2025 World Juniors: Standouts from Switzerland vs. Slovakia

OTTAWA – In one of the most competitive games of the tournament so far, Slovakia managed to beat Switzerland 2-1 to open the day’s action at TD Place.

It was an important win for Slovakia, who fell 5-2 to Sweden on Thursday. The win gives them a leg up to make the quarterfinal, while Switzerland’s most important game will be their Dec. 31 fight with Kazakhstan – a game that will likely decide who avoids the relegation round.

Daniel Jencko scored the lone goal of the first period, knocking in a Luka Radivojevic point shot. Switzerland would get one back in the second after Eric Schneller left the penalty box and converted on a feed from Jamiro Reber. It looked like the game would go to overtime, but Jan Chovan took advantage of a bad giveaway from Leon Muggli to win the game 2-1 with around three minutes left on the clock.

Here’s who stood out on Friday afternoon:

Slovakia

#26 Luka Radivojevic, D (2025 NHL Draft): Radivojevic’s point shot led to the 1-0 goal for Slovakia – an excellent release. But I liked how he waited long enough to get the open space near the blueline before getting it on the net. I also like how much speed he brought from the blueline and he was generally smart around his own net, too.

#30 Samuel Urban, G (Undrafted): It’s hard to go back-to-back in a short tournament like this, especially given the result against Sweden. I thought he looked excellent today, especially early in the game when the Swiss seemed to have all the momentum. That’s two great starts in a row, although the game against Sweden ultimately fell apart. Regardless, the Slovaks have to feel confident in him as the tournament wears on.

#25 Jan Chovan, LW (2025 NHL Draft): Slovakia’s 13th forward came up big for them today, scoring the game-winning goal. He only had four shifts in the first two periods combined but he generated a quality chance early and was buzzing with his fresh legs late. If you’re not going to play much, you might as well make the most of your opportunities.

Switzerland

#1 Christian Kirsch, G (San Jose Sharks): Kirsch kept the Swiss in this one, making 27 stops. That includes nine in the first period and 10 in the second as Slovakia looked for creative ways to generate offense. He’s Switzerland’s starting goalie, and while this result fell short of what the Swiss were hoping for, we should be expected to see him most of the way going forward.

#25 Basile Sansonnens, D (Vancouver Canucks): I’ve been impressed with Sansonnens’ performance early on in the tournament – he’s been Switzerland’s most consistent defender. The Canucks’ seventh-rounder takes up space and skates well, often proving to be a nuisance on the rush. He doesn’t have much offense to his game, but he did a good job of drawing opponents away from the net and allowing Kirsch to have a clear view of the puck.

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