Team Canada and the nine other squads will play in Edmonton behind closed doors with all the officials being Canadian. While the NFL’s Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event in North America, the IIHF World Juniors is arguably the biggest hockey event.

Canada will be in the “softer” of the two groups with only Finland as a considerable threat while the next three powers: USA, Sweden, and Russia will slug it out in Group B.

Team Canada is the team to beat

"World Junior Hockey Championships" by BC Gov Photos is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Canada is a significant favourite due to the amount of talent the team can compile. The pandemic’s lockdowns have made it possible for several of last year’s squad including Quinton Byfield, Dylan Cozens, and Kirby Dach.

Cozens will form a doomsday-worthy line with Dach and Connor McMichael. The trio will be tough to stop and merely offer a glimpse of the firepower Canada has. Peyton Krebs and Connor Zary provide more depth at center while Philip Tomasino could be the team’s “X-Factor”.

And this isn’t even factoring in whether Alexis Lafreniere, last year’s tournament MVP, will be permitted by the Rangers to rejoin the squad. Should Lafreniere return, this would push Canada over the top.

But what sets Canada apart from the competition is their defense. Canada will have more continuity and experience than their American or Russian counterparts. Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale will anchor the corps. Thomas Harley and Braden Schneider further bolster the group.

For their goaltenders, Canada has no clear-cut number-one although any of Taylor Gauthier, Dylan Garand, and Brett Bochu are solid enough to help lead Canada to a consecutive gold medal.

2021 World Juniors: The Top Contenders

Although Canada is the significant favourite to win, the World Juniors have been renowned for its many upsets. Not too long ago, Canada didn’t even finish in the top four and Finland has won three of the last seven tournaments mostly as a longshot.

Here is how the rest of the top teams stack up to Canada:

USA (4.46)

The Americans edge out Russia as Canada’s biggest rival heading to Edmonton. They will have no shortage in talent beginning with returning goaltender Spencer Knight who was solid last year with averages of 0.913 SV% and 2.49 GAA.

Upfront, Team USA could once again have the services of Jack Hughes if the Devils decide to loan him as the Blackhawks did with Kirby Dach. Also returning are Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras, and Nicholas Robertson.

"Road to the World Juniors" by BC Gov Photos is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Thanks to the delay in the NHL, these players will get a chance to return to the tournament as opposed to competing for roster spots in the pros. This gives Team USA a stacked and experienced forward group.

But on defense, Team USA will field an inexperienced but uber-talented group with Cam York as the only returnee. Jake Sanderson will be one to watch as an all-around defenseman.

Russia (4.70)

The Russians were 12 minutes away from capturing their first gold medal in almost a decade but couldn’t stop the surging Canadians. Still, Russia has medaled in all but one tournament in the last ten.

This year, Russia arguably has the most potent talent up front led by blue chip prospects Rodion Amirov of the Leafs and Yegar Chinakhov of the Blue Jackets. Joining them will be Maxim Groshev and Vasili Podkolzin from last year’s squad.

On defense, Russia will feature an all-new lineup with 2020 first-round pick Shakir Mukhmadullin as the team’s lynchpin. The 6’4” Devil looks like a complete package, but will have his work cut out as he looks to patch what has historically been a weakness for the team.

At net will be Yaroslav Askarov, who is hailed to be the next great Russian goaltender and is a first-round pick from the Predators.

Sweden (5.97)

Perpetual silver medalists, Sweden is a contender every tournament and have at least won a medal in five of the last 10 tournaments including a bronze in 2020.

This year, Lightning goaltending prospect Hugo Alnefelt makes Sweden a dark horse. The standout posted a 5-1-0 record last year with a 2.12 GAA and a SV% of .921.

Supporting Alnefelt on defense will be three first-rounders from the 2019 draft: Phili Broberg, Victor Soderstrom, and Tobias Bjornfot.

And while Sweden will miss their top goalscorers from 2020, they still have Alexander Holtz, the seventh overall pick from the draft and second-best rated European skater.

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