It may not have been the colour they were hoping for, but the Canadians have earned a medal at the 2026 world juniors.
Canada beat Finland 6-3 on Monday in the bronze medal game for its first podium finish at the tournament since it won gold in 2023.
Forward Sam O’Rielly scored twice for the Canadians while Gavin McKenna had a goal and three assists. Defenceman Zayne Parekh continued his stellar tournament with a goal and an assist to set the Canadian record for points in a single tournament by a defenceman.
The Canadians had their gold medal dreams dashed by a 6-4 loss to Czechia in Sunday’s semifinal. Czechia also ended Canada’s tournament in the 2024 and 2025 quarterfinals.
The Czechs will play Sweden in the gold medal game on Monday. It’s the first time the world junior final will not include Canada or the United States since 2016, when Finland beat Russia.
More to come.
