent to college football players in the US.
In other words, these are the top young players from around the world competing for their respective countries. Expect to see plenty of these names in the NHL soon, with many already drafted with a bit of NHL experience.
In 1️⃣ week, the quest for the 2023 #WorldJuniors trophy will begin. 🏆
Are you ready? pic.twitter.com/YfWPE96zkD
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 19, 2022
via@IIHFHockey
There was a World Junior Hockey Championship that took place this past August to make up for the lost Covid-19 year. The tournament in Edmonton did not feel like a real World Junior Championship, though. Everyone expects World Junior hockey just after Christmas, not in the August heat.
At the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, Canada and Finland needed overtime to decide the Gold Medal Game. Kent Johnson — currently with the Columbus Blue Jackets — scored the overtime goal 63:20 into the extra frame for a 3-2 win.
The win gave Team Canada their 19th Gold Medal in the World Juniors. The Canadians are atop the World Junior odds board going into the 2023 World Junior Championship. That is to be expected, but are these World Junior betting odds good value on Team Canada?
Team Canada is bringing a really talented team with them to Nova Scotia this year. That said, Team USA and Team Finland are not going down quietly. There is talent that has to be appreciated on all three teams.
Is there a long shot on the World Juniors betting odds board that is worth considering? We are going to look at a team with big odds that might be worth considering. Let’s examine the 2023 World Junior odds and get into our World Junior predictions.
Find the best hockey betting sites for wagering on the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship.
2023 World Juniors Betting Odds
Even if you are not the most hardcore fan, the favorite for the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship is not unexpected. The oddsmakers have Canada winning their third World Junior Championship in four tournaments.
If you like Canada, you’ll have to pay juice to back the Canadians. They are the only team with World Junior odds that are not getting plus money. Fortunately, if you want to bet the Americans, there are some pretty good odds on the board.
The same goes for Team Finland, who was a goal away from winning the 2022 World Juniors. They are catching some fairly decent value to win this event. Finland is currently the third favorite, behind the US, at +450 to win the World Junior Championship.
The next likeliest team to win the 2023 World Junior Championship is Team USA. They are not close to Canada, though, with +400 odds to win the Gold Medal. Let’s look at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey odds board.
| TEAM | HEAD COACH | ODDS |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | Dennis Williams | -125 |
| USA | Rand Pecknold | +400 |
| Finland | Tomi Lamsa | +450 |
| Sweden | Magnus Havelid | +650 |
| Czech Republic | Radim Rulik | +1600 |
| Slovakia | Ivan Fenes | +2500 |
| Switzerland | Marco Bayer | +10000 |
| Germany | Ernst Hofner | +15000 |
| Austria | Kirk Furey | +100000 |
| Latvia | Eriks Miluns | +10000 |
Team Sweden – World Juniors Long Shot Pick (+650)
Sweden is the fourth favorite to win the 2023 World Junior Championship. The last time that Sweden won the World Juniors was in 2012. Since then, either the USA, Canada, or Finland have won the Gold Medal.
That was in fact only the second Gold Medal for Sweden in 2012. They won back in 1981 and finally ended the drought just over a decade ago. Is it time for Sweden to win another World Junior Championship?
It is going to be hard to find too many bettors interested in Sweden. However, they will attract some money based on their attractive World Junior odds. If there is anything that Sweden is aiming for in this tournament it is team speed.
Head coach Magnus Havelid has stressed the need for building a faster offense for this tournament. It helped Sweden win a Bronze Medal at the 2022 World Juniors in August. However, Finland’s defense was too much in the semifinals in a 1-0 victory.
Look For Sweden To Take Chances
Sweden has put together a roster that will not sit back. They are built for going on the offensive attack. Unfortunately, Sweden is going to be lacking on the blue line.
The sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Simon Edvinsson, passed on participating in this edition of the World Junior Hockey Championship. He was the most productive player for Sweden in August, so this is a big loss.
Sweden is going to generate plenty of scoring opportunities, but there will be odd man rushes limiting them on the other side. Carl Lindbom has been on fire in the crease in the HockeyAllsvenskan, so the first-year starter will have to be in top form.
Lindbom owns a 1.86 GAA and 0.933 save percentage this season. He will have to be outstanding for Sweden without Edvisson on the ice. If that happens, Sweden might be a good dark horse pick.
For our World Junior Championship long shot pick, let’s back Team Sweden to get it done in Halifax.
Team Finland (+450)
The silver medalists from the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship are looking for one better in Nova Scotia. They will have to contend with a better American and Canadian team, though.
While Finland came a goal away from winning the Gold Medal, they do not look better on paper than they were in the summer. Everything came together for Finland in Alberta. They will need even more to come together this time.
There are a lot of new moving parts for Finland in this tournament. There is talent and experience, but it should be tough for everything to gel together so quickly. The performance of AHLer, Brad Lambert, will largely dictate how far Finland goes.
Expect A Strong Defense, But Lambert and Kemell Must Excel
Lambert is with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. He has not looked comfortable thus far. The 30th overall pick of the 2022 draft is going to be asked to do more in the World Juniors.
This play by #NHLJets Brad Lambert to start OT 👀🤤 pic.twitter.com/0iqTnR5hTr
— Michael Remis (@mremis) October 2, 2022
via@mremis
He and the 17th overall pick, Joakim Kemell, need to be at their best in Nova Scotia. Kemell is a solid talent that is seeing improvement in Finland. He was the 2021-22 Liiga Rookie of the Year and should be a contributor for the Nashville Predators.
The defense is going to be in good form again, but the offense has to click together fast. They do not have the depth of Team Canada and the USA. Look for another competitive run from Finland, but just not enough.
Team USA (+400)
The Americans would have liked the services of Matthew Knies and a couple of others, but they should be all right. Team USA is made up of mostly NCAA players. There are a total of 21 players from NCAA schools, with only two OHL, and a player from the AHL.
After 2, Team USA leads Sweden 4-1!@kennyconnors25, @GauthierCutter and @charliestramel tallied one each in the middle frame.
Catch the last 20 on @NHLNetwork! pic.twitter.com/45xnofIWfY
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 21, 2022
via@usahockey
NCAA hockey is far better than it was only over ten years ago. It is quickly becoming a substitute for junior hockey in Canada. However, this is not the best World Junior roster that Team USA has put on the ice recently, and the OHL and WHL are still a step ahead.
The forwards, especially the top line, led by Logan Cooley, should be dangerous for the Americans. Cooley was drafted third overall by the Arizona Coyotes and is likely to impress. There are five other first-round NHL picks joining Cooley up front.
Will The Defense Be Physical Enough?
This has to be a concern for the USA. They are going to be a fast team, including the defense, but this blue line is giving away a lot in size to be quick.
Team USA is putting a small defensive unit on the ice in Nova Scotia. The defense helping out the offense is going to be easy for this team. However, winning battles in the corners and in front of the net should prove to be difficult.
Captain, Luke Hughes, is going to move bodies, but behind the first line, there are some concerns for the American side. Expect Team USA to be a fun team to watch play. However, physicality could be a problem when having to compete versus Canada.
Team Canada (-125)
For the third straight tournament, Team Canada is the host of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship. They lost to the US two years ago, but responded this past August in Edmonton over Finland.
I’m pretty sure Connor Bedard is the best player in the NHL… pic.twitter.com/lttHFqmaQi
— James Nichols (@JamesNicholsNHL) December 20, 2022
via@JamesNicholsNHL
That was a close call for Canada at Rogers Place. This team looks the part again. If the Canadians play how they are expected, they are not going to need overtime this time.
There are 19 players from major junior hockey leagues on this roster, most of which are from the WHL. There are four players from the OHL. So, when it comes to Team Canada vs Team USA, it is essentially junior hockey against college hockey.
College hockey is getting better in the States, but it is not up to par with major junior hockey in Canada, yet.
Shane Wright On Team Canada’s Roster
Team Canada lucked out with having the services of NHLer, Shane Wright. He did not participate in August, but the Seattle Kraken recently sent him down to the AHL.
As a result of his AHL designation, Wright is able to play in the World Juniors. Selecting Wright as the captain of Team Canada was too easy for head coach Dennis Williams.
The presence of Wright on the ice makes this a better team than the roster that won the Gold Medal in August. He does not have to be special every game, either. Canada is packed with depth and scoring talent.
2023 World Junior Predictions
The 2023 World Junior odds have this between Canada, USA, and Finland. There is one team that can produce on every line, while the other countries are going to need their top line to be fantastic every shift.
We can find holes in every roster besides Canada. The USA is going to be fun to watch offensively, but they lose a lot of size on the blue line to the Canadians. They are going to lose battles along the boards and corners to Team Canada.
Decked out in 🔴.
#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/N6GX246Mlb— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 21, 2022
via@HockeyCanada
Finland’s top line is going to be talented, but they lose out on depth to Canada. The World Juniors betting odds are lopsided towards Team Canada for good reason. Consider betting Canada to win the Gold Medal, with Team Sweden as a potential small long shot pick at +650.
