The biggest day of the World Juniors Group Stage almost always ends up being the finale on New Year's Eve, and it's no different this year.
The Toronto Maple Leafs boast two prospects playing at this year's WJC, those being Canada's Ben Danford and Sweden's Victor Johansson, both of whom have helped their teams to undefeated records so far in the tournament's round-robin stage.
Both defensemen will face their toughest opponent tonight, with Danford and the Canadians taking on Team Finland, and Johansson and the Swedes taking on the hosts, Team USA.
Let's take a dive into both games tonight and how each team matches up in the most important games of the tournament so far.
Sweden vs USA: Top Spot in Group A on the line
Johansson and the Swedes will take on the Americans at 6pm EST at Grand Casino Arena in Minnesota. Both teams have identical 3-0-0-0 records thus far in the tournament.
Storyline to watch:
It's pretty simple, a win for either team in any fashion and they'll earn top spot in Group A, setting them up with a quarterfinal matchup against Group B's 4th seed.
Through both team's first three games Sweden owns the edge in goal differential (+10 vs +5), PP% (42.8% vs 18.2%), and PK% (88.9% vs 77.8%). However, historically, this newly formed WJC rivalry has been on USA's side.
The Americans have won seven of the last ten matchups at the WJC, including four straight dating back to 2019. The Swedes look to turn the tide on this rivalry and silence the American crowd in Minnesota.
Victor Johansson's tournament thus far:
Johansson, a Leafs fourth-rounder from 2024, has had a minimal presence on this Swedish team. He was a healthy scratch in their opener on Boxing Day, and has mainly been used as their 7th d-man.
Johansson has yet to register a point in his two games of action, but that could all change if given the right opportunity. The Leafs prospect is stuck behind the likes of Alfons Freij and Leo Sahlin Wallenius in terms of offensive defensemen on the Swedish blueline, but will be the next man up if the opportunity arises.
Canada vs Finland: A crucial game in Group B
Following the Sweden-USA tilt, Ben Danford and Team Canada will take on the Finns at 8:30pm EST, the final game of the 2026 WJC Group Stage. Canada sits at a 2-1-0-0 record with 8 points, with Finland not far behind at a 2-0-1-0 record with 7 points.
Storyline to watch:
This game is simple for Canada, a win in any fashion and they finish first in Group B, a loss in any fashion will land them no lower than second place.
For Finland, things are a little trickier. A win over Canada and they'll take top spot, but a loss, along with a (very likely) Czechia win today over Latvia would slide them down to third place in the group. The third place finisher in Group B will earn a much tougher quarterfinal matchup, taking on the loser of tonight's Sweden-USA tilt.
So far, both Canada and Finland have an equal goal differential (+11 each), with Canada owning the edge in PP% (50% vs 33.3%) and PK% (100% vs 77.8%).
Canada also has had Finland's number over the past few tournaments, winning the last six matchups at the WJC between these two teams, with the Finns last win over Canada in the group stage coming all the way back in 2001.
Also, Finland's last win over Canada at the WJC was the infamous overtime game in 2019 in Vancouver, where Noah Dobson's broken stick led to a 2-on-1 for Finland, where Toni Utunen buried the winner.
Ben Danford's performance so far:
Leafs 2024 first-rounder Ben Danford has come exactly as advertised for the Canadians, as he's played his role as a third-pair, shutdown d-man nearly perfectly.
Danford won't register many points at this tournament (he has one assist so far, coming against Czechia), but he'll be steady on the back end, block shots, kill penalties, and make very few mistakes, if any at all. Which is exactly what he's done so far for Team Canada.
The Brantford Bulldogs d-man hopes to keep up his strong play tonight in Canada's most important game thus far.
My predictions:
We're in for some great hockey tonight, and no matter which way the scores go, each game will be more than exciting to watch.
Here are my predictions:
Sweden def. USA 5-3
Canada def. Finland 4-1
Let's see how the WJC Group Stage wraps up tonight in Minnesota, it's going to be fun.