World Junior Championship roundup: Slovakia edges Switzerland with late goal | NHL.com

Friday is the second day of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is being held in Ottawa.

Day 2 games:

Slovakia 2, Switzerland 1 — Jan Chovan, a C-rated prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft, scored with 3:18 remaining in the third period to lead Slovakia to its first win of the World Juniors in a Group B game at TD Place.

Switzerland defenseman Leon Muggli (Washington Capitals) tried for a breakout pass from behind his net, but missed teammate Endo Meier (2025 draft eligible) and the puck went to Chovan, who scored from between the circles.

Daniel Alexander Jencko (2025 draft eligible) also scored for Slovakia (1-0-0-1). Samuel Urban (2025 draft eligible) made 28 saves.

Eric Schneller (2025 draft eligible) scored for Switzerland (0-0-0-2). Christian Kirsch (2025 draft eligible) made 27 saves.

Switzerland forward Jonah Neuenschwander made his tournament debut, becoming first 15-year-old to play in the tournament since 2001, and the fifth ever.

Jencko made it 1-0 at 18:46 of the first period when he redirected a shot by Luka Radivojevic (2025 draft eligible).

Schneller tied 1-1 at 13:48 of the second period. He had just exited the penalty box when he got a stretch pass from Jamiro Reber (2025 draft eligible), and held off Radivojevic when he skated in and scored.

Each team next plays Sunday, Switzerland against Sweden (Noon ET), and Slovakia against Czechia (5 p.m. ET).

On Tap

Finland vs. Germany (3:30 p.m. ET) — Finland (0-0-0-1) lost 4-0 to Canada on Thursday so it’ll be looking to rebound in a big way Friday. Finland finished fourth at the 2024 WJC and fifth in 2023. The country’s last of five gold medals all-time came at the 2019 WJC in Vancouver. Julius Sumpf (2025 draft eligible), David Lewandowski (2025 draft eligible), Lenny Boos (2025 draft eligible) and Timo Ruckdaschel (2025 draft eligible) scored for Germany (0-0-0-1) in a 10-4 loss to the United States. Sumpf (6-1, 190) earned a W rating on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list and is a projected sixth- or seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft.

Kazakhstan vs. Sweden (5 p.m. ET; NHLN will air at 11 p.m. ET) — Sweden (1-0-0-0) will look to win its second straight in Group B after captain Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings), a defenseman, had a hat trick and four points in a 5-2 win against Slovakia. Otto Stenberg (St. Louis Blues), Felix Unger Sorum(Carolina Hurricanes) and David Granberg (2025 draft eligible) each had two assists for Sweden, which lost 6-2 to the United States in the gold-medal game at the 2024 WJC on home ice in Gothenburg. Kazakhstan, which returns to the top level of under-20 play after winning the 2024 WJC Division I Group A tournament, will play its first game. It will have 14 players back from that team, led by goalie Vladimir Nikitin (Ottawa Senators), who was voted the tournament’s top goalie. The country is making its first appearance at the top level of the World Juniors since 2020.

Canada vs. Latvia (7:30 p.m. ET) — Canada (1-0-0-0) took care of business in its tournament opener with a 4-0 win against Finland on Thursday. Carter George (Los Angeles Kings) made 31 saves in his World Juniors debut, and defenseman Matthew Schaefer, a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, had a goal and an assist in his first WJC game. Forward Gavin McKenna, who turned 17 on Dec. 20 and is the youngest player on Canada’s roster, scored the first goal at 19:08 of the first period. He’s the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NHL Draft. Latvia will play its first game of the tournament. The country scored eight goals in five games and were shut out three straight games at the 2024 WJC but reached the quarterfinals after a 6-2 win against Germany in the preliminary round. A 7-2 loss to the United States left them with an eighth-place finish.