TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Québec – Canada West has earned the silver medal at the 2025 Junior A World Challenge, falling 5-1 to the United States in the gold medal game Saturday at Colisée Vidéotron.
Noah Chadi (Edmonton, AB/Grande Prairie, AJHL) scored the lone goal for Canada West five minutes into the second period, with Rylan Hue (Saskatoon, SK/Humboldt, SJHL) and Ethan Stewart (Brandon, MB/Dauphin, MJHL) assisting on the play. Canada West captain Esteban Cinq-Mars (Longueuil, QC/Lloydminster, AJHL) was named Player of the Game for Canada West and earned a spot on the tournament all-star team.
“I think the difference tonight was that we could not capitalize on our chances, while our opponents were more opportunists. We knew that it was not so much finesse that would give us chances, but we needed to create several turnovers,’’ said Cinq-Mars. “Overall, we had a very good group, and it was extremely positive to get together every day. Being named captain of a Canadian team is a childhood dream for me, and I am very grateful. Joining this team and playing a more defensive role took some adjustment, but I'm very proud of it, and being named to the all-star team makes me very happy and grateful.”
“I thought we were right in the fight the whole game, and we cannot be prouder of our players because our work ethic and structure was there,” said Trevor Blevins (Melfort, SK/Melfort, SJHL), head coach of Canada West. “[The United States] are very skilled, and we cannot take anything away from them, but our guys can hold their head high. It was a great experience for our players, and it was awesome to be part of this tournament. Our group grew very quickly on and off the ice, and what I like about our team is that we stuck together and showed up every day. We wanted to get better. Our leadership group and each player in that dressing room really bought in to the messaging. It was a great experience and we cannot thank Hockey Canada for the experience they gave to all of us.’’
A full game summary can be found here.
Canada East finishes fourth after 5-1 loss to Sweden in bronze medal game
Earlier in the day, Canada East fell 5-1 to Sweden in the bronze medal game to finish fourth. Sweden’s bronze medal is its third medal in the last four tournaments, having won silver in 2024 and bronze in 2022.
Mavrick Brunet (Laval, QC/Rockland, CCHL) scored the lone goal for Canada East with just over two minutes remaining in the opening period, while Kale Osipenko (Refrew, ON/Renfrew, CCHL), who finished the tournament with a 2.39 goals-against average and .931 save percentage, made 28 saves.
For more information on Hockey Canada and the Junior A World Challenge, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.