2025 World Juniors Notebook: Latvia stuns Canada in shootout upset

OTTAWA, Ontario – Close games were a common theme on Day 2 at the 2025 World Juniors – and there was no closer game than the final match of the night, as Latvia upset Canada in a marathon shootout. 

Slovakia needed a go-ahead goal from Jan Chovan (2025 NHL Draft) in the final five minutes, after he pounced on a Leon Muggli (Washington Capitals) turnover in the slot. They would hold on to defeat Switzerland 2-1. 

Finland and Germany played an even tighter checking game. Thanks to some excellent goaltending from Petteri Rimpinen, Finland survived a heavy push from the Germans to win 3-1.

The only game that wasn't close today was Sweden's 8-1 drubbing of Kazakhstan. Anton Wahlberg (Buffalo Sabres) finished the game with four points, but it was their blueline and draft-eligible star who powered Sweden to victory.

Here are the biggest storylines from today.

Latvia stuns Canada in shootout victory

Hockey fans must have looked at the schedule today and pencilled in a rout for Canada against Latvia. 

And this game was anything but. 

Latvian goaltender Linards Feldbergs turned aside shot after shot, defenders cleared pucks out of harm's way, and they battled back from one-goal deficits twice in the back half of the third period before completing the upset in a marathon shootout, just their third-ever win against Canada at this tournament. 

Eriks Mateiko, the sixteenth shooter, scored the game-winner, and was all smiles postgame: “For such a small country and young team… it definitely means a lot to us. It's amazing. I can't even describe the feelings. Still can't believe it happened.”

“Every day is a new day,” Calum Ritchie (Colorado Avalanche) said after the loss. “Just gotta regroup and look for the next game.”

“We didn't lose any believe in our group," Canada captain Brayden Yager (Winnipeg Jets) added. “There's a great opportunity for us to learn.”

Where does Canada go from here?

Matthew Schaefer (2025 NHL Draft) leaving the game early with an injury was a significant loss. 

Now, Canada doesn't have a strong enough quarterback from the point. Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers), who has been deployed there, doesn't play that position back in London. Tanner Molendyk (Nashville Predators) didn't have much more success there either when he stepped onto the unit in Schaefer's absence. 

And for whatever reason, the team has been hesitant to deploy Sam Dickinson there, one of the team's better shooters from distance. 

For most of this game, it had been a momentum killer. And even though Ritchie finally ended the power play drought in the third period, Canada left so many scoring opportunities on the table. 

It's one thing to struggle on the man-advantage against Latvia (and Finland just one night ago). It's another thing entirely to walk into a New Year's Eve showdown against the United States with a power play that has only scored one goal. 

And it makes you wonder about the options that Canada had at their disposal and opted not to bring. Carson Rehkopf, one of the most lethal half-wall finishers, wasn't registered for the tournament. Zayne Parekh, who has been the most prolific and best shooter from the point since he entered the OHL, was cut from selection camp. And they certainly miss selection camp cut Beckett Sennecke's (Anaheim Ducks) unorthodox-yet-so-dynamic offence. 

Schaefer's injury opens the door for Canada to register one more defender. It could be Sawyer Mynio (Vancouver Canucks), who is still with the team. But it could be someone else, someone who better fills the power play quarterback role that they so desperately need. Parekh is the obvious choice, but one has to wonder about the optics of releasing a player from camp, only to bring him back over Mynio, who they kept with the team the entire time. 

Dave Cameron did not have any answers postgame. “That will sort itself out,” he said when asked if there were any plans to add the three unregistered players, adding that he didn't have an update on Schaefer's status. 

Regardless of what they do next, Canada has their work cut out for them. The power play is not the only issue – they were not any more dangerous at even-strength, stuck on the perimeters and cycling the puck aimlessly for large stretches. But they must learn from their mistakes in this loss and turn the page quickly. After all, New Year's Eve against the Americans looms large.  

Victor Eklund and Sweden's defence lead the way against Kazakhstan

Draft-eligible talent have dominated the headlines early in this tournament, and Victor Eklund continued that theme with a standout performance. He opened the scoring by slipping around a defender to get inside and deflecting the pass around the goalie, one of many impressive sequences. 

As usual, his motor never stopped. He regularly took on multiple defenders, keeping his feet moving through contact and somehow popping out the other side with possession. It directly led to multiple goals. As Sweden racked up the goals, his motor never stopped, and he started showcasing more playmaking ability, too. If Eklund keeps this up, he'll cement himself as a top-10 prospect in the draft.  

But Eklund's performance wasn't the only encouraging part of Sweden's victory. Yes, Kazakhstan was supposed to be an easy Sweden victory, but Sweden's got goals from every line and points from every defensive pairing. The defence, in particular, shone. 

Last year's top defenceman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings) controlled the game for many of his shifts. From top-to-bottom, the blueline kept rushes to the outside, made clean plays off retrievals, and created offence up top with lateral movement and shot passes. No one did it better than the Tom Willander (Vancouver Canucks) and Theo Lindstein (St. Louis Blues) duo. It was Willander's shot-pass that set up Eklund's goal, and his vision on the breakouts and retrievals was a consistent factor. Lindstein was hitting long-range passes and deceptive shot-passes into the slot all night, and he brought plenty of value defensively. 

Looking forward, Sweden's offence from the blueline presents quite a conundrum for opponents. Back off, and they'll punish passivity by using up the space. Close aggressively, and they'll shift away and find the open teammate in the slot. Their forwards are in constant movement, timing dashes into the slot for loose pucks and tips – they're a cohesive five-player unit in the offensive zone. 

If Sweden's dynamic blueline and skilled forwards keep finding synergy, this could be the team to break the Gold Medal drought. 

Switzerland's Jonah Neuenschwander makes history

Prior to this year's tournament, only four 15-year olds had ever been named to their country's roster at the World Juniors.

Switzerland's Jonah Neuenschwander became the fifth, joining Viktor Alexandrov (Kazakhstan), Konstantin Zakharov (Belarus), Andrei Kostitsyn (Belarus) and George Krygzer (United States).

And when Neuenschwander was listed in Switzerland's lineup against Slovakia, he became the fourth 15-year old to ever play a game at this tournament, and the first since 2001. 

Of the four 15-year olds who have played before Neuenschwander at this tournament, only Alexandrov produced any points (three in six games). Time will tell if Neuenschwander can join him, but making the national team at this stage is already quite an accomplishment.   

Germany was no pushover against Finland

In a difficult Group A, Germany couldn't have drawn a tougher start to the tournament. They faced off against the powerhouse Americans on Boxing Day, and had to go right back to work against the Finns today.

And yet, Germany held their own against Finland for large stretches. They pushed pace, attacked the inside, overwhelmed on the cycle, pressured Finnish defenders into mistakes, and came close to tying the game on several occasions. 

A pretty passing play from Finland's fourth line of Tuomas Uronen (Vegas Golden Knights), Jesse Nurmi (New York Islanders) and Arttu Alasiurua proved to be the game-winner. 

Though Finland's first line finally got on the board in this game, with Konsta Helenius (Buffalo Sabres) setting up Emil Pieniniemi (Pittsburgh Penguins) on the opening goal and Jesse Kiiskinen (Detroit Red Wings) scoring the empty-netter, their overall offensive struggles continued in this game. 

Finland will need more from Helenius, Kasper Halttunen (San Jose Sharks), Emil Hemming (Dallas Stars), and captain Aron Kiviharju (Minnesota Wild) if they hope to contend for a medal this year. 

Tomorrow's Schedule:

Kazakhstan vs. Czechia - 1:00pm ET

Latvia vs. United States - 3:30pm ET