Sweden breaks gold medal drought, beats Czechia to win 2026 World Juniors

ST. PAUL, Minn. – With a 4-2 victory over Czechia at Grand Casino Arena on Monday, Sweden has finally won gold at the World Junior Championship for the first time since 2012.

The win marks Sweden’s third gold medal and its 22nd medal in tournament history. Czechia, meanwhile, will extend its gold medal drought dating back to 2001, but it has won medals in four straight years.

Canada took home bronze earlier in the day, beating Finland 6-3.

Sweden dominated the scoring chances throughout, highlighted by an 18-shot second period. The Swedes got a shorthanded goal from Casper Juustovaara in the first period, and a power-play maker from Victor Eklund in the middle stanza before Sascha Boumedienne tallied the team’s first even-strength goal at 43:47.

The Czechs laid on the pressure, with Adam Jiricek and Matej Kubiesa scoring huge goals to force a wild ending. Unfortunately for them, an empty-netter from Ivar Stenberg with eight seconds to go sealed the deal, giving Sweden the 4-2 win and the gold medal.

Here’s a look at the top standouts:

Czechia

#30 Michal Orsulak, G: The expected goals count after 40 minutes for Sweden? Six. Czechia? 1.8. It was only 2-0 at that time, and Orsulak hadn’t allowed a single goal at 5-on-5. That’s how critical Orsulak was to Czechia’s game today, because it wasn’t far from being an absolute onslaught. Orsulak had a rough start to the tournament but kept his team in contention night after night during the playoffs.

#5 Adam Jiricek, D (St. Louis Blues): He didn’t do enough to give the Czechs the win, but he sure damn tried. From blocked shots, to eating minutes and eventually scoring the 3-1 goal, Jiricek gave the Czechs a huge boost late in the game. Jiricek’s tournament was nothing short of incredible.

#24 Adam Novotny, RW (2026 NHL Draft): This was my favorite game out of Novotny. Between the puck control, the blocked shots or the general desire to win every shift no matter the cost, he was everywhere in this one. I’d argue he was the best draft-eligible in this one, although Ivar Stenberg might argue otherwise. Novotny didn’t produce a ton over the past week and a half, but he won a lot of physical battles and proved his value away from the puck.

Sweden

#30 Love Harenstam, G (St. Louis Blues): He was nowhere as busy as Osrulak, but he. still had to be sharp. Harenstam was easily the best goaltender in the tournament, and he kept things locked down in this one as the Czechs started to regain pressure in the third period. I’m not sure he had a single bad period in the tournament – his athleticism really took over.

#4 Leo Sahlin Wallenius, D (San Jose Sharks): I think most in most other years, LSW would have done enough at this tournament to earn more top defenseman love. It was never going to happen with the level of talent, but Sahlin Wallenius’s ability to block shots, play all situations and get pucks where they needed to be with limited mistakes made him extremely valuable to this group. I thought he was Sweden’s best defender today, but his partner, Felix Carrell, also deserves some love.

#15 Ivar Stenberg, RW (2026 NHL Draft): Stenberg was a monster in this game. He started by taking a penalty for holding a stick, but he made up for it with incredible feeds on the 2-0 and 3-0 Swedish markers. His ability to control the puck under pressure in the offensive zone tonight was unmatched. Stenberg didn’t come close to touching Gavin McKenna’s tournament output, but he was just as impactful for the Swedes, regardless.

#18 Victor Eklund, RW (New York Islanders): Eklund was buzzing all over the ice, even before he scored the 2-0 power-play goal. He loves getting to the net and finishing off plays, and few players can do more with a rebound. Eklund never took over a game like he did last year in Ottawa at this tournament, but he was actually one of Sweden’s most consistent players when it really mattered.

#26 Jack Berglund, C (Philadelphia Flyers): I remember watching Berglund play in front of about 30 people in Plymouth, Michigan once, watching him outwork just about everyone on the ice. That’s exactly what he has done time and time again at this tournament. He had primary assists on Sweden’s shorthanded and power-play goals, making it 2-0 before the halfway mark. He’s not a quick skater, but he’ll outmuscle you and does a good job of breaking out of the zone.

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