Nov. 8, 2013: Dineen is relieved of duties as head coach of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, 16 games into regular season, and soon contacts Bob Nicholson to inquire about coaching opportunities.

“After spending a little time to get organized and reflecting on my next step, I figured I should act like I always did and be a little aggressive.”

“(Bob) called me back a few days later to fill me in on the resignation with the National Women’s Team and wanted to know if I’d be interested in that position. I immediately said yes. I was ready to commit 100% to this incredible experience.”

Dec. 17, 2013: Dineen is officially hired as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team.

“In all honesty, it was a difficult situation to step into when you didn’t know anybody from the team apart from about half a dozen people I was familiar with.”

“I knew that I had incredible layers of support, especially from the coaching staff. The day before I was officially hired, we spent a full day together and I let them know how their roles were going to expand under my leadership. We established a good level of trust and that led to a healthy situation moving forward.”

Dec. 20, 2013: Dineen akes debut as head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Team, a 4-1 loss to the United States.

“The number of comparable aspects was more noticeable than the differences. The one thing I expected and realized is that the women’s team is made up of a bunch of cerebral players. They were able to not only grasp but put into execution a lot of the systems I had used at the NHL level, all while integrating them to the systems that were already in place. They’re such extremely smart players that want to learn and want to play the right way, that it wasn’t an issue.”     

Feb. 8, 2014: Dineen earns his first international win as a head coach, 5-0 over Switzerland in the Olympic opener in Sochi.

“It was exciting because I had a flood of emotions come back from my own Olympic experience. We walked in the opening ceremonies the night before and that’s when it really sunk in. It was an incredible feeling!”    

Feb. 20, 2014: Canada wins Olympic gold with a 3-2 overtime win over the United States, a game it trailed 2-0 with less than four minutes left.

“To watch how that game played out, how competitive it was by both teams, it was a great hockey game no matter the dramatic outcome. I admire our team for their composure and how the leaders in our group helped keep it together while playing through such adversity.”

“With everything that happened in that game; from the puck hitting the post on our empty net, to the three penalties called in overtime, everything was incredibly dramatic.”

March 20, 2014: Dineen is named head coach of Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team.

“The opportunity to work with this bunch of kids, most of them being draft eligible this year, was an incredible one as well. They were such an enthusiastic bunch and very motivated. Their talent level was through the roof and they were extremely hard working kids that wanted to learn.”

April 27, 2014: Canada wins bronze at the U18 world championship with a 3-1 win over Sweden.

“Obviously we wanted the gold medal, so to lose in overtime in the semifinal game was a hard pill to swallow. I’m really proud of how our guys regrouped and prepared themselves to try and represent Canada to the best they could in the circumstances. I feel like we walked out of there with a feeling of accomplishment.”

“The boys really worked hard to earn that medal and that’s something that I was really proud of afterwards. I even sent them all a personal note to let them know that I was proud of them and that I really wanted all of them to achieve one of their lifelong goals and get drafted by an NHL team.”

CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced Monday that the 10th annual Hockey Canada Foundation Celebrity Classic gala and golf tournament has been rescheduled for Aug. 19-20 at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.

The foundation’s annual signature event, which celebrates the season’s world championship-winning national teams while also raising funds for a local minor hockey legacy program and minor hockey programs across the country, was originally scheduled for June 24-25 but was postponed due to severe flooding in southern Alberta.

This year’s gala will take place Monday, Aug. 19 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park, the home of Hockey Canada. The golf tournament is set for Tuesday, Aug. 20 at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club in Priddis, Alta., just outside Calgary.

Partial proceeds of $250,000 from the funds raised at the two-day event, including unique silent and live auctions featuring rare memorabilia, will go toward relief for those affected by floods that recently washed through Alberta, including the City of Calgary. Team Canada alumni Sheldon Kennedy and Lanny McDonald are serving as honorary co-chairs for the 2013 Hockey Canada Foundation Celebrity Classic, in recognition of their great impact on the game across the country and within the Calgary community.

“Alberta is now faced with the difficult challenges of recovering and rebuilding, but the way in which residents across the province have come together to make that happen has been truly inspiring,” Kennedy said. “The additional financial assistance that the Hockey Canada Foundation will be able to provide for relief efforts through this event will be much-appreciated by those impacted by the devastating flood.”

“The strength, passion and volunteer spirit that have spread through Alberta are much like that of the hockey community across our great country,” McDonald said. “We look forward to welcoming our national teams, sponsors and other special guests to Calgary this August to experience not only the exciting festivities surrounding this year’s Celebrity Classic, but also the incredible positivity that is buzzing through our province, even in the face of hardship.”

Another $250,000 will go toward KidSport Calgary, which aims to make sports such as hockey more affordable for underprivileged youth. Other proceeds from the event will go toward Hockey Canada Foundation programming that promotes accessibility and diversity in the sport, as well as other positive values such as health and wellness, hockey heritage and skill development, from the grassroots level to Canada’s Olympic teams.

“We are proud to continue supporting KidSport, a not-for-profit group with values that truly align with those of our foundation, while also providing much-needed assistance for victims of the Alberta floods,” Hockey Canada Foundation chair Grant Fagerheim said. “We look forward to seeing the country’s hockey community come together this August to not only celebrate the accomplishments of our national teams, but also raise funds for these very worthwhile causes.”

This year’s gala celebrates the success of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, which won the country’s third gold medal at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in Heinola, Finland in January; Canada’s National Sledge Team, which won the gold medal at the 2013 IPC Sledge Hockey World Hockey Championship in Goyang, South Korea in April; and Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team, which won the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia, also in April.

The Hockey Canada Foundation Celebrity Classic will be held for the third time in Calgary, which previously hosted in 2007 and 2008. Toronto (2004, 2005, 2006, 2012), Montreal (2009), Edmonton (2010) and Ottawa (2011) have also played host to the Celebrity Classic, which has raised more than $4 million in its first nine years.

For more information on the Hockey Canada Foundation, Hockey Canada and its programs, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, and follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, and www.twitter.com/hockeycanada.

FRISCO, Texas – Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team saved its best effort for last, shutting out Sweden 7-0 to win its second-consecutive gold medal at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, repeating as champions for the first time .

Canada scored seven unanswered goals—including a pair from Brady Martin (Elmira, ON/Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) —while Jack Ivankovic (Mississauga, ON/Brampton, OHL) made 28 saves for his second shutout of the medal round to lead Canada to victory.

Xavier Villeneuve (Les Cèdres, QC/Blainville-Boisbriand, LHJMQ) opened the scoring just four minutes into the first period and Canada never looked back. It led 2-0 after the first period. netted three goals in the second and added another two in the final frame.

“What a great feeling,” said head coach Cory Stillman (Peterborough, ON/Guelph, OHL). “[It’s been a] long season for these guys and you always want to finish the season with a championship with your club team. If that doesn’t pan out, you get to represent your country and that’s pretty special. We got better as the tournament went on. Tonight was the best game we played and we came out winners.”

Canada’s offence was well-rounded on Saturday night, with six different goal-scorers and 14 players registering a point.

Jack Nesbitt (Sarnia, ON/Windsor, OHL) and Ben Kindel (Coquitlam, BC/Calgary, WHL) had two-point performances, registering a goal and an assist and a pair of assists, respectively.

Jackson Smith (Calgary, AB/Tri-City, WHL), Ethan Czata (Brampton, ON/Niagara, OHL) and Braeden Cootes (Sherwood Park, AB/Seattle, WHL) all contributed with goals, improving Canada’s tournament-leading goal total to an impressive 43.

“This was one of the closest teams I’ve ever been on,” said Smith. “We came together quick, didn’t have a ton of time to get to know each other but that didn’t matter. It showed out there with how we played tonight, we are truly a team. This is an incredible feeling. There is nothing better than winning gold for Canada, and to do it twice [after winning the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup] is extra special. Hopefully, this is just the start for me and these guys.”

Cole Reschny (Macklin, SK/Victoria, WHL), Quinn Beauchesne (Ottawa, ON/Guelph, OHL), Lev Katzin (Thornhill, ON/Guelph, OHL), Alex Huang (Rosemère, QC/Chicoutimi, LHJMQ), Keaton Verhoeff (Fort Saskatchewan, AB/Victoria, WHL), Tyler Hopkins (Campbellville, ON/Kingston, OHL) and Cameron Schmidt (Prince George, BC/Vancouver, WHL) all chipped in with assists.

“I’m so proud of this group,” said Reschny. “We got better every day, and tonight was all of our hard work coming together. It’s an amazing feeling winning gold for Canada and to do it with this group of guys is even better.”

Following the game, Ivankovic and Martin were named to the media all-star team. Ivankovic was also named Best Goaltender, an award voted on by the IIHF and tournament directorate.

A full game summary can be found at HockeyCanada.ca.

The Canadians were undefeated throughout the tournament, beating Slovakia, Latvia, Finland and Norway and outscoring their opponents 29-5 in the preliminary round. Canada booked its spot in the gold medal game with a 3-2 overtime win over Czechia in the quarterfinals and a 4-0 semifinal win over Slovakia.

Since 2002, Canada has won six gold medals at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship (2003, 2008, 2013, 2021, 2024, 2025), in addition to one silver (2005) and four bronze (2012, 2014, 2015, 2023).

Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team goes for gold Saturday at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, taking on Sweden as it looks for back-to-back gold medals for the first time in tournament history.

Last Game

Canada blanked Slovakia 4-0 in its semifinal Friday to book its spot in the gold medal game. Jack Ivankovic was perfect between the pipes, making 24 saves for the shutout. Xavier Villeneuve opened the scoring early in the second period before Cole Reschny, Jack Nesbitt and Ryan Roobroeck added power-play goals in the third to provide the final margin of victory.

The Swedes earned their spot in the final by outlasting the host Americans 4-3 in their semifinal. Viggo Björck and Torkel Jennersjö scored third-period goals to break open a 2-2 game and Love Härenstam did the rest, finishing with 38 saves – 13 in the final 20 minutes – as the U.S. outshot Sweden 41-23.

Last Meeting

The pre-tournament game 12 days ago in Plano? We don’t want to talk about that. So let’s go back to the semifinals at U18 Men’s Worlds last year. The Canadians burst out of the gate, leading 4-0 after one period thanks to Liam Greentree, Gavin McKenna, Tij Iginla and Ryder Ritchie. Sweden trimmed the four-goal deficit to three after 40 minutes and got it to one with five minutes to go, but Canada saw out a 5-4 victory en route to a gold medal game in Finland.

The Canadians and Swedes also met in the preliminary-round finale at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer in Edmonton, with Canada pulling out a 2-1 victory. Ben Kindel opened the scoring just past the seven-minute mark and McKenna provided the game-winner midway through the third period, while Ivankovic was terrific in a 23-save effort.

What to Watch

He’s been mentioned in this space before, but it bears repeating – Ivankovic is really, really good. Less than three weeks shy of his 18th birthday, the Mississauga-born puck-stopper owns a résumé that includes gold medals at the Canada Winter Games, U17 World Challenge, IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship and Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and a history-making start at the World Juniors. And all he’s done in Texas is go 5-0 with a 1.27 goals-against average and .952 save percentage, both tournament-leading marks among goaltenders with at least 120 minutes of action. Put together his two U18 stints in the Maple Leaf this season (including this tournament and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup), and Ivankovic has nine wins in as many starts, allowing only nine goals.

The Swedes ice the top three scorers in the tournament – Filip Ekberg (10-8—18), Sascha Boumedienne (1-13—14) and Ivar Stenberg (8-5—13). Ekberg and Boumedienne did most of their damage in a pair of prelim games; Ekberg had four goals and an assist in a win over Switzerland and two of each in a win over Czechia, while Boumedienne had a goal and five assists against the Swiss and four helpers against the Czechs. Milton Gästrin (third amongst International skaters) is the highest-ranked skater by NHL Central Scouting in the Swedish lineup; he’s contributed three goals and 10 points in six games. And while Härenstam’s numbers don’t jump off the page, he proved against the Americans that he has the ability to steal a game.

A Look Back

The Canadians and Swedes have been very familiar foes at U18 Men’s Worlds, meeting 23 times since 2003.

It’s the first time the long-time international rivals have met for U18 gold, but they do have two prior clashes for bronze, with each winning once. In 2007, Angelo Esposito scored twice, but the Swedes earned an 8-3 victory in Finland. Seven years later, also in the Nordic nation, Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist and Mason McDonald made 38 saves in a 3-1 Canadian victory.

All-time record: Canada leads 13-10 (1-1 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 94
Sweden goals: 74

Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team is into the semifinals at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, taking on Slovakia in its final four faceoff Friday at the Comerica Center.

Last Game

Canada punched its ticket to the semifinals with a narrow 3-2 overtime win over Czechia in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Cole Reschny was the extra-time hero, scoring his second goal of the game 2:41 into the 3-on-3 period. Jackson Smith had the other goal for the Canadians, while Jack Ivankovic made 22 saves.

The Slovaks secured their medal round spot with a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Germany. Jan Chovan scored in the second period, and Lukas Tomka and Luka Radivojevic added goals in the third before the Germans made a late, but unsuccessful, push. Michal Pradel finished with 21 saves in the Slovak goal.

Last Meeting

Canada and Slovakia clashed just last Thursday in the Canadians’ prelim opener, a 9-2 victory in Allen. Cameron Schmidt, Lev Katzin, Smith, Matthew Gard and Ryan Lin all scored first-period goals as Canada took a commanding early lead with five goals in a span of 7:12. Schmidt finished with a pair of goals, as did Braeden Cootes, who added three assists for just the seventh five-point game by a Canadian in U18 Men’s Worlds history. In all, 13 of 16 skaters recorded at least a point in the win.

What to Watch

There’s no easy answer in this section going into this game, and that’s because there are so many Canadians who have been so darn good in Texas. While Cootes leads the way in scoring with 10 points (5-5—10) in five games, he’s followed closely behind by Brady Martin (1-8—9), Lev Katzin (4-4—8), Ryan Roobroeck (3-5—8) and Reschny (4-2—6). The balanced offence bodes well for Canada’s medal chances this weekend, but it also bodes well for Canadian content at the 2025 NHL Draft. While Roobroeck isn’t eligible until 2026, the others all appeared in the final North American skater rankings by NHL Central Scouting – 11th (Martin), 20th (Cootes), 25th (Reschny) and 142nd (Katzin). Throw in some of the players we haven’t mentioned above, like Smith (13th), Jack Nesbitt (15th) and Ben Kindel (21st) and this team should be very well represented in Los Angeles next month.

While Chovan – the highest-rated Slovak for the NHL Draft – has performed as expected with four goals in five games, it’s Tomas Chrenko leading the charge offensively with eight points (5-3—8). Chrenko was simply dominant with HK Nitra in the Slovak U20 league this season, recording 61 points (30-31—61) in just 28 regular-season games before posting 20 (4-16—20) in 10 playoff games. And while Pradel – the third-ranked North American goaltender by Central Scouting – lasted only one period against Canada in the prelims, the puck-stopper has been terrific otherwise, fashioning a 1.81 goals-against average and .930 save percentage across five games.

A Look Back

Canada has never lost to Slovakia at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, winning all 13 meetings (with two coming by way of overtime).

The last medal-round meeting between the teams came in the bronze medal game at the 2023 tournament in Switzerland. In that one, Matthew Wood tied the game with 70 seconds to go and Macklin Celebrini – 14 months before he was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft – was the overtime hero as Canada earned a 4-3 victory to win bronze. Wood finished with a goal and three assists, while Celebrini contributed two goals and a helper.

All-time record: Canada leads 13-0 (2-0 in OT)
Canada goals: 52
Slovakia goals: 19

Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team faces Czechia as the playoffs get underway Wednesday at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center.

Last Game

Canada finished the preliminary round undefeated with a 8-1 win over Norway on Monday. Ryan Roobroeck opened the scoring only 39 seconds into the game on his way to a four-point performance (1-3—4). Braeden Cootes had two goals and an assist and Lev Katzin scored twice. Cole Reschny, Alessandro Di Iorio and Keaton Verhoeff rounded out the scoring. Jack Ivankovic made 12 saves in the first two periods before Lucas Beckman turned aside all five shots he faced in the third.

Czechia closed the prelims Monday with a 7-3 loss to Sweden in Group B. The Swedes took a 3-0 lead before Artur Matejovsky scored with just under four minutes left in the first period. Vit Jahejsky added a power-play goal midway through the second and captin Tomas Poletin scored early in the third for the Czechs. Michal Orsulak played well in a 31-save effort.

Last Meeting

The Canadians and Czechs faced off in the preliminary round last year, with Canada earning a 6-0 shutout win. Malcolm Spence needed only five seconds to open the scoring, setting a new record for the fastest goal in tournament history. Spence finished with three points (1-2—3), Gavin McKenna had a goal and two assists, Tij Iginla scored shorthanded and on the power play, and Carson Wetsch found the back of the net. Carter George made 26 saves for the shutout.

What to Watch

The newest arrival to Team Canada has made an immediate impact on the ice. Ben Kindel was added to the roster on Saturday and has a goal and three assists in two games. The 18-year-old had 35 goals and 99 points during the regular season with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, and registered eight goals and 15 points in 11 playoff games before Calgary was knocked out by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Game 7. The Coquitlam, B.C., product was a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning entry at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer in Edmonton, contributing a goal and an assist in five games.

Adam Benak leads Czechia in scoring after the prelims with one goal and five assists in three games. A point-producer (17-42—59 in 56 games) with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms this season, he is the 58th-ranked North American skater by Central Scouting for the 2025 NHL Draft. He also starred at a pair of Hlinka Gretzky Cups, posting 10 points in five games as an underager in 2023 before following that up with 11 points in five games in Edmonton last summer. On the blueline, Radim Mrtka is hard to miss—at 6-foot-6 and over 200 pounds, he is a force on the ice for the Czechs. He’s also hard to miss because he never leaves the ice, averaging 23:42 per game through the prelims, good for third among all skaters. Mrtka spent this past season with the WHL’s Regina Pats and posted three goals and 35 points in 43 games.

A Look Back

This will be the 18th meeting between Canada and Czechia at U18 Men’s Worlds, but only the fourth time they teams have met in North America. The Canadians are undefeated when playing the Czechs in the United States, earning a 10-3 win in 2021, a 3-1 win in 2016 and a 4-3 overtime win in 2009.

The 2009 game had Canada down 3-0 after 40 minutes before John McFarland, Ryan O’Reilly and Erik Gudbranson tied the game in just over three minutes early in the third period. Brett Connolly scored the winner 83 seconds into overtime for Canada.

All-time record: Canada leads 10-7-1 (1-3 in OT)
Canada goals: 75
Czechia goals: 45

Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team jumps right back into action Monday, facing Norway to conclude the preliminary round at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center.

Last Game

Canada improved its record to 3-0 and locked up top spot in Group A on Sunday with a 5-1 win over Finland. Ben Kindel opened the scoring at 3:19 on the power play. A big second period, featuring goals from Braeden Cootes, Xavier Villeneuve and Cole Reschny, put the Canadians ahead 4-0 before Brady Martin added an empty-net goal late in the third. Jack Ivankovic was the standout, making 39 saves to neutralize the Finnish offence.

Norway was last in action Saturday, dropping a 9-1 decision to Slovakia. Niklas Aaram Olsen scored the sole goal for Norway with eight seconds left in the second period. Felix Timraz-Westin allowed six goals on 27 shots, while 15-year-old Maximillian Aas made seven saves in relief during the third period. Slovakia outshot Norway 37-23.

Last Meeting

Let’s throw it back 14 years to 2011 when Canada last played Norway at this tournament, with the Canadians earning a 5-0 shutout win. Mark Scheifele recorded two goals and an assist, while Colin Smith, Slater Koekkoek and Nick Cousins also found the back of the net. Andrew Agostini made 19 saves for the shutout.

What to Watch

The goaltending duo from the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup is continuing to dominate in international play. Ivankovic is no stranger to Canadian hockey fans as a returnee from the gold medal-winning team from last year’s U18 Men’s Worlds and making history at the World Juniors as the first 17-year-old goaltender to start a game for Canada’s National Junior Team since 1987. Through two starts, Ivankovic has fashioned a .953 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average. Lucas Beckman started against Latvia and registered a .941 save percentage, stopping 16 of 17 shots for the win.

Norway has three returnees from the 2024 U18 Men’s Worlds: Tinus Luc Koblar, Aaram Olsen and Andreas Pettersen. Aaram Olsen led the Norwegians at the World Juniors D1A last December with three goals and three assists in five games. The youngest Norwegian skater, 15-year-old Aas, has quickly moved from U16 to U20 with Stjernen Hockey in Norway. He played mostly with the U18 team this season, posting a 6-10 record, .910 save percentage and 3.26 goals-against average.

A Look Back

This will be the fourth meeting between Canada and Norway at U18 Men’s Worlds, and the Canadians are undefeated through the first three. In addition to 2011, Canada faced the Norwegians in 2006 (9-2 win) and 2002 (4-3 win).

All-time record: Canada leads 3-0
Canada goals: 18
Norway goals: 5

Preliminary-round play at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship continues Sunday as Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team faces off against Finland in its third of four prelim contests.

Last Game

Canada made it two wins from as many games Friday with a comfortable 7-1 win over Latvia. Ryan Roobroeck scored twice, while Lev Katzin and Alessandro Di Iorio chipped in with a goal and an assist each. The Canadians continued to get offence from the back end, with defencemen Jackson Smith, Xavier Villeneuve and Carson Carels contributing goals (more on that below).

The Finns flxed a little offensive muscle of their own against the Latvians, posting a 10-2 victory on Saturday afternoon. Max Westergård and Eetu Orpana led the charge with a goal and three assists each for Finland, with all of Orpana’s scoring coming in a six-goal first period. In all, 15 Finns recorded at least a point as they improved to 2-1.

Last Meeting

You have to go all the way back to the quarterfinals of the 2022 U18 Men’s Worlds to find the last meeting between the Canadians and Finns. Connor Bedard was the star for Canada in that one (as he usually is when wearing the Maple Leaf), scoring a pair of goals, and Adam Fantilli added two assists, but future Nashville Predators first-rounder Joakim Kemell finished his hat trick in overtime to eliminate the Canadians, 6-5.

The last matchup at the U18 level at any event was the prelim opener at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Berkly Catton had a goal and two assists to pace the offence, but a wild six-goal third period left the Canadians on the wrong side of a 9-6 final score.

What to Watch

Let’s turn our attention to the blue line, and while Canada has been solid on the defensive end, allowing only three goals in two games, we’re more interested in the offensive exploits. Already, five of the six Canadian defencemen – Smith, Villeneuve, Carels, Ryan Lin and Quinn Beauchesne – have found the back of the net, and the sextet (also including Alex Huang) has combined for 12 points. And there’s more talent coming! Two of Canada’s highly touted 2008-born blue-liners, Daxon Rudolph and Keaton Verhoeff, have yet to debut in the tournament; that duo combined for 86 points during the regular season with the Prince Albert Raiders and Victoria Royals, respectively, and were good for 22 points in as many playoff games.

The Finnish roster includes a handful of players on the final International Skater rankings from NHL Central Scouting, including two – Lasse Boelius (12) and Atte Joki (23) – in the top 25. Boelius, who got into seven games with Ässät Pori in the Liiga, the top men’s league in Finland, this season, has been as advertised on defence, contributing a goal and three assists in three games. Joki is a rare forward leading his team in ice time, playing 18:50 per game (only one other Finn is north of 17 minutes), but the offensive numbers aren’t there; the Lukko Rauma product has yet to record a point and is a -1 despite his team scoring 17 goals in its last two games.

A Look Back

While it has been three years since they’ve met at U18 Men’s Worlds, the Canadians and Finns certainly aren’t strangers to each other. This will be their 14th meeting at the tournament, with Canada earning seven wins against six losses and a tie.

Canada and Finland have met twice for the bronze medal; the Finns earned a 6-5 shootout win in the third-place game in 2009, and Hunter Shinkaruk was the overtime hero to give Canada the bronze three years later.

All-time record: Canada leads 7-6-1 (1-3 in OT/SO)
Canada goals: 43
Finland goals: 43

Coming off a tournament-opening win, Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team gets right back to action Friday at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, taking on Latvia as prelim play continues in Group A.

Last Game

Canada started fast in its opener Thursday, scoring five first-period goals in a 9-2 win over Slovakia. The Canadians finished with four power-play goals, two from Cameron Schmidt (who also had an assist), and got a pair of goals and three assists from Braeden Cootes, and three helpers from Brady Martin. In all, 13 of the 16 Canadian skaters recorded points and Jack Ivankovic was solid when called upon in goal, finishing with 22 saves.

The Latvians worked overtime (and more) in their opener Wednesday, getting a shootout winner from Maksims Saperins to earn a 2-1 victory over Norway. Martins Klaucans scored the lone goal for Latvia in regulation, finding the back of the net just 103 seconds after the puck dropped, and Ivans Kufterins was terrific in a 21-save effort (plus all four Norwegian attempts in the shootout).

Last Meeting

Canada and Latvia clashed in the quarterfinals a year ago in Finland. Maxim Massé and Ryder Ritchie scored in the first period before Porter Martone and Jett Luchanko added insurance in the back half of the third as the Canadians continued their march to gold with a 4-0 victory. Carter George was terrific between the pipes en route to Best Goaltender honours, turning aside all 23 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the tournament.

What to Watch

It sure looks like the power play is going to be a key to the Canadians’ success in Texas, so stay tuned there. But let’s put the spotlight on Cootes, who equalled the Canadian single-game scoring record at the tournament and turned in the first five-point effort since Connor Bedard had two goals and three assists in a quarterfinal win over Czechia in 2021. The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native is no stranger to putting up points – he had 26 goals and 63 points with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, where he was one of the CHL’s few 17-year-old captains this season. He wore the ‘C’ for Canada against the Slovaks, although the leadership group has yet to be officially finalized.

Almost a third of the Latvian roster – eight of 25 – skated in North America this season, but only one suited up in the Canadian Hockey League. Karlis Flugins featured in 52 games for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds, recording 14 points (5-9—14). Latvia also has five players who helped stun Canada in a shootout at the World Juniors in Ottawa – Martins Klaucans, Olivers Murnieks, Roberts Naudins, Krisjanis Sarts and Daniels Serkins. Serkins is the one to watch in the eyes of the scouts; the Latvian captain has appeared on NHL Draft lists throughout the season after posting 22 points (9-13—22) in 35 games with SC Bern in the Swiss U20 league.

A Look Back

This is the eighth meeting between Canada and Latvia at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, with the Canadians earning wins in each of the previous seven, outscoring the Latvians 40-12.

The 2015 tournament opener in Switzerland was absolutely wild; Latvia led 3-2 after one period, only for Canada to score six unanswered goals – by six different players – in the second. Both teams then scored three goals in the final frame in what ended as an 11-6 win for the Canadians. Jeremy Roy had a hat trick, Mitchell Stephens scored twice and added an assist, and Mathew Barzal chipped in three helpers.

All-time record: Canada leads 7-0
Canada goals: 40
Latvia goals: 12