The Canadians have won every game they’ve played in this year’s tournament, which taking place in Minneapolis.
The tournament opened for the Canadian team on Boxing Day with a game against Czechia. The 7-5 win was a measure of revenge for Canada, as it was Czechia that eliminated them in the quarter-final of the previous two tournaments.
Then, on Dec. 27, Canada found itself in a battle with Latvia. Latvia defeated the Canadians in a shootout in 2025, marking a major upset in the World Juniors. While this year’s game against Latvia also needed an extra frame, Canada came away with a 2-1 win.
Canada handled business against Denmark on Monday, winning 9-1.
On New Year’s Eve, Canada earned another win to close out the round robin, beating Finland 7-4.
Canadians Zayne Parekh, Gavin McKenna and Michael Hage are tied with Slovakian forward Thomas Chrenko for the tournament lead with eight points.
Macklin’s Cole Reschny is the only Saskatchewan-born player on the team this year. He has a goal and an assist in the tournament.
Matt Cullen, one of the broadcasters for the World Juniors said it won’t be a simple task for Canada to make it past the Slovakian team.
“If you thought this was going to be an easy game, I think that that needs to be corrected,” said Cullen. “I think that this is going to be a really tough game. This Slovak team had one win and three losses, and all three losses were by one single goal.”
Cullen also looked ahead to a potential gold-medal game, and shared his predictions.
“There’s been no reason to think that Canada can’t be back in the gold-medal game,” he said. “Yes, the last two years haven’t been terrific, with the two straight quarter-final exits… I think we’ll see Canada there. I really like Sweden. I think Sweden outclassed the United States – I think they’re the other team to beat.”
–with files from 650 CKOM’s Will Mandzuk