Is a Canada-USA Championship Inevitable?

Last year's two World Juniors finalists remain undefeated in 2022 and appear headed on a collision course rematch

Okay, we're getting way ahead of ourselves. Anything can happen in a single-elimination tournament.

However, Team Canada and Team USA look like the two clear standouts at the 2022 World Juniors, which could conclude with a much-coveted rematch.

The last championship final (2021) saw the feisty Americans upset the heavily-favoured Canadians. So, lots of fans cheering on the maple leaf would love to see a possible revenge opportunity.

Clearly, Canada looks like the team to beat right now after reeling off four impressive wins that were never in doubt while outscoring its opponents by a cumulative 27-7 margin. Canada is also coming off a masterful 6-3 victory vs. Finland, which was expected to give Canada its biggest obstacle.

Since Team USA is also 4-0 and the Americans have outscored opponents by a 22-4 margin cumulatively, it's easy to understand why everyone following this year's World Juniors is anticipating a championship rematch this weekend.

But first, Team Canada (4-0) faces off against Switzerland (1-3) on Wednesday in Edmonton. Switzerland clinched its quarterfinal berth with its lone win of the tournament so far, a 3-2 victory over Austria. And Canada knows from its own history in this tournament that anything can happen once the puck is dropped.

Wednesday's quarterfinal begins at 5:00 pm MDT. TSN’s live coverage of four games scheduled begins at 10:00 am MDT with Germany facing Finland.

Here's a look at the odds at Spreads.ca:

Prediction (powered by Pointspreads.ca):

How can anyone bet against Canada right now the way they're playing? They're rightly favoured huge in this game, laying -5.5 goals. The O/U is 7.5 goals.

So, what's the prediction?

This won't be a popular pick with our Canadian friends, but there's probably some value to taking Switzerland plus all those juicy goals and perhaps even betting on the UNDER. While Canada enjoys a plus 20-goal differential, which is the best in the tournament, we also think that has inflated the current line. Add all the homer Canadian money to sway the numbers, and the odds are clearly skewed to the point where there's a sugary sweet spot with the underdog.

So, bottom line is – we'll wager on Switzerland plus 5.5 goals and dust a little appetizer on the UNDER 7.5.

We will hope to cash two bets for dessert.

WE HAVE THE ODDS ON EVERY WORLD JUNIORS GAME AT SPREADS.CA – INCLUDING BOOSTED ODDS, WHICH OFFERS A POSITIVE EXPECTATION ON ALL YOUR WAGERS!