The 2026 World Juniors Championship Odds favored Sweden going into the finals, and the three crowns delivered. Sweden defeated a tough Czechia team 4-2 to capture its first gold medal at the World Juniors since 2012.
2026 World Juniors Odds
| Team | Current Odds |
|---|---|
| Sweden | -125 |
| Czechia | -105 |
Odds as of January 5 at BetMGM
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Last 10 World Junior Champions
| Year | Team | Runner-Ups | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sweden | Czechia | Canada |
| 2025 | USA | Finland | Czechia |
| 2024 | USA | Sweden | Czechia |
| 2023 | Canada | Czechia | USA |
| 2022 | Canada | Finland | Sweden |
| 2021 | USA | Canada | Finland |
| 2020 | Canada | Russia | Sweden |
| 2019 | Finland | USA | Russia |
| 2018 | Canada | Sweden | USA |
| 2017 | USA | Canada | Russia |
World Junior Championships & Appearances
The tournament dates back to 1977. Here’s how each nation has medaled over the past 49 tournaments.
| Team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Last Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 20 | 10 | 6 | 2023 |
| Russia* | 13 | 13 | 11 | 2011 |
| Finland | 5 | 6 | 7 | 2019 |
| USA | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2025 |
| Sweden | 3 | 12 | 7 | 2026 |
| Czechia** | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2001 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 2 | N/A |
| Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A |
*Russia and the Soviet Union have been combined
**Czechia and Czechoslovakia have been combined
Czechia has the longest gold-medal drought. Their last championship was in 2001, when Pavel Brendl scored a tournament-leading 10 points in seven games, and goalie Tomas Duba had a 1.14 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.
The Czechs have medaled in four straight years with two silvers and two bronze medals. Clearly, the program is healthy once again, so don't sleep on them when tournament time rolls around.
