The USA has achieved its goal by winning gold for the second year in a row, the first time in its program history. The Americans were -125 favorites going into the tournament and made good on those odds by going 6-0-1 through the prelims and the elimination rounds with a dominating +21 goal differential.
2024 World Juniors Odds
| Team | Current Odds |
|---|---|
| USA | +125 |
| Canada | +150 |
| Sweden | +500 |
| Finland | +800 |
| Czechia | +3300 |
| Slovakia | +3300 |
| Germany | +10000 |
| Switzerland | +10000 |
| Latvia | +25000 |
| Kazakhstan | +30000 |
2024 World Juniors Favorite: USA
I've long said the Americans would win this tournament and win they did, taking the gold medal thanks to their top trio of Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault, and James Hagens who combined for an outstanding 29 points in seven games.
Goaltender Trey Augustine was just as excellent stopping 169 of 184 shots for a 0.917 save percentage and 2.52 goals against average.
The US had a great roster so filled with talent that sniper Cole Eiserman, who scored seven points in seven games, played as the team's 13th forward where he'd get single-digit minutes most games. With so much talent it was impossible to sleep on the American and they proved us all right.
Now, can they win a third gold? Hagens, touted to be the likely first overall pick at the 2025 NHL draft could return to lead the Americans at the next tournament.
Last 10 World Junior Champions
| Year | Team | Runner-Ups | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2016 | Finland | Russia | USA |
The US is now one of only three teams (Canada, Russia, Czechia) to win back-to-back golds and have now medalled in eight of ten years. Results that were far from common previously, the US had only medaled eight times from 1986 to 2015.
Now all eyes are on Canada which has failed to medal in back-to-back tournaments. A massive failure in a hockey-mad country where questions on roster selection and the development of talent need to be answered and done so quickly.
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 | 5 | 2023 |
| Russia* | 13 | 13 | 11 | 2011 |
| Finland | 5 | 6 | 7 | 2019 |
| USA | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2025 |
| Sweden | 2 | 12 | 7 | 2012 |
| Czechia** | 2 | 6 | 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 three straight years with a silver and a bronze, clearly, the program is healthy once again so don't sleep on them when tournament time runs around.
