Shannon Coulter
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. FINLAND (DEC. 26)
Let the games begin! Canada’s National Junior Team opens the preliminary round of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship against Finland on Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Canada wrapped up a perfect pre-tournament schedule with a 3-2 win over Czechia on Monday night. Bradly Nadeau opened the scoring early in the first period before Czechia responded before the end of the opening frame. Gavin McKenna scored twice—including the game-winner with 2:29 to go—to seal the win. The Canadians outshot Czechia 39-23 and Carter George made 21 saves.
Finland was in action Monday night in Cornwall, falling 5-2 to the United States. Kasper Halttunen got the Finns on the board with a power-play goal in the second period, cutting the American lead to 2-1. Halttunen added his second goal on a penalty shot in the third period, while Noa Vali and Kim Saarinen combined for 25 saves.
The Canadians and Finns opened up the tournament exactly a year ago in Gothenburg, Sweden, with Canada earning a 5-2 win. Nate Danielson and Owen Allard gave Canada a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. Macklin Celebrini got the game-winner to start the third period, and empty-netters by Matthew Poitras and Maveric Lamoureux sealed the win. Canada threw 29 shots on net and Mathis Rousseau made 24 saves.
Let’s hear it for McKenna! He celebrated his 17th birthday last week and has already made an impact on the ice for Canada. The Whitehorse, Yukon, native—who has 19 goals and 60 points in 30 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers this season—is the eighth-youngest player in National Junior Team history, but comes into the tournament with plenty of international experience—he recorded a record-setting 10 goals and 20 points on the way to gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, and added three goals and six points when Canada won gold at this summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Finland has six returning players from last year’s fourth-place team. In addition to his two goals against the United States, Halttunen (36th overall in 2023 to San Jose) also added a goal and an assist against Slovakia in pre-tournament action. The Finns have two first-round NHL picks—Konsta Helenius (14th overall to Buffalo in 2024) and Emil Hemming (29th overall to Dallas in 2024). Helenius has registered six goals and 17 points this season with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, while Hemming has put up five goals and 20 points with the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
Other than the United States, Finland is Canada’s most frequently-faced opponent at the World Juniors. The two countries have met 42 times, with the Canadians winning 27 of those games. The matchup has been even more favourable when Canada is on home ice, with the Canadians owning a 13-1 record.
The most recent home game was the gold medal game of the August 2022 tournament in Edmonton, a thrilling 3-2 overtime win for Canada. Joshua Roy and William Dufour scored for a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, but the Finns evened the score in the third period to send the game to overtime. In a now iconic World Juniors moment, Mason McTavish knocked a Finnish shot out of the air to prevent it from going in during overtime, and Kent Johnson notched the game-winner a few moments later.
All-time record: Canada leads 27-9-6 (1-1 in OT/SO) Canada goals: 168 Finland goals: 107