Kings prospect Vojtech Cihar named MVP of 2026 World Junior Championship

While Vojtech Cihar won’t go home with a gold medal at the 2026 World Junior Championship, as Czechia lost 4-2 to Sweden in the gold medal game, but he will come home with one notable accolade, as he was named the most valuable player in the tournament.

Cihar won the award after registering four goals and eight assists for 12 points, highlighted by a two-goal performance in Czechia’s pivotal 6-4 win over Canada in the semifinals. He finished fourth in scoring in the tournament after Canada’s trio of Michael Hage, Gavin McKenna and Zayne Parekh.

Cihar is the 18th forward named MVP at the tournament since it was introduced in 2004, with the award recently being given to Ryan Leonard, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Connor Bedard, and also having gone to greats like Patrice Bergeron, Evgeni Malkin, Carey Price and John Tavares. Cihar is the first Czech player to ever be named MVP at the tournament.

Cihar was the Los Angeles Kings‘ second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, selected at the 59th-overall pick. He had four goals and four assists for eight points in 27 games with HC Energie Karlovy Vary in the Czech Extraliga before the World Juniors, but is expected to join the Kelowna Rockets in the Western Hockey League after the tournament.

Meanwhile, the media-voted all-star team was as follows:

Vojtech Cihar, forward, Czechia
Anton Frondell, forward, Sweden (2025 first-round pick, Chicago Blackhawks)
Michael Hage, forward, Canada (2024 first-round pick, Montreal Canadiens)
Tomas Galvas, defenseman, Czechia (undrafted, eligible for third time in 2026)
Zayne Parekh, defenseman, Canada (2024 first-round pick, Calgary Flames)
Love Harenstam, goaltender, Sweden (2025 sixth-round pick, St. Louis Blues)

As for the positional awards voted by the IIHF, Frondell won best forward and Harenstam won best goaltender, while Blues 2024 first-rounder Adam Jiricek won best defenseman for Czechia.

Sweden took home the gold for the third time, giving them its 22nd medal in tournament history and first gold medal since 2012. Czechia has now won medals in four straight, taking home silver for the second time in that span.

Canada took home bronze earlier in the day, beating Finland 6-3, giving them their first medal in three years.