2024 U18 WJC Review: Czechs Make History, USA Ends Gold Drought

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The 2024 Under-18 World Junior Championship (U18 WJC) tournament was heralded as the most competitive U18 WJC to date.

In pre-tournament play, Czechia played the USA in pre-tournament play beating the USA 4-3 in a shootout, previewing just how competitive the tournament would be.

Once the tournament started, though, it looked like a rerun from a decade ago. Canada dominated their Pool with a +28 goal differential in three games. The USA had a +17 goal differential in their three games, though Sweden gave them a more even game than the score (4-0) showed.

Then came the quarterfinals and the tournament took a sharp 180 degree turn into the competitive tournament we expected it to be. The USA only beat Germany 4-0, Czechia upset Sweden 4-2, and Finland eked out an extremely close 2-0 win over Slovakia. The only blowout was Canada over Switzerland by a 6-0 score though the Swiss kept it close till the 3^rd period when the floodgates opened.

Then the semifinals arrived and we were treated to duo of games that would make history.

The biggest history maker happened in the first game – Czechia beat Canada 5-3 to earn a Golden Ticket to the Gold Medal Game for the first time ever in their country’s history at either the U18 WHC or the World Hockey Championships on the women’s side. It was an upset but honestly not that big of one. They played a good game in the round robin versus Canada with the score being not a true representation of the game and followed it up with an excellent defensive game stymieing Canada’s stacked offence.

Finland certainly made it close versus the Americans losing 4-2 but couldn’t manage to have the same opportunistic scoring nor the same defensive play the Czechs showed versus Canada.

Unfortunately for Finland they faced the rage of a Canadian team quite unhappy playing for Bronze and, in the process, lost 8-1.

In the Gold Medal Game, the Czechs held on as long as they could but couldn’t maintain the same defensive cohesion as the previous day leading a Silver Medal and a 5-1 loss. The future of the sport shone brightly and we’ll be seeing a lot of them back here again in 2025.

Awards – Best players selected by the Directorate

• Goaltender: Aneta Šenková, Czechia
• Defender: Chloe Primerano, Canada
• Forward: Adéla Šapovalivová, Czechia

All-Star Team – Selected by the Media

• Goaltender: Aneta Šenková, Czechia
• Defender: Chloe Primerano, Canada
• Defender: Tuuli Tallinen, Finland
• Forward: Adéla Šapovalivová, Czechia
• Forward: Emma Ekoluoma, Finland
• Forward: Josie St. Martin, United States
• MVP: Chloe Primerano, Canada

Czechia Makes it Clear, They’re a Hockey Power

At the senior level, it’s pretty obvious the Czechs are for real. They’ve won two straight Bronze Medals and are showing they will eventually upset either Canada or the USA to make their way into a Gold Medal Game. What we’ve been waiting for is their youth to show the same promise. Last year at the 2023 U18 WJC they got close, showing they were beyond Pool B but couldn’t get past Finland.

This year, they did it. They beat arguably the third best team in the tournament in Sweden to earn a spot in the semifinal, and then they beat Canada. They ran out of steam against the USA but they made it clear to the hockey world that whenever you play the Czechs, it’s not going to be an easy game.

Czechia should be thrilled that their senior team will be receiving some key pieces not only for the future but upcoming WHC. Adéla Šapovalivová was, at the very least, the second most valuable player at the tournament with her nine goals and two assists. Tereza Plosová is going to give the senior team excellent center depth moving forward. Defender Adéla Fromová logged the third highest minutes/game for the Czechs at the age of 16. Aneta Šenková is going to give the Czechs good depth in net at the senior very soon.

The Goalies Showed Up

A lot of goals were scored this tournament but there were also a lot of saves too. I like to think I can be critical of goalies when need be and a realist. I came away from this tournament with the impression that there are a lot of talented goalies who are soon going to be pushing for senior national team spots. Obviously Aneta Šenková was fantastic and as mentioned above she’s going to be a great addition to the senior team’s depth chart. Lívia Debnárová of Slovakia gave her team a chance every game. Even held the Americans to a single goal for two periods. Slovakia is looking for a goalie to lead the senior team and Debnárová just put her name in the ring.

Swiss Talina Benderer should have the full attention of the national team and all the resources she needs to develop. She already possesses an advanced technical and positional game for her age. With more refinement she can be a serious addition to the Swiss national team depth chart. It was another tournament where Kerttu Kuja-Halkola’s stats looked not great (finished 8^th in SV%) but Finland doesn’t make it anywhere without Kuja-Halkola. If Finland can ice a better team next year Kerttu Kuja-Halkola might finally achieve what she’s come so close to doing in two straight tournaments, take Finland to the Gold Medal Game.

Chloe Primerano Demolished Expectations

Ever since Chloe Primerano lit up the 2023 Canada Games I’ve been pretty obvious with what I think of her game. I’ve put her on the same level as Nela Lopušanová as the two U18 generational prospects in the sport, trying to spread Primerano’s accomplishments far and wide in the hockey world to prepare people for when she explodes onto the scene.

With all of that, even I didn’t expect Primerano to lead the tournaments in points, be tied third for goals, set single tournament records (most points/goals for a defender), and win every award she could except for the Gold Medal. Primerano fully put her name on the map of hockey and the Canadian senior national team should be doing all they can to get her ready for either the 2024 WHC or the 2025 WHC. She was clearly the best player there and she still has another year left of U18 eligibility. Next tournament if Primerano matches her 13 points she’ll be second in U18 WJC All-Time Points.

Sweden went too Silently into the Night

When you beat one of Canada or the USA and finish with a Silver Medal the expectations are high for the next tournament. Up until the quarterfinal it wouldn’t have been wrong to say that Sweden was at the very least the third best team and not that far off the USA. Sweden lost 4-0 to the USA in the round robin but the shots were only 35-28 for the US. Sweden created chances and making it clear if they were to meet again in the semifinal a rerun of the 2023 U18 WJC would be quite realistic. They never made it to that point though as they ran into a Czech team who was finally rested and ready. The Czechs took control of the game late in the first period and Sweden was always playing from behind since then. They never recovered and were suddenly out of medal contention. They would go on to beat Slovakia in the fifth-place game 4-1 to end on a highish note but a far cry from where’d they expected to be.

 It was a Tournament of Learning for Nela Lopušanová

After putting up 12 points in five games and being named the 2023 U18 WJC MVP as a 14 year old, expectations were, of course, high for the Slovakian superstar. Whenever you talk about women’s hockey it’s not long until Lopušanová either comes up or a reference is made about her. The eyes of the hockey world were on her as she embarked upon a new challenge with the Pool’s being mixed. Typically in women’s hockey the top 4/5 teams are in one Pool and the next 4/5 teams in the other Pool. Last year Lopušanová went up against Japan, Czechia, Switzerland, and Sweden. This year Slovakia got to play the USA, Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland.

That’s a big jump in talent to play against. On the scoresheet it’s obviously a disappointing tournament as she finished with three points in five games. This has more to do with the competition and where Slovakia is as a team rather than Lopušanová as a player. It was obvious while watching her that Lopušanová is still as talented as ever. What held her back was a lack of chemistry with teammates. She couldn’t get open or find herself in open space with the puck enough to make a big difference on the scoreboard. The cliché is hockey is a team game and in this instance it proved to be true. The crazy part is Lopušanová is still eligible for two more U18 tournaments so it’ll be good to see how she develops.

Not Too High, Not Too Low Consistency Delivers USA Gold

It’s been a bumpy ride for the USA coming into this tournament. In the summer they played Canada in a three-game series and got rocked, losing all three games to Canada and being outscored 15-3. Then, right before the tournament starts, they lost to Czechia 4-3 in the shootout. They continued to struggle as Slovakia holds them to a 1-1 tie through 40 minutes in the first game of the round robin. Once the third period hit though the USA found their groove and never let another situation shake them. They finished off Switzerland 8-1 and didn’t let the close shot count phase them as they beat Sweden 4-0. Apart from their first two games of the tournament the USA never blew out a team but their defensive play also prevented any teams from getting close to beating them.

They’d go on to shutout Germany 4-0 in the quarterfinal, put up a 4-2 score versus Finland in the semis, and finally in the Gold Medal Game they’d win 5-1 over Czechia. The USA got contributions from their top players (Josie St. Martin, Melissa Scannell, & Ava Thomas) but also from all up and down the line-up. Kassidy Carmichael scored twice vs Czechia in the Gold Medal Game to end any attempt at a comeback. Jordyn Petrie had five points from the quarterfinal to the Gold Medal Game. Last but not least, Layla Hemp was a very steady presence in net ensuring any comeback attempts were met with her being in the way. They brought a real team game and strategy to this tournament which sees them winning Gold for the first time since 2020.

The Future of Goal Scoring is Strong

The hardest thing to do in hockey is score goals. Being a finisher is a highly valued skill that’s becoming more valuable the better goalies get and the better teams play defense. At the 2023 U18 WJC, only three players scored at a goal per game pace or higher: Caitlin Kraemer (10), Nela Lopušanová (9), and Zuzana Dobiasova (5). This year six players scored a goal per game or higher: Caitlin Kraemer (10), Adéla Šapovalivová (8), Chloe Primerano (8), Emma Ekoluoma (8), Sienna D’Alessandro (7), and Josie St. Martin (6). This is missing some players that just missed the cut too like Hilda Svensson and Morgan Jackson plus Nela Lopušanová who we all know can score goals but sometimes five games don’t go your way. Goal scorers sent a message this tournament and it was “goalies beware, we can score from everywhere and we’re going to change the game”.

The Three-Peat Dream is Dead, Canada Prepares for Revenge

Before the tournament started this Canadian team was billed as one that could supply Canada with quite a few Gold Medals in the future after winning one at the 2024 U18 WJC. Now they’ll probably be known as the greatest U18 WJC team to not win Gold. They allowed a single goal in round robin play while scoring 29. They had four straight blowouts going before getting to the semifinal and finding talent doesn’t automatically beat team play. Of course, after the semifinal Canada made sure that the Bronze Medal was not in question as they ran over Finland 8-1. Despite the one-off game that lead to Canada’s only loss in the tournament it’s a game that needs to be studied by Canada as other teams will be looking at it as a blueprint for future tournaments.

The Czechs kept Canada to the perimeter, beat them to all the rebounds, and never let Canada attack on the rush. The promising part for Canada is they made adjusts to prevent Finland from pulling the same defensive strategy on them in the Bronze Medal Game. A line-up decision though may hurt Canada once more in 2025 as tournament MVP Chloe Primerano was kept off the first powerplay unit all tournament long. It was especially baffling in the semifinal where Canada was down 3-2, got a powerplay, and then gave the last 30 seconds to Primerano. I have no idea if Hockey Canada intends on bringing the same coaching staff back for the 2025 tournament but if they do I’d bet a fair amount of money there’s going to be long discussions about how to fix everything that went wrong.