2025 World Juniors: Standouts from Czechia vs. Switzerland

OTTAWA – Czechia has cruised to its first win of the 2025 World Junior Championship, beating Switzerland 5-1 to finish Day 1 of Group B play at TD Place.

Czechia will get Friday off before taking on Kazakhstan at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday at TD Place, while Switzerland will rush back into action against Slovakia at 1:00 PM ET on Friday.

Despite scoring the first goal, the Czechs had a quiet first period. Miroslav Holinka had the opener at 4:46 after tipping in Tomas Galvas’ point shot. From there, the Czechs struggled to generate much of anything around the net, with goaltender Michael Hrabal having to bail them out a few times.

Czechia had a better second period, helping get them to a 3-0 lead. Eduard Sale scored on the power play at 26:10 before Ondrej Kos’ shot bounced off two Swiss defenders and in for the 3-0 goal. Jakub Stancl and Petr Sikora each scored to close out Czechia’s scoring, while Leo Braillard had the lone goal for Switzerland at 47:08 – just like he did against Canada in the pre-tournament.

Here’s a look at who stood out on Thursday:

Czechia

#30 Michael Hrabal, G (Utah HC): Hrabal is the X-Factor for the Czechs. They lack high-end scoring and high-quality blueliners, so they’ll need their returning goalie to be excellent. So far, so good as Hrabal stood tall in the opening game, especially in the first when he made nine saves for a nervous Czech team. Hrabal finished with 25 saves, which proved to be the difference in a game that was otherwise tight offensively.

#23 Tomas Galvas, D (Undrafted): When Galvas is on his game, he can make magic with the puck. Today, he made an excellent play from the point to get the puck past a Swiss defender, with Holinka in the right spot to tip the shot. Galvas had a second assist after helping set up the 2-0 power-play goal, with the defender able to beat a Swiss winger to get himself into a prime position to make a pass.

#28 Miroslav Holinka, C (Toronto Maple Leafs): Holinka scored the opening goal after directing a shot from the point by Galvas. He then made an excellent set up on the power play on a pass to Sale in the second period to help double up Czechia’s advantage. Holinka might not be the flashiest or most skilled No. 1 center in the tournament but he’s a tremendous playmaker who loves to make moves in open space and today was a great tournament debut for the Maple Leafs prospect.

Switzerland

#15 Lars Steiner, RW (2026 NHL Draft): I thought Steiner was one of Switzerland’s only notable forwards today. He had some decent looks with the puck and was the primary play driver in the first 40 minutes. His whole line was good, but I thought Steiner was the best at attacking pucks and setting up scoring chances on the rush.