Jason La Rose
Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team gets its quest for a third-consecutive gold medal underway Wednesday as it opens preliminary-round play at the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship against host Slovakia.
Last Game
Canada closed out pre-tournament play Sunday with a 6-2 win over Czechia. Tynan Lawrence led the offensive charge with a hat trick and an assist, and Dima Zhilkin added three helpers for the Canadians, who opened up a 5-0 lead by the 14-minute mark of the second period.
The Slovaks cruised to a 7-0 victory over Denmark in their lone pre-tournament game Sunday, getting two goals from Oliver Ozokany, and goal-and-an-assist efforts from Jakub Floris, Timothy Kazda and Ivan Matta. Denis Celko and Samuel Hrenak shared the shutout.
Last Meeting
Canada and Slovakia most recently met a year ago in the semifinals in Texas, with the Canadians earning a 4-0 win to move into the gold medal game. Xavier Villeneuve provided the game-winning goal early in the second period before Cole Reschny, Jack Nesbitt and Ryan Roobroeck added insurance in the third. Jack Ivankovic stopped all 24 shots he faced for the shutout, his first of two in the medal round (he made 28 stops in the win over Sweden for gold).
What to Watch
Keaton Verhoeff has become a Team Canada veteran in very short order; U18 Men’s Worlds will be his sixth appearance in the Maple Leaf in just over two years—2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, 2024 U17 World Challenge (gold), 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship (gold), 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (bronze), 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship (bronze) and now a second tour of duty at U18 Men’s Worlds. The Fort Saskatchewan product—a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NHL Draft—was terrific as a rare 17-year-old freshman defenceman at the University of North Dakota, recording 20 points (6-14—20) in 36 games and earning a place on the NCHC All-Rookie Team while helping the Fighting Hawks reach the Frozen Four.
The Slovaks bring back four players from the team that pushed the United States to overtime in the bronze medal game a year ago in Texas—Hrenak, Kadza, Adam Goljer and Filip Kovalcik. Goljer and Kovalcik were the lone 2008-born players to crack the Slovakia roster for the World Juniors in Minnesota, but didn’t make much of a mark; Kovalcik contributed an assist in four games, while Goljer was held off the scoresheet in his five appearances. Goljer is the highest-ranked Slovak by NHL Central Scouting for the 2026 draft, coming in at 14th among international skaters.
A Look Back
Canada owns a perfect record against Slovakia at U18 Men’s Worlds, with 12 wins in as many meetings.
The last time the Canadians and Slovaks faced off to begin prelim play was back in 2013 in Sochi, Russia, when 16-year-old Connor McDavid set the stage for an MVP performance with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win.
All-time record: Canada leads 12-0 (2-0 in OT) Canada goals: 43 Slovakia goals: 17