Czechia, Sweden to play for gold at 2026 World Juniors

ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the first time since 2016, the World Junior Championship will feature an all-European final.

Czechia and Sweden will fight for gold after wins against Canada and Finland, respectively, on Sunday evening in St. Paul, Minnesota. Finland and Canada will challenge for the bronze earlier in the day.

Sweden will look to secure gold for the first time since 2012, and just the third time in team history. Czechia is guaranteed to keep its medal streak alive for four years. Czechia hasn’t won gold since going back-to-back in 2000 and 2001, but they won silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024 and 2025.

Finland will look to increase their medal streak to two consecutive years after taking silver in Ottawa last year. Canada, meanwhile, will seek its first medal since winning gold in 2022 and 2023. The team has won bronze five times previously, but not since 2012.

After scoring 10 seconds into their game against Latvia, the Swedes slacked by requiring 36 seconds to break free this year. It was a bit of a fluke goal, as Linus Eriksson’s shot hit off Petteri Rimpinen’s glove and in – although it looked like the puck would have missed the net had Rimpinen not touched it.

The Finns answered back at 16:26. Atte Joki would score on a perfectly placed shot following a feed from Aron Kiviharju, beating Love Harenstam glove side to make it 1-1. The second period featured some back-and-forth hockey action, with Ivar Stenberg and Eddie Genborg tallying goals for the Swedes, and Jasper Kuhta getting one for the Finns.

The third period was the most intense of the bunch, but it remained scoreless until 54:01. Just like they did two nights early, the Finns got a late goal from Joonas Saarelainen to make it 3-3, forcing the first semifinal to go to overtime.

The extra frame was wild, with Viggo Bjorck generating an incredible four breakaway chances. Nothing panned out, meaning the team moving on would be decided by a shootout. It took eight rounds, but Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell scored the game-winner to send Sweden off to the final.

In the latter game, Canada and Czechia found themselves in a rematch of the wild opening-night round-robin match. The Czechs were definitely the better team early on, but Canada managed to step up with the 1-0 goal. Tij Iginla opened things up on the power play at 15:14, only for Max Curran to answer back a minute later.

Canada would find out during the first intermission that Brady Martin would not return to the game due to injury, leaving the team with just 11 forwards. That didn’t seem to work out well for Canada early in the period, as Adam Titlbach scored at 23:44 to give Czechia its first advantage of the game.

Canada would then take advantage of a two-man advantage at 32:38. Zayne Parekh would give his team some life, blasting a shot past Michal Orsulak, who had found ways to rob Canada’s attackers continuously. Michael Hage would find himself in a unique situation six minutes later, when, on a penalty shot attempt, he was tripped by Orsulak and was awarded a second opportunity. He came up short, and it backfired when Adam Benak restored Czechia’s lead.

Canada kicked off the third period looking strong, with Cole Reschny tying the game up once more. But a defensive breakdown by the Canadians at 49:49 resulted in Vojtech Cihar scoring after breaking past four Canadians to make it a 4-3 game.

Canada was desperate for a late goal, and they got one from Porter Martone at 57:19. But late goals from Tomas Poletin, and another from Cihar, ultimately sent the Czechs to the gold medal game.

Here’s a look at the top performers from the four semifinalist teams:

Finland

#6 Juho Piiparinen, D (2026 NHL Draft): Piiparinen didn’t get a ton of minutes, but I noticed him every time he hit the ice. He played with so much energy and pace, landing a few big hits and showing some puckhandling prowess. I haven’t liked much out of his tournament but it felt like Piiparinen was quite engaged and made some excellent decisions every time he hit the ice.

#33 Aron Kiviharju, D (Minnesota Wild): Kiviharju had another strong distribution game, which resulted in an assist on the 1-1 goal. The Finns relied on him heavily to eat minutes and play all different situations, including the penalty kill. In terms of pure, natural skill, Kiviharju is Finland’s best defenseman – and it showed in spades today.

#28 Heikki Ruohonen, C (Philadelphia Flyers): That was another tremendous effort from Ruohonen. He had a couple of decent chances, but, as always, I love how he retrieves pucks, but he also got involved physically in the closing stages as the Swedes tried to press back late in the third. I’m not sure Ruohonen has had an off game at this tournament.

#29 Jasper Kuhta, C: Kuhta was big early in the tournament and then slowed down a bit. But I really liked him today. He scored a bit of a fluky goal, but his play away from the puck, especially his puck retrievals, was better than anyone else in Finland’s bottom six. I think Kuhta has done enough over the past 11 days or so to earn himself a call from an NHL team next June.

#35 Atte Joki, RW (Dallas Stars): Joki can’t skate, but, man, he puts in an effort. He scored off a beautiful wrist shot late in the first period, and then he spent the rest of the game hitting guys and separating opponents from pucks. He’s a simple player who should be able to build a career off his work ethic, but that goal – his first of the tournament – had to feel good for his confidence, given he played his best hockey after that.

Sweden

#4 Leo Sahlin Wallenius, D (San Jose Sharks): Sahlin Wallenius played nearly half of the first 40 minutes today – absolutely incredible. He continuously shut down Finland’s top players in tight, only if he wasn’t able to keep them to the perimeter. Sahlin Wallenius hasn’t done enough to earn himself top defenseman honors, but he absolutely has been one of Sweden’s best players, with his two-way, minute-munching style paying dividends.

#14 Linus Eriksson, C (Florida Panthers): Eriksson was near perfect in the faceoff dot, and his two-way game was superb. He might not be the most ideal No. 1 center, but his playing style fits the top line perfectly because he lets his wingers get into scoring areas while he takes away space defensively. Eriksson scored the opening goal, and while it wasn’t pretty, he’ll take it.

#15 Ivar Stenberg, RW (2026 NHL Draft): Stenberg was everywhere today. He scored off a beautiful shot at 21:20 and then set up Genborg near the goal line for the 3-2 goal. His energy, quick shot and momentum-shifting playstyle allowed the Swedes to control the puck for the majority of the time he was on the ice. Stenberg was quieter than Viggo Bjorck early in the tournament, but he has been one of Sweden’s top players the past three games.

#25 Eddie Genborg, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Genborg has had a strong tournament, but today’s effort felt like his best. He scored a weird goal from behind the net, but his pass to Stenberg on his goal was beautiful. Genborg also landed a couple of huge hits for good measure. His ability to open up lanes for his linemates at this tournament is a big reason why the second line has been so dangerous.

#26 Jack Berglund, C (Philadelphia Flyers): Berglund’s play away from the puck was masterful today. Nothing was better than what he showed in overtime, though, where he continued to poke pucks away on the penalty kill. His huge frame makes him tough to contain and while he’s not fast, he puts in the work to get into scoring lanes.

Canada

#19 Zayne Parekh, D (Calgary Flames): Parekh was everywhere for Canada, shot-wise. He had six of Canada’s 18 shots through 40 minutes, which included scoring the 2-2 power-play goal. Parekh is Canada’s power-play quarterback, and he took full control of Canada’s offensive push. Parekh has put everything on the line to become tournament MVP, and I continue to love his performance.

#11 Tij Iginla, LW (Utah Mammoth): Iginla scored the opening goal for Canada, and then seemed to be one of the few who could generate much of anything in the second period. He’s fearless – he rushes through the middle with no care in the world and often gets a scoring chance out of it.

#21, Cole Reschny, RW (Calgary Flames): Between the screen on the second Canadian goal, and then the tying marker early in the third, Reschny saved his best game for when it really mattered. With Martin injured, Reschny was suddenly thrust into more important minutes and he absolutely delivered. Good day for Flames fans – both new and old.

#29 Michael Hage, C (Montreal Canadiens): Hage will probably wish he had a third chance on the penalty shot, but I still loved his effort. His awareness on the power play helped lead to the second Canadian goal – Hage absolutely thrives in open space. Once Martin went out, Hage found another level to his game – but he probably wished he had his net-front presence out there.

Czechia

#30 Michal Orsulak, G: Orsulak had been a bit hit or miss in this tournament, but he easily played his best hockey tonight. Between a pair of huge glove stops during one Canadian chance, to absolutely robbing them twice on a 5-on-3, Orsulak played out of his mind. His ability to react quickly to changes in direction or passes makes him difficult to beat at times.

#23 Tomas Galvas, D: While most of what I’ve liked from Galvas has been his play with the puck, it was actually how he broke up plays that I liked the most today. He broke up various plays at the blueline, knocking the puck out of danger and getting the puck back on the attack. Galvas has been passed over twice, and while concerns about his size (and lack of English)

#12 Maxmilian Curran, C (Colorado Avalanche): Curran loved the spotlight tonight. He scored the game-tying goal late in the first period and then outlasted a diving effort from Harrison Brunicke at the end of the second to set up Adam Benak for the go-ahead marker. Curran’s poise with the puck has paid off so many times throughout the season in the WHL and he has channeled that energy into the playoff round in Minny.

#15 Vojtech Cihar, LW (Los Angeles Kings): Two goals – a night he’ll never forget. Cihar has been Czechia’s best forward (in my opinion) and he put the dagger in the back of the Canadians. What a night.

#17 Petr Sikora, C (Washington Capitals): Sikora has been one of Czechia’s top forwards all tournament, and games like today prove why. He doesn’t always need to be flashy or create flashy plays. Instead, much of his brilliance comes from being able to poke pucks out of danger, open lanes for his linemates, or simply shove to get guys off the puck. He was much more physical today than on other outings.

#20 Adam Benak, C (Minnesota Wild): With a three-point night, Benak was huge today. He scored the go-ahead goal and had assists on the first and final goals in his best effort of the tournament. He played with so much pace and confidence and absolutely deserved his massive production today.

Remaining Schedule

(All times ET)

Monday, January 5

• 4:30 PM – Canada vs. Finland (Bronze Medal Game)
• 8:30 PM – Sweden vs. Czechia (Gold Medal Game)