Five Takeaways from the 2024 World Junior Championships
The 2024 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships are now in the history books and we can all get back to screaming at our local NHL and PWHL hockey teams while slowly coming to the realization that the playoffs are not within reach, and I go back to watching billions of hours of hockey to make sure I’m as supposedly informed as I’d like to be. In the meantime, we can reflect on the events that transpired and look forward to the future a little, then as your NHL worlds crumble, I’ll be there to help ease you into what is likely to be a wonderfully wild 2024 NHL Draft season.
Rather than going through every team and analyzing them individually, I thought it would be prudent to explore five storylines that I noted to carry forward into the future. This tournament as a whole really was one for the ages in my opinion. The gold medal champion United States team was one of the deepest rosters ever assembled, and while things looked shaky in spots, they were the team to beat, and nobody could when push came to shove. They had swagger, they had skill, they had confidence, and they very often had the puck. A remarkable team filled with future NHL talent that we’ll likely be watching for years to come.
If it weren’t for the Americans, the Swedes would be the other “Golden Generation” roster, better than many we’ve seen on paper in the last few years. While the same level of raw talent on all four lines wasn’t quite there, this was a team with some serious firepower at both skater positions, and I would expect many of these players to at least become strong NHL roleplayers with some serious skill on the side. Strong team, strong tournament, but unfortunately not the result they were hoping for against an all-time American team.
What can you say about the Czechs and Finns here… That bronze medal game was one of the most outrageously entertaining sporting events I’ve ever seen. I can’t recall the last time I saw six unanswered goals, let alone in a medal game. Hockey is a crazy, crazy sport, and based on how the Czechs managed to squeak their way through Canada in the Quarterfinals, only to fall dramatically to the Swedes in the semifinals, I didn’t think the Czechs had much of a shot to out-Finn the Finns. Yet the hockey gods looked down upon me and said “My Dearest Silly Son, behold our power”, and while they dangled the carrot of correctness in front of me through two periods, the thunder of their vengeance struck the universe and the Czechs ripped off five goals to seal a surprise bronze medal win in a tough, grinding game where the score definitely didn’t indicate that. I have no idea how people don’t love more and more scoring in hockey and this game is exactly why. The drama level was pinned at 10 and it was glorious.
This was a tournament of upsets, and in my view not a tournament of disappointment on the part of individual teams. Every team had something to hang their hat on. Latvia beat Germany, Germany beat Finland, Norway nearly avoided relegation after a largely brutal round robin, the Swiss nearly stunned the Swedes in the quarterfinals, and even teams that weren’t satisfied with their finish in Slovakia and Canada at least went down swinging, and unfortunately in heartbreaking fashion. So here are some takeaways for me, but before that, here’s my All-Star Team from the tournament:
Gavin Brindley (USA/CBJ) | Macklin Celebrini (Canada/2024 NHL Draft) | Jonathan Lekkerimäki (Sweden/VAN)
Lane Hutson (USA/MTL) | Trey Augustine (USA/DET) | Axel Sandin Pellikka (Sweden/VAN)
MVP: Jonathan Lekkerimäki (SWE)
Top Goalie: Trey Augustine (USA)
Unexpected Surprise of the Tournament: Matej Prcik (CZE)
Pleasant Surprise of the Tournament: Jani Nyman (FIN)
Jesse Pulkkinen Award: Jesse Pulkkinen, there can only be one. (FIN)
1) Don’t Sleep on Norway
It is very very unfortunate that Norway was relegated. Nothing against Germany, but I’m somewhat more optimistic about the future of Norwegian players than I am about German ones, and was hoping to see their version of a “golden generation” continue to develop and be challenged in the top group, but alas, here we are, and instead we get Kazakhstan for next year. I’m a strong believer in Norway’s youth right now, with some seriously high level talent playing in Sweden and at high levels within Norway. I would expect them to run through the Division 1A tournament with a younger roster next year featuring names like Mikkel Eriksen, Mathias Dehli Elias Straume Vatne, Jørgen Nyhus Myhre and Tinus Luc Koblar who have impressed me in limited viewing this year. The goal for them should at least be to be set up with a cohesive and skilled roster ready to compete in the top division in 2026, which I think is very, very achievable. This is a U18 roster that has played Denmark, Hungary, and Slovakia this year in friendly matches, winning all three by a combined score of 23-6, and saved themselves from relegation last season in the U18 championships. There’s something here, and it’s worth nurturing, regardless of the relegation.
2) Macklin Celebrini is Him.
This kinda goes a little bit without saying, but having seen hundreds of players eligible for this year’s draft over the course of the last four months, I was of the belief that there were a few players that could hold a candle to the 1st overall tier of talent that Macklin Celebrini seemed to have a grip on. Berkly Catton and Cayden Lindstrom may have been interesting options for Canada this year, but I’m almost certain they wouldn’t have played like that. Celebrini was by far the most fun and skilled player on the Canadian roster throughout their tournament, and for a team that somewhat struggled to play with pace and evasion, especially on the rush, Celebrini was there being an absolute machine. The edgework, the power and confidence to push to scoring areas, the awareness of his centre of gravity to avoid pressure, there was so much on display and while I believe you can’t use this tournament to take much away, it really does say something that from basically the moment he stepped on the ice, he was a cut above almost anyone on the ice, or at least largely on his own team. The Canadian team wasn’t nearly as “disappointing” as some have led on, I must say, but if anything that makes what Celebrini achieved even more impressive. It would be difficult to take him from the mantle of 1st overall this season, but there’s still plenty of hockey left to be played, and I haven’t forgotten about SKA St. Petersburg dynamo Ivan Demidov. I’m still waiting for his magic loan to HK Sochi to follow in Matvei Michkov’s steps to find what he’s truly capable of against men… Speaking of Canada and disappointment…
3) Regarding Canada: Frickin’ Chill, but Maybe Reflect a Bit?
Hockey in Canada in the 2020s is… Strange. The world seems to be catching up with regards to developing their best players out of their respective pools, and USA hockey undoubtedly is churning out elite talent almost every season both in the USHL and with the NTDP in Ann Arbour. The factors that drive play in the modern game largely just are not the same as they were 10, even 5 years ago. Sure, you could nitpick the way the roster was constructed in spots, but to me that’s missing the point. Canada was a team largely filled with either smart, effective but safe players, or had a number of highly offensive leaning skilled players who needed the puck already in the offensive zone to play their best. They play the body often and heavily, trying to grind down opponents and win battles, but other teams seemed to play more aggressively positionally, angling rushes into less dangerous areas, and use physical play as a last resort or a tool to separate a player from the puck. Watchign other teams, it felt like the more logical thing to just play the puck itself first, stay on your feet in a gap from your opponent, and allowing yourself the freedom to use a couple strides to get around your opponent and start the other way with support from teammates. Yes, Canada won two gold medals in 2022 and 2023, but if you look deeper, this is a team that hasn’t been as dominant as it was for quite a while now. Quarterfinal eliminations, overtime and shootout wins, lucky bounces here and there, and now the shoe is on the other foot with their exit from this tournament.
I have to reiterate, Canada was not bad. They deserved to win that game against Czechia. They were a very good team at this tournament, but it should be explored why this team looked somewhat hapless in their round robin game against Sweden. Why other countries are developing high end goaltender after high end goaltender. Why Canada’s defensive depth made them look no different on the ice to the defensive depth of a team like Czechia or Finland. Yes, injuries were a factor, and yes there were NHL players not here, but many teams had injuries, many teams had NHL players that were unavailable, and Canada is supposed to be a powerhouse in this game globally. The structure of how we develop players, and how we focus our talented players to challenge them and play their best hockey seems to be somewhat illogical relative to other nations. Many European players play for local town clubs for years. Same teammates, same opponents, competition that fluctuates but ends up concentrated every year, and significantly more flexibility to get players playing at the right level for them. The US has one top junior league with 15 teams in it, and USA Hockey runs a program for the best 15, 16, and 17 year olds in their eyes to push them as far as they possibly can. These players then go to college where they’re facing players well into their 20’s from day 1. Canada has basically infinite AAA and prep school programs around the country, three leagues of 20 top level junior teams with their own drafts, forcing teenagers to move hundreds or thousands of kilometres from home, an entire system of individual provincial leagues below that just for players destined for college and those who couldn’t crack the top junior level, and they’re limited to playing in these leagues and only these leagues until they’re 20 or 21, after which point they go directly to the level right beneath the NHL. It just doesn’t really make any sense relative to other nations. Heck, Russia is dealing with somewhat similar issues, albeit much more politically self-inflicted. They’re clearly trying to maintain the image of strong sports infrastructure, so they’re adding more teams at the top junior level, and giving more teams in the same league to the same elite programs. The KHL is bleeding non-Russian talent, diluting their pool there, and the MHL is now a league where basically half the teams may as well be in a different league on their own, so this isn’t an issue alone to Canada.
What’s the solution? I’m not paid nearly enough to figure that out, let alone implement it, but what I do know is that having lived here for 33 years, I can tell that any structural rocking of the boat may as well be the Titanic sinking for these local towns and cities in this country. Canadians don’t like change, and the voices from outside its largest cities can be extremely loud and protective of their interests, and any change likely comes with what would be perceived as adverse effects for these places and teams. This is anecdotal on my part but many Canadians love to do things by the book, and often according to a moral code of some kind, while one thing I love about American culture is their willingness to try things, their willingness to fund things, and their ability to be creative and above all else, have some fun and act like they’re having fun doing… pretty much anything. Practially speaking, a Canadian version of the US NTDP with a dispersal program after they turn 18 of some kind might be worthwhile? Plop them in the USHL or something and have them play the US NTDP a bunch over the course of a season maybe? I don’t know. Hockey in Canada is an expensive, a rocking sea of politics, economics, and conservative cultural preferences. Change is tough, but I’m hoping that Canada somehow finds a way to regain their status as the shining city on a hill in the world of hockey, because what is good for Canada, is of course, good for the World.
4) I’m Never Underestimating the Finns ever, ever, ever again.
Yes, they didn’t win a medal. Yes, that loss ended up somewhat historically embarrassing for them. It just was not an ideal finish at all. That said, this is more about the bigger picture regarding Finnish hockey that I always seem to forget, and then am reminded of almost every year. This Finnish team brought somewhat of an old-school style hockey team, blended with new school skill and talent. Their best players were big, skilled, and absolutely lethal individual shooters. They were pounding you if they didn’t have the puck, and they were pounding pucks if you gave them space in the offensive zone. Thinking with my NHL cap, do I think it’s a team full of future NHL stars? Not really, but at this level, they are the perfect example of how a grinding but modern style of play looks like. They were often crisp enough on their offensive rushes, and if they weren’t they had the length and strength to fight for possession back. There were flashes of skill and pace from Jere Lassila many times, but to me the story was about who he was surrounded by. For me personally it was a good reminder of what to take home for my own analysis. I wasn’t a huge fan of Lenni Hämeenaho, but I can easily see why he’s improved over last season with better puck skill, a better shot, and more willingness to take pucks to scoring areas. I wasn’t a huge fan of Kasper Haaltunen, but with how physical and tough, he is, with that absolutely bonkers shot of his, his NHL role may be somewhat limited, but you can see an NHL role for him, especially if he ups his speed. Jani Nyman is a perfect example of who to potentially model his improvements after. While not an elite skater, the skill and strength in combination gave Nyman enough ability to be a transition threat as well as a puck possession threat in the offensive zone.
This seems to happen more often than not, where the Finns come in with a bit of a middling team, but turn out a performance that nobody expects. This year fell apart a little bit, but this is a team that should keep their heads held high, with another likely surprisingly strong team next season.
5) USA Hockey’s Last 15 Years are a Miracle on Ice
I’ve been on this planet for quite a while. I remember crying at the television when Marc-Andre Fleury literally handed the USA their first gold medal at this tournament all the way back in 2004. I’ve been around to see more and more USA Hockey and NCAA players find their way into the early rounds of the NHL Draft, and I’ve seen more and more Americans populating the top scorers list in the NHL. Since 2015, I’ve been watching a lot of hockey outside the NHL/AHL pipeline, and let me tell you that this is a country that has come an incredibly long way through my lifetime. What we’re seeing now is what I would call a paradigm shift. It wasn’t just a Gilded Age for American players, starting with Auston Matthews in 2015 and ending with the Smith/Leonard/Perreault line in 2023. This is a systemic shift in the landscape of hockey that I don’t believe is going away. The level of competition in the USHL has even been remarkable on it’s own. This season, some of my favourite American players to watch that couldn’t crack the NTDP are on other USHL teams, elevating their team’s ability in the face of the most elite kids in the nation playing together for a few years in a row. At this level, the Americans have brought a team that is at least favoured or expected to get all the way to a gold medal game for many years in a row. Yes, they may see these games as their Stanley Cup and they have the benefit of years of cohesion, but the talent is undeniable. 5 gold medals in the last 15 tournaments ties Canada’s measure and 10 total medals also ties Canada, but this is not something that was always true, and judging by the talent they have coming through the NHL Draft these days, I don’t think this trend is going to change.
The Canadians have some good players coming in the 2024 NHL Draft, and they’ll almost certainly remain a very strong team in this tournament, but it’s very very difficult to deny that the hockey nation pushing this sport into the future the strongest these days may very well be what USA Hockey has built south of the border.
This tournament is just the best. I say it all the time, but it’s just amazing. The goal of all of this is to entertain, and entertain they did. The personalities, the drama, the beef, the skill, it’s just incredible and something I wish we had a bit more of in the NHL. If you liked it, please be sure to support the Women’s U18 that is now going on in Gothenberg. These women can really play, and if you want to talk about equalization of a sport with more competition, this tournament has been significantly closer and more exciting than it’s been prior. I’ll be watching and following along, and with the PWHL, I’d like to make the women’s game part of my work in some way moving forward.
As a final note, I want to start saying that the events transpiring in Ukraine are horrific and wrong, and I’m a believer in the right to self-determination for a nation free of foreign influence, and Russia’s long history of using of sport to project political power and influence puts them in a position to rightfully be excluded from international competition like this, but I really miss the Russians at this tournament. It’s a real shame to see the strange changes in Russian hockey that I believe is negatively impacting competition level over there, and it’s a real shame that we lack the completely unique and remarkable vibes that the Russian junior team always brought to this tournament. The flash, the risky style of play, the often unbelievable goaltending, it was just such great television every time, even when pouring in five goals to win a gold medal against an overconfident and gloating Canadian team and crowd in 2011 that I witnessed in person while ill, but I’m not bitter, no sir. I really, really hope for brighter times ahead for Ukraine and that this conflict ends as best it can for them without sacrificing their nation, culture, and people. They’ve been through enough over the last, oh, 150 years or so? That said, selfishly I really hope the stage can be set for a return to normalcy for Russian international hockey because in their own way, they’re awesome.
So that’s it, back to the meat-grinder of getting back to the 2024 Draft Analysis and other hockey-related work I do with PuckPreps and Fractal Hockey. What a tremendous tournament, as it usually is, and I can’t wait for the next one in Ottawa. With any luck, I’ll be there myself covering it from the ground, and with more luck, I’ll be making the trip down to Minnesota for the 2026 installment to watch (hopefully) these Norwegians I’m so excited for… make the… quarterfinals? Maybe? I admit I have strange priorities. In any case, thank you so much for reading, and I’ll be seeing you in our livestreams Mondays at 8pm and Thursdays at 2pm!
