USA vs Slovakia Prediction, Odds & Lineups for WJC

• Team USA (2-0) continues Pool A play tonight in the World Junior Hockey Championships in Minneapolis with a matchup against Slovakia (1-1).
• The Americans are 3.5-goal favorites after a narrow 2-1 win against Switzerland on Saturday.
• Let us level the playing field with my USA vs Slovakia prediction, odds, and lineups for tonight.

With the Americans going for a three-peat, this tournament is expected to be bumpy. Team USA has battled to two wins in not very convincing fashion. They try to go 3-0 in pool play in the World Junior Hockey Championships.

Team USA is again significant favorites, just like they were versus Germany and the Swiss. The Slovakians are +8000 to win the WJC currently.

I’m going to level a little reality with my USA vs Slovakia prediction, odds, and lineups.

USA vs Switzerland Prediction

• Team Slovakia +3.5 (+102 at DraftKings)

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The dilemma with predicting the World Junior Championship is this. Every team is different. Just because the Americans went through and won the last two events does not mean they will struggle some early. It takes time for some teams to get going. The problem is a ten day event played at this pace (third game in four days) can yield some very unexpected results.

Has anyone checked on Canada recently? The Canadian team has won twice but escaped against Czechia 7-5 and edged out Latvia 2-1 in overtime. So far, the favorites are both 0-2 ATS. This is not that much of a shock. Tonight’s primetime games from the Grand Casino Arena (formerly the Xcel Energy Center) have Canada as a 7.5 goal favorite over Denmark for perspective.

Another big worry is the status of Cole Hutson. He took a puck to the head against Switzerland on Saturday.

With the short turnarounds, even minor injuries are hard to recover from with this tournament. Coach Bob Motzko has him listed as day-to-day. No one would be surprised not to see him out there tonight. The quarterfinal round does not start till Friday. Hutson is one point from setting the American record for most points in this tournament by a defenseman. Besides, the Americans are not in any danger of being seeded well heading into the knockout stage.

This does impact the lineup and hence any prediction for Team USA versus Slovakia. Having that mobility and catalyst from the backend is important. Will Zellers lead the WJC so far with three goals but Slovakia’s Tomas Chrenko has three as well. Chrenko leads a dangerous Slovakia team that nearly defeated Sweden before having an easy time with Germany over the weekend.

Right now, Slovakia’s power play looks more dangerous compared to the Americans. This appears poised to be a closer game once again with the Americans pulling out an inspired win. Take Slovakia with the 3.5 goals here at plus money.

USA vs Slovakia Odds

Odds as of December 29, 2025, at US betting sites. Make sure you check out the best online sportsbooks to bet on the World Juniors.

You can watch tonight’s game starting at 6:00 pm ET on NHL Network. Obviously, the Americans have never won the WJC on home soil and as Dave Starman put it before the tournament, “this American team will have a battle on its hands throughout.” Those words have proven more than prophetic.

USA vs Slovakia Lineups

Nick Kempf is projected to start against Michal Pradel. Pradel stands at 6-foot-5 and will be a challenge for the Americans to solve along with his .971 save percentage in the early going. The American lineup looks like this.

Forwards

• Will Horcoff (PIT), James Hagens (USA), Brodie Ziemer (BUF)
• Teddy Stiga (NSH), Max Plante (DET), Ryker Lee (NSH)
• Cole Eiserman (NYI), Cole McKinney (SJS), LJ Mooney (MTL)
• Will Zellers (BOS), AJ Spellacy (CHI), Brendan McMorrow (LAK)
• Shane Vansaghi (PHI)

Defense

• Adam Kleber (BUF)
• Luke Osburn (BUF), Chase Reid (2026)
• Asher Barnett (EDM), Logan Hensler (OTT)
• Cole Hutson likely out so Dakota Rheaume-Mullen could draw in.

Goalie

• Nick Kempf (WSH) – projected (Caleb Heil or Brady Knowling still might play)

Slovakia’s lineup could look like this again.

Forward Lines

• Jan Chovan, Tobias Pitka, Tobias Tomik
• Tomas Chrenko, Adam Nemec, Samuel Murin
• Alex Misiak, Tomas Pobezal, Michal Svrcek
• Andreas Straka, Lukas Tomka, Jakub Dubravik

Defense Pairings

• Alam Belusko, Adam Goljer
• Michal Capos, Adam Kalman
• Luka Radivojevic (illness-probable), Andrej Fabrus
• Filip Kovalcik, LHD

Goalies

• Michal Pradel, G, Tri-City Storm (DET) – projected

Expect quite a game as most of these group play contests have been close!