By Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler, Max Bultman and The Athletic NHL Staff 

With the festive season in full swing, one of hockey’s ultimate holiday traditions is around the corner.

The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship offers a glimpse into the future of hockey, featuring 10 teams and showcasing the world’s top under-20 players. Whether you’re a fan keeping a close eye on your NHL team’s pipeline or a big national team supporter, there are plenty of interesting storylines to follow when the tournament opens on Dec. 26 in Minnesota.

Can the United States pull off a three-peat with a gold medal win? Can Team Canada bounce back after back-to-back quarterfinal exits? Which prospects will raise their stocks?

Ahead of this year’s tournament, The Athletic polled 27 NHL staffers between Dec. 16 and 21 to get their predictions. All those polled answered each question in the team picks portion of the survey. An expert prospect panel of Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and Max Bultman was then brought in to pick apart the results, provide analysis and make individual player predictions, too.

Here are the results.

Note: Voting result percentages are rounded for visualizations.

Wheeler: Classic North American bias! I kid, I kid. I think this is a coin toss, but I leaned with the minority here and voted for Sweden. It is the deeper team and I think the stars are equal or close. The loss of Trevor Connelly due to injury does hurt USA from a skill level standpoint, too.

Bultman: I voted for Sweden here, and while I’m not sure this result should necessarily be flipped, it should at least be closer than it is. The Americans have some strong star power, but Sweden’s depth is legit, and Ivar Stenberg has a chance to be one of the offensive stars of the tournament.

Wheeler: This probably doesn’t give enough love to the Czech blue line, or the Finnish team that beat Canada decisively at the World Junior Summer Showcase. The pick is Canada, but the odds won’t say 92.6 percent (or shouldn’t).

Bultman: I love the boldness from a couple of voters to deviate from the heavy tournament favorite Canada, and the acknowledgment of Finland consistently punching above its weight at international events. But I think in pool play, at least, Canada should overwhelm its opponents. Even if it does stumble into one upset loss, I don’t think there’s another team I’d feel can win all of its group games.

Wheeler: This checks out, though I’d still give the Swedes better odds (despite their track record).

Bultman: It’s boring, but it’s the consensus for a reason. Canada has stars. It has depth. It could very well have the best goaltender in the tournament. That adds up to being a major favorite, as reflected here.

Bultman: I took Sweden, but would expect it to come down to the Swedes and the Americans for this one, either way.

Wheeler: I didn’t vote for Czechia (who I have slated to finish fourth), but I strongly considered it.

Bultman: I’m figuring this comes down to whoever loses a USA-Sweden semifinal (or which of the two gets stuck playing Canada in the semifinal), but I think the voters have the right dark horses here, too, in Finland and Czechia.

Pronman: I would throw Latvia into this mix. It pushed Czechia into overtime in the pre-tournament and gave Slovakia a hard time too, returning a bunch of players from last year’s team that had a lot of success. It has a group of hard-working, physical players with speed who will frustrate opponents even if they’re not overly skilled.

Bultman: I get that the Finns aren’t quite in the same tier as Canada, USA and Sweden on paper, but they feel closer to a favorite than an underdog. So, if they’re in this mix, I’m taking them.

Pronman: As I stated above, I would bet on Latvia beating a favorite over being relegated. Its team is more impressive on paper than Denmark and Germany.

Wheeler: The Danes don’t stand a chance, I’m afraid. They’re the weakest team in the tournament and I don’t think it’s close. I wouldn’t have the Latvians in this conversation either (frankly, I’d have the Swiss and Germans below them).

Bultman: I voted for Denmark here, and am surprised at how many votes Latvia got. Have we already forgotten them winning two games — including one over Canada — and pushing Sweden to the brink in the knockout round last year?

Pronman: I’m not the biggest fan of Cole Eiserman’s game in terms of NHL translatability, but he can wire a puck and is lethal on the man advantage. He will be a constant threat to score for Team USA.

Wheeler: I’ll take Gavin McKenna for points but Eiserman for goals.

Bultman: I interpreted this as points, but either way, Porter Martone should be all over the score sheet for Canada, playing top-six minutes and bringing the size to produce around the net, too.

Bultman: It’s the boring answer, but McKenna should be in a prime position on the tournament’s best team. He’ll have challengers, but it’s hard to pick against him.

Bultman: What’s interesting here to me is that I’m not completely sure Carter George will be Canada’s No. 1 through the whole tournament, with Jack Ivankovic a threat to steal some starts as well. I think whoever of the two earns the lion’s share of action is the front-runner here, though, and for now that looks like George.

Bultman: Cole Hutson led the tournament in scoring last year, making him a strong favorite going in this year — especially if the Americans can put together a strong finish as a team.

Wheeler: Latvian defender Alberts Šmits is a dark horse for this as well, but you’ll rarely see a quarterfinalist win it. Those two extra games in the semifinal and medal games matter.

Pronman: Michael Misa’s combination of high-end speed and skill differentiates him from the rest of the player pool. He should be the main driver of the tournament favorites.

Bultman: In addition to what should be prime opportunities in Canada’s top six, McKenna will also be in the spotlight, making sure his contributions are noticed.

Pronman: I could have gone either way between McKenna and Stenberg. I’m a big fan of Chase Reid and Šmits, but I don’t think Reid will have the opportunity to fully shine in this tournament while sharing a blue line with Hutson. Canada’s power play should bulldoze opponents and McKenna will be flanking it.

Bultman: Stenberg should be in a prominent role for the tournament’s top teams, too, but McKenna has the advantage of being a returning player to the event and should hit the ground running.