2023 World Juniors
World Juniors 2017 Quarterfinals: Denmark vs. Russia, Slovakia vs. Sweden, Switzerland vs. United States previews, start times, & lines
It’s win-or-go-home as the WJC knockout round begins.
11:00 AM EST: Finland vs. Latvia
Relegation Round: Game 1
NOT TELEVISED
In the first game of the relegation round, Finland and their new coach, Jussi Ahokas, are looking to stave off a drop to the second tier against Latvia in the first of three games. While Finland struggled in the group stage, they put up a 51-shot effort against Switzerland in the final preliminary-round game.
While Finland is making history by being the first team to win gold one year and then play in the relegation round the next year, it will be very tough for Latvia to avoid relegation against what should be a much stronger club.
Finland’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #35 Otto Koivula |
#25 Julius Nättinen |
#15 Petrus Palmu |
| #33 Eeli Tolvanen |
#32 Aapeli Räsänen |
#34 Kristian Vesalainen |
| #13 Henrik Borgström |
#10 Kasper Björkqvist |
#9 Janne Kuokkanen |
| #21 Joona Luoto |
#20 Julius Mattila |
#22 Arttu Ruotsalainen |
| #27 Teemu Väyrynen |
|
|
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #18 Vili Saarijärvi |
#12 Juuso Välimäki |
| #7 Olli Juolevi |
#2 Miro Heiskanen |
| #3 Urho Vaakanainen |
#28 Jesper Mattila |
| #6 Juho Rautanen |
|
| Goaltenders |
| #31 Veini Vehviläinen |
| #30 Karolus Kaarlehto |
Latvia’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #6 Eduards Tralmaks |
#11 Renars Krastenbergs |
#12 Erlends Klavins |
| #10 Martins Dzierkals |
#21 Rudolfs Balcers |
#22 Filips Buncis |
| #9 Rihards Puide |
#14 Roberts Baranovskis |
#16 Valters Apfelbaums |
| #17 Roberts Blugers |
#18 Ricards Bernhards |
#24 Deniss Smirnovs |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #3 Eduards Hugo Jansons |
#4 Gvido Jansons |
| #5 Kristians Rubins |
#23 Karlis Cukste |
| #7 Maksims Ponomarenko |
#8 Kristaps Zile |
| #15 Tomass Zeile |
#26 Rimants Zeilis |
| Goaltenders |
| #30 Mareks Egils Mitens |
| #29 Gustavs Davis Grigals |
1:00 PM EST: Russia vs. Denmark
Quarterfinal 1
TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5
Russia has only won two games at the World Juniors this year and they look to win their third against the upstart Danes in the first of four quarterfinals. The Danish crew will rely on strong goaltending and opportunistic scoring as well as their flawless penalty kill.
On the other hand, Russia will look to impose their superior skill onto the Danish squad. Russia has struggled at times this tournament and of all the favourites in the quarterfinals, they look to be the most vulnerable after they only beat Slovakia by two goals. They should be able to dispatch the Danes, but anything can happen.
Denmark’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #27 Alexander True |
#20 Mathias From |
#10 Rasmus T. Andersson |
| #16 Jonas Røndbjerg |
#19 Nikolaj Krag Christensen |
#11 Joachim Blichfeld |
| #18 William Boysen |
#22 Frederik Høeg-Jørgensen |
#9 Jeppe Jul Korsgaard |
| #14 Niklas Andersen |
#13 Christian Wejse |
#21 Tobias Ladehoff |
| #23 David Madsen |
|
|
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #5 Oliver Gatz Nielsen |
#8 Nicolai Weichel |
| #12 Christian Mieritz |
#2 Oliver Joakim Larsen |
| #3 Anders Koch |
#7 Mathias Røndbjerg |
| #15 Morten Jensen |
|
| Goaltenders |
| #30 Lasse M. Petersen |
| #31 Kasper L. Krog |
Russia’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #10 Alexander Polunin |
#24 Mikhail Vorobyov |
#7 Kirill Kaprizov |
| #19 Pavel Karnaukhov |
#9 Danila Kvartalnov |
#27 Denis Guryanov |
| #25 Yakov Trenin |
#8 Kirill Urakov |
#17 German Rubtsov |
| #21 Denis Alexeyev |
#14 Kirill Belyayev |
#22 Danil Yurtaikin |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #28 Yegor Rykov |
#3 Mikhail Sidorov |
| #26 Mikhail Sergachev |
#2 Vadim Kudako |
| #15 Yegor Voronkov |
#6 Sergey Zborovskiy |
|
#23 Grigoriy Dronov |
| Goaltenders |
| #30 Ilya Samsonov |
| #20 Vladislav Sukhachyov |
3:30 EST: Sweden vs. Slovakia
Quarterfinal 2
TSN1, TSN4
Sweden has beaten every team they have met with ease this tournament. The one team that gave them a moment of pause, Finland, was swiftly dispatched once Sweden imposed their will. While Slovakia could possibly beat Sweden, it would take a Martin Réway-sized miracle, and he is not coming through the door.
Instead, Slovakia will have to rely on goaltending and hope that they once again can find opportunistic scoring. It is fair to say that unlike the last time the World Juniors were in Canada, they are unlikely to medal.
Slovakia’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #8 Marek Hecl |
#18 Boris Sádecký |
#22 Oliver Pataky |
| #23 Martin Andrisik |
#29 Patrik Osko |
#25 Miroslav Struska |
| #11 Radovan Bondra |
#20 Adam Ruzicka |
#12 Marian Studenic |
| #27 Filip Lestan |
#15 Marek Sloboda |
#26 Milos Roman |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #14 Erik Cernak |
#6 Martin Fehérváry |
| #5 Michal Roman |
#16 Andrej Hatala |
| #3 Martin Bodak |
#17 Mario Grman |
| #4 Oliver Kosecky |
#7 Samuel Hain |
| Goaltenders |
| #30 Adam Huska |
| #2 Matej Tomek |
Sweden’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #14 Elias Pettersson |
#15 Lias Andersson |
#16 Carl Grundström |
| #18 Rasmus Asplund |
#24 Jens Lööke |
#27 Jonathan Dahlen |
| #17 Fredrik Karlström |
#20 Joel Eriksson-Ek |
#19 Alexander Nylander |
| #25 Sebastian Ohlsson |
#28 Andreas Wingerli |
#11 Filip Ahl |
|
#29 Tim Söderlund |
|
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #7 Oliver Kylington |
#9 Gabriel Carlsson |
| #4 Jacob Larsson |
#6 Kristoffer Gunnarsson |
| #5 David Bernhardt |
#23 Lucas Carlsson |
| #8 Rasmus Dahlin |
|
| Goaltenders |
| #1 Felix Sandström |
| #30 Filip Gustavsson |
5:30: USA vs. Switzerland
Quarterfinal 3
TSN3, TSN5
The United States of America should be the team to win this game. They are a quick, skilled group that has a goalie who makes the saves he needs to make. That said, their defence can be suspect sometimes and there are times when the forwards seem to be unable to finish.
On the other hand, Switzerland has found itself in this position before at different levels of international play and has pulled off the upset before. With good goaltending — Joren van Pottelberghe is coming off of a 49-save loss — they can score enough to cause the upset. The USA should win, but nothing is ever promised in a one-game playoff.
USA’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #19 Clayton Keller |
#18 Colin White |
#13 Joey Anderson |
| #23 Kieffer Bellows |
#28 Jack Roslovic |
#29 Tage Thompson |
| #12 Jordan Greenway |
#9 Luke Kunin |
#17 Jeremy Bracco |
| #14 Erik Foley |
#10 Tanner Laczynski |
#20 Troy Terry |
| #11 Patrick Harper |
|
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| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #4 Caleb Jones |
#25 Charlie McAvoy |
| #2 Ryan Lindgren |
#6 Casey Fitzgerald |
| #3 Jack Ahcan |
#33 Joe Cecconi |
| #8 Adam Fox |
|
| Goaltenders |
| #1 Tyler Parsons |
| #31 Joseph Woll |
Switzerland’s projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #9 Damien Riat |
#12 Calvin Thürkauf |
#15 Nathan Marchon |
| #16 Loic In Albon |
#18 Nico Hischier |
#23 Dominik Diem |
| #11 Marco Miranda |
#17 Raphael Prassl |
#22 Nando Eggenberger |
| #19 Yannick Zehnder |
#21 Fabian Haberstich |
#26 Timo Haussener |
|
#8 Jerome Portmann |
|
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #4 Roger Karrer |
#25 Jonas Siegenthaler |
| #2 Yanick Burren |
#10 Serge Weber |
| #7 Nico Gross |
#24 Colin Gerber |
| #5 Livio Stadler |
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| Goaltenders |
| #30 Joren van Pottelberghe |
| #1 Matteo Ritz |