World Junior Championship roundup: Sweden wins gold medal for 1st time since 2012
Harenstam makes 27 saves against Czechia; McKenna has goal, 3 assists for Canada, which wins bronze
© David Berding/Getty Images
Day 11 games
Sweden 4, Czechia 2: Love Harenstam (St. Louis Blues) made 27 saves for Sweden, which survived a late rally by Czechia to win the gold medal for the first time since 2012 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota.
"It was time for gold, and we did it. It's amazing," forward Anton Frondell (Chicago Blackhawks) said.
"Love, the whole the whole tournament, he has been amazing. The semifinal game he saved us there (a 4-3 shootout win against Finland on Sunday), and tonight he was incredible. So, yeah, thank Love for the gold."
Ivar Stenberg, an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list, had a goal and two assists, and Victor Eklund (New York Islanders) had a goal and an assist for Sweden, which won the gold medal for the third time in its history (also 1981). Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers) and Viggo Bjorck, another A-rated skater, each had two assists.
Sweden improved to 2-7 in gold-medal games since the IIHF's adoption of a playoff system for the WJC in 1996.
"This is such a special group, and to work with these guys and get honored to get the C on your chest and win it all is unreal. I didn't think it was going to be true," Bergland said.
"We played for the crowns. There was no single-handed here. Everyone stepped up when it matters. I think everyone got better at the playoffs, and today, I think we are so much better than Czechia. This is such a special group. It's a brotherhood. I'm proud of everyone."
Jakub Fibigr (Seattle Kraken) had two assists, and Michal Orsulak (2026 draft eligible) made 31 saves for Czechia, which was seeking its first gold medal since winning back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001.
"It’s a bit of a sad feeling, and emotions go more to the players," Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. "When you see your players cry, it’s emotional for myself as well. But I told them to be proud. They had a great tournament. We finished short in tonight’s game, but before this tournament, if somebody told us that we will win a silver medal, we will take it. Our dreams were higher, but it’s not the last day of our lives. Hopefully, if we work hard, we’ll get another chance."
Czechia has medaled in four straight tournaments, winning silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024 and 2025.
"It means that Czech hockey is growing," forward Vaclav Nestrasil said. "Even though we didn’t have the gold medal today, I think we still made the country proud, and we still showed that we’re in here and we’re going to battle for medals every single year."
Casper Juustovaara (2026 draft eligible) gave Sweden a 1-0 lead at 14:46 of the first period with a short-handed goal. He scored from outside the right post after Berglund fed him from behind the net.
Eklund made it 2-0 at 9:21 of the second period, burying a rebound at the left post for a power-play goal.
Sascha Boumedienne (Winnipeg Jets) pushed it to 3-0 with a slap shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle at 3:47 of the third period.
"It's special," Boumedienne said. "This is a tournament everyone's been watching since they were really, really small. It's the third time we've done it, and being a part of this group who did it is unreal."
Czechia scored two goals late in the third with Orsulak pulled for an extra attacker to cut it to 3-2.
Adam Jiricek (St. Louis Blues) made it 3-1 on a shot from the high slot at 17:36, and Matej Kubiesa (2026 eligible) then pulled Czechia to within 3-2 with a shot from the top of the left circle with 24 seconds left.
However, Stenberg scored an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining for the 4-2 final.
The matchup marked the first gold-medal game between two European teams since Finland won 4-3 in overtime against Russia in the 2016 WJC. It's also the first time a country other than Canada, Finland or the United States has won the gold medal since Sweden's last championship in 2012.
Canada 6, Finland 3: Gavin McKenna, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, had a goal and three assists and Canada won the bronze medal at Grand Casino Arena.
Sam O'Reilly (Tampa Bay Lightning) scored two goals and Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames) had a goal and an assist for Canada, which took home its first medal since winning gold at the 2023 WJC.
Braeden Cootes (Vancouver Canucks) and Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers) scored, and Michael Hage (Montreal Canadiens) had four assists. Carter George (Los Angeles Kings) made 32 saves.
“That group in there, all of us showed a lot of resilience,” Martone said. “When you have heartbreak like last night, a lot of tears, and the way that that group bounced back today, I feel like we played a great 60 minutes. So, yeah, it's a great result to end the tournament with.”
Julius Miettinen (Seattle Kraken), Arttu Valila (2026 draft) and Heikki Ruohonen (Philadelphia Flyers) scored for Finland. Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings) made 28 saves.
“We tried to do the preparation as good as we could,” said Finland captain Aron Kiviharju (Minnesota Wild). “Physically. I think we were there. Mentally, I don't think we were there, but I don't blame anyone. I'm proud of that team and we did everything we could as well as we can.”
O'Reilly put Canada ahead 1-0 at 1:10 of the first period. Hage rushed the puck up the left side, cut around Valila and backhanded the puck at the net. O'Reilly drove through the middle of the ice and knocked it in.
Valila tied the game 1-1 at 3:23 when his wrist shot from the high slot got past George. Ruohonen carried the puck into the zone and used his speed to push back the Canada defenders, leaving space for Valila to get a shot off.
Cootes gave Canada 2-1 lead at 4:57 when he scored from the left hash marks.
Miettinen tied the game 2-2 at 11:58 with a power-play goal off a one-timer from the right face-off dot.
Parekh's power-play goal put Canada ahead 3-2 at 18:41.
Martone scored from the slot to give Canada a 4-2 lead at 1:47 of the second period. Parekh had an assist to give him 13 points (five goals, eight assists), setting a record for most points by a Canada defenseman at the World Juniors. The previous mark of 12 was set by Alex Pietrangelo (2010) and Bryan McCabe (1995).
O'Reilly scored a power-play goal at 5:27 to put Canada ahead 5-2. McKenna, from the top of the right circle, found O'Reilly on the far post for a tap-in goal.
Ruohonen scored from the right side off the rush to make it 5-3 at 14:18.
McKenna made it 6-3 at 13:35 of the third period, scoring from the right side after a great backhand pass through the slot by Hage.
“It's a credit to them, credit to both teams, after devastating losses yesterday by both clubs,” Canada coach Dale Hunter said. “They came out, and both teams played hard. It was a tight game for a long time, and both teams didn't give up. For us to come out on top, it's a credit to our guys that we really wanted to get this bronze medal.”
NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman, senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale, and NHL.com correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report
