World Juniors Picks: USA Favorite Against Switzerland

The 2022 World Juniors are officially underway in Edmonton, Alberta, after the tournament was canceled in December due to a COVID-19 outbreak. On Thursday, the United States and Switzerland will both play their second games as they face off at Rogers Place. The Americans got off to a winning start on Tuesday as one of the favorites, running riot on Germany in a dominant 5-1 victory. As for the Swiss, they lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Sweden on Wednesday.  The US is the defending champion as well, winning gold in 2021 as they took out Canada. Keep reading for the World Juniors picks.

Before we get into the odds, preview, and picks for this Group B matchup, make sure to check out our betting odds to win the 2023 Stanley Cup and how to bet on the NHL.

USA vs. Switzerland odds

	Spread	Moneyline	Total
USA	-3.5 ('+105)	-1400	Ov 7 (-100)
Switzerland	+3.5 (-125)	+775	Un 7 (-120)

USA vs. Switzerland Preview

The Americans have the third-best odds to win the World Juniors behind Canada and Finland at +400. They fully proved their worth in the tournament opener against the Germans, too, putting six goals past keeper Nikita Quapp. The States truly dominated their opponent in this one, outshooting Germany 50-11. Luke Hughes and Logan Cooley got their squad started on the right foot with first-period goals. Landon Slaggert, Red Savage, and Riley Duran all scored in the second period as well to put the US in cruise control. Germany ended up netting their lone goal in the third period, but that was about it. Slagger, Hughes, Duran, and Sasha Pastujov all had multi-point efforts as well. The States came out firing from the get-go, firing 15 shots on goal within the first few minutes of the opening period. To be honest, this should've been a much bigger scoreline, but Quapp played terrific in between posts, making a total of 45 saves for Germany. Although the Germans aren't the toughest team, it was a good sign to see a lot of the American squad getting in on the action. One of the only negative takeaways was going just 1 for four on the powerplay.

Hughes, their best defenceman, was really impressed, while Cooley, a standout from the University of Minnesota, showed why there is so much hype around him. The freshman is a future first-round pick, and the World Juniors are the perfect opportunity for the youngster to showcase his talent against the best of the best at his age.

Switzerland, meanwhile, came into the World Juniors with little expectation amongst the big guns like the US, Canada, and Finland. After all, they're a +10000 longshot in the World Juniors picks. But, the Swiss did give Sweden a serious run for their money on Wednesday. Heading into the third period, the team was trailing 3-0 with no comeback in sight. But, Attilio Biasca and Dario Allenspach got on the scoresheet for Switzerland and made things interesting. Unfortunately, the Swiss couldn't equalize as Jesper Wallstedt, the Swedish keeper, made 21 saves. Marco Bayer's group definitely had the chance to score more goals as Sweden racked up 33 penalty minutes. They just didn't wake up until the third, and at that point, it was almost too late.

For Switzerland they're hoping to turn around its fortunes after a very poor 2021 tournament, finishing in ninth place. The Swiss last medaled in the World Juniors way back in 1998, earning a bronze. Since then, it's been a struggle for them, and with a very strong group, it won't be easy. The US is elite, but Switzerland will be hoping to try and pull off the upset. As you can see by the odds, the squad is a massive underdog. In 21 meetings between the two teams, the Americans have won every single one. It's understandable why they're such a heavy favorite.

Final Pick

The moneyline is offering basically no value here. It's important to note that in those 21 games against Switzerland, the US scored a total of 131 goals, which averages out to 6.2 goals per contest. They've also allowed just 45 during that span. In other words, just over two goals per meeting. With that being said, the Yankees are favored by 3.5 goals here at +105 odds. This is the pick to focus on for this contest. Expect the States to manhandle the Swiss and comfortably take home another three points with a convincing victory in the World Juniors picks. 

United States To cover the puckline

-3.5 (+105)

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