Canada sets out to reclaim world juniors championship gold

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Redemption time is nigh for Canada at the world junior hockey championship.

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The players, coaches and management know it.

They embrace it.

It’s “our” tournament and it’s being played in Ottawa, the nation’s capital.

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A perfect setting to reclaim the title that slipped away last year in Sweden.

It’s time for Canada to remind one and all where the best teenage hockey players on the planet call home.

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To date, the event has been held 48 times and Canada has 20 gold medals as souvenirs — six more than all other participating countries combined.

The defending champion USA have five, as does Finland. Sweden and Czechia have two each.

Russia has 13 golds, but has been banned from international competitions since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Canada also has 10 silver and five bronze medals, but generally fancies itself wearing only gold.

The 2024 worlds were a gut-wrenching disappointment for the boys who wear a Maple Leaf on their chest, as Canada lost to the Czechs 3-2 on a bad bounce with 11.7 seconds left in regulation time.

But Canada has won two of the past three, three of the past five, four of the past seven and five of the past 10 tournaments.

It also has taken gold eight of the 17 times the WJC has been played on home soil, including 2023 (Halifax and Moncton), 2022 (Edmonton) and 2009, on the one and only other occasion the world junior hockey championship was played in Ottawa.

So yeah, the stage is set for Canada to redeem itself from its fifth-place finish last Christmas.

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And, make no mistake, gold is the only option the home team is focused on.

Who is the favourite to win the tournament?

The Americans defeated host Sweden 6-2 in the gold-medal game last year and the defending champions have 10 returnees from the team.

But not everyone is convinced they are the team to beat.

Here are the latest odds on sportsbook bet365:

• Canada +130
• USA +140
• Sweden +600
• Finland +900
• Czechia +3300
• Slovakia +5000
• Switzerland +12500
• Germany +20000
• Latvia +25000
• Kazakhstan +35000

For the uninitiated, +130 means that if you bet $100, a winning wager makes you $130.

How many players are back from Canada’s 2024 team?

Just four — defenceman Oliver Bonk, and forwards Brayden Yager, Carson Rehkoph and Easton Cowan.

A second defenceman, Tanner Molendyk, was named to the team but didn’t play after suffering a broken wrist in a pre-tournament tune up against Switzerland.

Yager is Canada’s captain while Bonk, Molenyk and forward Calum Ritchie are the alternates.

How many of Canada’s players have been drafted by NHL teams?

Again the answer is just four — that haven’t been, and that’s only because their draft year is still ahead.

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Defenceman Matthew Schaefer and forward Porter Martone are expected be among the first players called to the podium at next June’s draft, while goalie Jack Ivankovic is projected as a second-round selection.

Forward Gavin McKenna, a Medicine Hat Tigers winger who led all Canadian Hockey League scorers with 60 points in 30 games when he left for the selection camp, celebrated his 17th birthday last Friday. He is the consensus choice to be selected first overall in 2026.

Canada’s roster

Here’s the full Canadian roster, including jersey number, hometown, current team and NHL team that selected them (with year they were drafted followed, in parentheses, by the round the round and overall draft position.

Goalies

1. Jack Ivankovic, Mississauga, Ont., Brampton (OHL), 2025 Draft

30. Carter George, Thunder Bay, Ont., Owen Sound (OHL), Kings 2024 (2/57)

31. Carson Bjarnason, Carberry, Man., Brandon (WHL), Flyers 2023 (2/51)

Defencemen

2. Andrew Gibson, LaSalle, Ont., Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), Red Wings 2023 (2/42)

3. Sam Dickinson, Toronto, Ont., London (OHL), Sharks 2024 (1/11)

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4. Caden Price, Saskatoon, Sask., Kelowna (WHL), Kraken 2023 (3/84)

5. Oliver Bonk, Ottawa, Ont., London (OHL), Flyers 2023 (1/22)

6. Tanneer Molendyk, McBride, B.C., Saskatoon (WHL), Predators 2023 (1/24)

7. Sawyer Mynio, Kamloops, B.C., Seattle (WHL), Canucks 2023 (3/89)

8. Beau Akey, Waterloo, Ont., Barrie (OHL), Oilers 2023 (2/56)

25. Matthew Schaefer, Hamilton, Ont., Erie (OHL), 2025 Draft

Forwards

9. Gavin McKenna, Whitehorse, Yukon, Medicine Hat (WHL) 2026 Draft

10. Bradly Nadeau, Saint-Francois-de-Madawaska, N.B., Chicago (AHL), Hurricanes 2023 (1/30)

11. Brayden Yager, Saskatoon, Sask., Lethbridge (WHL), Penguins 2023 (1/14)

12. Jett Luchanko, London, Ont., Guelph (OHL), Flyers 2024 (1/13)

13. Luca Pinelli, Stoney Creek, Ont., Ottawa (OHL), Blue Jackets 2023 (4/114)

14. Berkly Catton, Saskatoon, Sask., Spokane (WHL), Kraken 2024 (1/8)

16. Carson Rehkopf, Vaughan, Ont., Brampton (OHL), Kraken 2023 (2/50)

20. Ethan Gauthier, Drummondville, Que., Drummondville (QMJHL), Lightning 2023 (2/37)

21. Calum Ritchie, Oakville, Ont., Oshawa (OHL), Avalanche 2023 (1/27)

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22. Porter Martone, Peterborough, Ont., Brampton (OHL), 2025 Draft

23. Tanner Howe, Prince Albert, Sask., Calgary (WHL), Penguins 2024 (2/46)

26. Cole Beaudoin, Kanata, Ont., Barrie (OHL), UHC 2024 (1/24)

27. Easton Cowan, Mount Brydges, Ont., London (OHL), Maple Leafs 2023 (1/28)

28. Mathieu Cataford, Chateauguay, Que., Rimouski (QMJHL), Golden Knights 2023 (3/77)

Who are some other players to watch?

The traditional New Year’s Eve showdown between Canada and the U.S. will have some added pizzaz this year as it features three players — Martone, Schaefer and American James Hagens — who could hear their names called before all others at the  2025 NHL entry draft in Los Angeles.

Unless someone else barges into the mix, which player goes No. 1 could depend on the needs of the draft lottery winner.

Martone patrols the wing as a prototypical power forward who can crash and bang with the best of them while possessing a great shot and tremendous playmaking abilities.

Schaefer is a smooth skater with offensive abilities to complement his strong defensive and transition game.

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Hagens, who began the season as the favourite, is a highly skilled playmaker with outstanding mobility and an elite-level vision.

Other NHL prospects in the tournament to keep an eye on

Sweden’s No. 18, LW Victor Eklunld: The brother of San Jose Sharks winger William Eklund, at 5-foot-11, 161 pounds he still has some filling out to do, but he’s fearless and a good skater with plenty of offensive skill.

Czechia’s No. 15, LW Vojtech Cihar: An excellent skater with good hands who is regarded as a strong two-way player.

Slovakia’s No. 26, D Luka Radivojevic: A slick, offensive-minded blueliner who, at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds and a right-hand shot, is in the mold of an Erik Karlsson.

Finland’s No. 17, C Benjamin Rautiainen: A 19-year-old who is creative, a good stick-handler, a superb passer and strong in the faceoff circles. One of the better forwards on his team in the Finnish men’s league.

U.S.A.’s No. 3, D Logan Hensler: A right-handed shot with good size (6-foot-2, 192 pounds) who plays on the top pairing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers. A good skater and two-way player.

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Germany’s No. 16, D Carlos Handel: A good passer and skater who plays on the QMJHL’s Halifax Moosehead. Scouts will be looking for him to have a strong performance at the WJC to make up for an ordinary season to date.

Latvia’s No. 19, RW Bruno Osmanis: Another player on the radar who needs to show off his offensive tools to make up for underwhelming showing at the U-20 and Allsvenskan levels this season.

What’s the schedule?

After holding their selection camp, pre-tournament games and practices at TD Place, Canada moved to Kanata and into the home of Senators on Monday, when its final tune up came later that night against Czechia.

All Canada games will be played at Canadian Tire Centre.

Dec. 26

Sweden vs. Slovakia, TD Place, 12 p.m. ET
Germany vs. United States, Canadian Tire Centre, 2:30 p.m. ET
Switzerland vs. Czechia, TD Place, 5 p.m. ET
Canada vs. Finland, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30 p.m. ET

Dec. 27

Slovakia vs. Switzerland, TD Place, 1 p.m. ET
Finland vs. Germany, Canadian Tire Centre, 3:30 p.m. ET
Kazakhstan vs. Sweden, TD Place, 5 p.m. ET
Canada vs. Latvia, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30 p.m. ET

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Dec. 28

Czechia vs. Kazakhstan, TD Place, 1 p.m. ET
United States vs. Latvia, Canadian Tire Centre, 3:30 p.m. ET

Dec. 29

Sweden vs. Switzerland, TD Place, 12 p.m. ET
Finland vs. United States, Canadian Tire Centre, 2:30 p.m. ET
Slovakia vs. Czechia, TD Place, 5 p.m. ET
Germany vs. Canada, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30 p.m. ET

Dec. 30

Kazakhstan vs. Slovakia, TD Place, 1 p.m. ET
Latvia vs. Germany, Canadian Tire Centre, 3:30 p.m. ET

Dec. 31

Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan, TD Place, 12 p.m. ET
Latvia vs. Finland, Canadian Tire Centre, 2:30 p.m. ET
Czechia vs. Sweden, TD Place, 5 p.m. ET
United States vs. Canada, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30 p.m. ET

Jan. 2

Quarterfinal 1, TD Place, 12 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal 2, Canadian Tire Centre, 2:30 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal 3, TD Place, 5 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal 4, Canadian Tire Centre, 7:30 p.m. ET

Jan. 4 (Canadian Tire Centre)

Semifinal 1, 3:30 p.m. ET
Semifinal 2, 7:30 p.m. ET

Jan. 5 (Canadian Tire Centre)

Third-place game, 3:30 p.m. ET
Championship game, 7:30 p.m. ET

What is the format for the tournament and how does all it work?

The 10 participating teams are divided into five groups.

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In Group A, there’s Canada, the U.S., Finland, Germany and Latvia.

Group B has Czechia, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland and Kazakhstan.

From here, we’ll try to clear up some of the verbiage from the International Ice Hockey Federation:

After a single round-robin series in each group, the top four teams from each group advance to the playoff round while the fifth-placed team in each group moves to the relegation round.

The criteria for the seedings is as follows:

1) placement in the group, 2) points in the preliminary round, 3) goal difference in the preliminary round, 4) goals scored in the preliminary Round, 5) seeding coming into the tournament.

The top four placed teams from the preliminary round will play a cross-over quarterfinal game: 1A vs. 4B, 1B vs. 4A, 2A vs. 3B and 2B vs. 3A.

In the semifinals the best-ranked team will play the lowest-ranked semifinalist. The second-best ranked semifinalist will play the third-best ranked semifinalist.

The winner of each semifinal game will move on to the gold medal game, while the losers will play for bronze.

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What’s the point system used in the games?

• 3 points for the winning team at the conclusion of regulation time
• 1 point for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied
• An additional point goes to the earned team winning the game in a five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime period, or the penalty shot shootout if the teams are still tied following the conclusion of overtime.
• The team losing in regulation time gets zip.
• In the event of a tie in the playoff round, there will be a 10-minute, 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime period played after a three-minute intermission.
• If no goal is scored during the overtime period, there will be penalty shot shootout.
• In the gold medal game, 20-minute, 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime periods will be played until the winning goal is scored.

How does the shootout work?

• Five different shooters from each team will take alternate shots until a decisive goal is scored.
• If the game is still tied after five shots by each team, the shootout will continue, with both teams having the same number of shots, until the decisive goal is scored. by one player of each team, with a reversed shooting order.
• The same or new players can take the tie-break shots, and the same player can also be used for each shot by a team in the tie-break shoot-out.
• A coin toss will determine which team takes the first shot, with the winner of the toss having the choice of whether his team will shoot first or second.
• Any player whose penalty was not over when overtime ended can not take the shots and must stay in the penalty box or in the dressing room.
• The goaltenders from each team may be changed after each shot.

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What are they saying?

Team Canada has had to live with the disappointment of the 2024 world junior hockey championship for 12 months and the players are anxious to change the script.

“We want the tournament to start,” Toronto Maple Leafs first-rounder Easton Cowan said after Saturday’s 4-2 victory over Sweden in its second tune up. “At the same time, I think this (pre-tournament schedule) is big for every team. Every team can build chemistry and get better, and it makes the tournament better. So, like we all said, we’re just kind of enjoying it day by day. We know eventually it’ll come, so we’re just waiting patiently and getting closer to day by day.”

Redemption time is nigh.

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