It’s the holiday season and that can only mean one thing for hockey fans: the start of the World Junior Hockey Championship.
After failing to reach the podium last year with a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals, Canada comes into the 2025 tournament as the favorite to claim the gold medal according to our WJC odds. However, the Canadians will first have to get through a scrappy Finland team in their opening game of the tournament.
Canada boasts two excellent netminders in Carson Bjarnason and Carter George, who could stymy an already questionable Finnish attack. Below, I’ll break down how strong Canadian goaltending figures into my best bet in my Canada vs. Finland WJC predictions for Thursday, December 26.
Canada vs. Finland Odds, Puck Line, Over/Under
Below is an odds breakdown of the game between Canada and Finland this Thursday. Odds are provided by FanDuel Sportsbook, but are currently available across most hockey betting sites.
| Team | Puck Line | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | +1.5 (+118) | +300 | O 6.5 (+106) |
| Canada | -1.5 (-144) | -400 | U 6.5 (-130) |
Canada vs. Finland Analysis
Despite finishing fifth place in last year’s tournament with a disappointing playoff loss to Czechia, the Canadians roar into the 2025 World Junior Hockey Championship as the odds-on favorite to win it all at +125 according to Sports Interaction, just edging out the United States (+150).
The tournament has yet to officially start but Canada’s roster has already polarized fans and pundits as several top prospects like Andrew Cristall, Zayne Parekh, and Beckett Sennett were left off the team.
Still, there are plenty of players to get excited about for Canada, including returning veterans like Carson Rehkopf, Easton Cowan, and newly-named captain Brayden Yager. 17-year-old Gavin McKenna, who’s been touted by some analysts as this year’s Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini, is also on the roster.
Despite being undrafted, McKenna leads all WHL skaters with 60 points in 30 games. He also tore up this year’s U18 World Junior Championship with a team-high 20 points in 10 contests, leading Canada to gold.
Outside of McKenna, the Canadian team has had a lot of turnover, as they brought back just five returning players from last year’s team. Canada also brought in a new head coach but a familiar face in Dave Cameron, a P.E.I. native who previously led the team to gold in 2022 and silver in 2011.
Finland is coming into the tournament off a similarly disappointing finish last year as they fell 8-5 in the bronze medal game to the same Czechia team that dispatched Canada. The Finns are returning just six players from that roster, including key forwards Konsta Helenius, Rasmus Kumpulainen, and Emil Hemming.
While the Finns sport solid goaltending options and decent depth throughout the roster, a common criticism of Finland’s team has been a lack of superstar talent, especially up front.
Canada vs. Finland Best Bet
It’s always hard to predict how teams of young prospects will gel in a high-pressure tournament like the World Juniors, but if there’s one thing that looks steady about Canada’s roster right now, it’s defence and goaltending.
The Canadians have gotten off to an impressive start in their pre-tournament games, notching a 7-1 win against Switzerland on Thursday as well as a 4-2 victory over Sweden on Saturday.
Canada outshot Sweden 40-24 in Saturday’s game — a dominant defensive performance against a Swedish team that’s got the third-best odds of winning the tournament (+600).
It’s not clear who will start in net for Canada just yet but both Carter George and Carson Bjarnason inspire confidence. The duo led Canada to gold at the 2024 U18 World Juniors, with George posting an excellent 2.33 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in six games and Bjarnason holding a 3.51 goals against average and an .849 save percentage in six appearances.
Bjarnason has had an especially strong season for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL with a league-leading .913 save percentage in 16 games, while George ranks top 10 in the OHL with a .905 save percentage for the Owen Sound Attack.
Head coach Dave Cameron, who most recently coached the Ottawa 67s of the OHL, has been lauded by Canadian forward Porter Martone as getting his teams to “play the right way” and being “very hard to play against.”
That combination of strong goaltending and commitment to two-way hockey should give the Canadians an edge against a Finnish team that’s lacking in offensive weapons.
Konsta Helenius, the nation’s highest draft pick in 2024 (No. 14 to Buffalo), notched just two points in seven games at last year’s tournament and has just six goals in 28 games during his rookie season with the Rochester Americans of the AHL.
Canada has also dominated this matchup historically, going 27-9-6 against Finland at the World Juniors while losing just once in 15 games as the host.
My best bet: Finland Under 2.5 (ODDS at SIA)
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