Jason La Rose
Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team is back on the ice Saturday at the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, facing off against Norway in the penultimate game of preliminary-round play in Trencin.
Last Game
Canada bounced back from a tournament-opening loss with a 6-0 blanking of Latvia on Thursday. Thomas Vandenberg opened the scoring just 52 seconds in and the Canadians were in control from there, outshooting the Latvians 42-19. Adam Valentini and Dima Zhilkin led the charge with a goal and an assist apiece, and Carter Esler was perfect, turning aside all 19 shots he faced to record the shutout.
The Norwegians fell 6-1 to Slovakia on Thursday, its second defeat in as many games by that same scoreline. August Jones-Nilsson provided the lone goal for Norway, briefly cutting the Slovak lead in half early in the second period, but the hosts scored the final four goals and outshot Norway 40-22.
Last Meeting
The teams met in the same stage a year ago in Texas, with Canada coming away with an 8-1 win to close out the preliminary round. Braeden Cootes and Lev Katzin scored a pair of goals each and Ryan Roobroeck added a goal and three assists for the Canadians, who piled up 64 shots in the win—32 of them in the second period, tying the third-most in a single frame in U18 Men’s Worlds history.
What to Watch
Among the Canadians forwards in Trencin, Tynan Lawrence is the highest-ranked North American forward on the final NHL Central Scouting ranking for the 2026 NHL Draft, slotting in at No. 7. The Fredericton, New Brunswick, product made the move from the USHL to college hockey in January, recording seven points (2-5—7) in 18 games with Boston University. Lawrence has been a frequent appearance in the Maple Leaf across the last two-plus years, with 16 points (7-9—16) across appearances at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, 2024 U17 World Challenge (winning gold with Canada White), 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (winning bronze) and 2026 U18 Men’s Worlds. He is a year removed from winning the Clark Cup with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, claiming playoff MVP honours after putting up 18 points (8-10—18) in 14 postseason games.
Niklas Aaram-Olsen is back for his third U18 Men’s Worlds after almost single-handedly keeping Norway in the top division a year ago. He scored twice and added two assists in the relegation game against Switzerland, helping set up Alexander Kionig for the game-tying goal with less than 10 minutes to go before the Norwegians prevailed in a six-round shootout. Aaram-Olsen—the 15th-ranked international skater by NHL Central Scouting—had 40 points (20-20—40) in 29 games this season with the U20 program with Örebro HK in Sweden. In addition to his U18 Men’s Worlds experience, he has played at the last two World Juniors Division 1A tournaments; in December, he posted 10 points (6-4—10) in five games to help Norway go undefeated and secure their return to the top division in Edmonton next year.
A Look Back
Canada and Norway have met four previous times at U18 Men’s Worlds, with the Canadians winning all four.
Justin Azevedo had a hat trick in a 9-2 win at the 2006 tournament in Sweden, and Mark Scheifele finished with two goals and an assist in a 5-0 win in 2011 in a game that saw Canada outshot the Norwegians 63-19.
All-time record: Canada leads 4-0 Canada goals: 26 Norway goals: 6