On Tap: 2025 World Junior Championship quarter-finals

The 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship resumes with the quarterfinals on Thursday. The semifinals are Saturday, and the championship and third place are Sunday.

On Tap: 2024 World Junior Championship quarter-finals

All games on NHL Network in the US, TSN in Canada

USA vs. Switzerland (2:30 p.m. ET) — Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) made 38 saves in a 4-1 win against Canada on Tuesday, looking more like the goaltender who allowed seven goals in four games to help the U.S. win the gold medal at the 2024 WJC than him , who allowed eight goals in his first two games in Ottawa. “He had his best performance of the meet,” U.S. coach David Carle said Tuesday. “We know that to do what we want to do here, he’s going to have to replicate that or potentially even play better.” The U.S. will also need more of the power play that went 3-for-7 against Canada, not the one that was 2-for-11 in its first three games. Defenseman Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) drove the American offense, tying for the lead with eight points (two goals, six assists), including the first goal against Canada. “Very dynamic,” Carle said of Hutson. “I knew he was good with the puck. I didn’t quite know he was that good, the deception and the ability to attack.” Switzerland reached the medal round after a 3-1 win against Kazakhstan on Tuesday. They lost 2–1 to Slovakia on December 27 in a game that was tied until 3:16 remained in the third period, then scored four power-play goals in the third period of a 7–5 loss to Sweden on Sunday. .

Finland vs. Slovakia (5 p.m. ET) — Petteri Rimpinen (2025 draft-eligible) makes a case for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament. His 1.75 goals-against average and .947 save percentage are second in the WJC behind Canada’s Carter George (1.01 GAA, .963 save percentage), but Rimpinen has started all four games, compared to three for George. The 18-year-old has a W rating from NHL Central Scouting on its preliminary list of players to watch for the 2025 NHL draft, meaning he is expected to be a sixth- or seventh-round pick. But he could raise his stock with his play here. “In all four games he’s played, he’s been outstanding and he’s given us the opportunity to win every night,” said Finland captain Aron Kiviharju (Minnesota Wild). “It doesn’t matter who we play against … because he does his job as well as he can.” Slovakia has been out since its 5-4 overtime win against Kazakhstan on Monday, allowing two shorthanded goals in the final 3:23 of the third period before defenseman Maxim Strbak (Buffalo Sabres) scored in overtime. Forward Dalibor Dvorsky (St. Louis Blues) is tied for the tournament lead with four goals.

Czech Republic vs. Canada (7:30 p.m. ET) — It’s a rematch from the 2024 quarterfinals, which the Czech Republic won 3-2 to send Canada to fifth place. The Czech Republic will have seven players back from that game, including forwards Eduard Sale (Seattle Kraken) and Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues), who are tied for the tournament lead with four goals. Also back from that game is goaltender Michael Hrabal (Utah Hockey Club), who made 28 saves in that win. He has been good in his three starts this year with a .925 save percentage. He made 37 saves in a 4-2 loss to Sweden on Tuesday, but the Czech Republic was whistled for seven penalties, which led to two Swedish goals. Discipline was a constant problem as they were short-handed 19 times in their four matches. The only team penalized more was Canada, who were carded 22 times and called for 29 minor penalties. “It’s us,” Canada coach Dave Cameron said after a 4-1 loss to the United States on Tuesday. “We put ourselves in that position. We talk about it all the time, don’t let the refs get into it. We didn’t do a very good job of that tonight.” Canada is also struggling offensively, going 5-on-5 in its last three games. The players are confident that they can play smarter and get their offense back on track. “I think with this group, it’s a great group,” said Canada captain Brayden Yager (Winnipeg Jets), one of four players back from last year’s game against the Czech Republic. “We know we have to have a short memory and move on in the next game… I don’t think we should be too frustrated. Doesn’t change the fact that we have to win the next three games to win a gold medal. “