Jason La Rose
Canada’s National Junior Team is on to the playoff round at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, taking on Slovakia in the fourth and final quarterfinal in Minnesota.
Last Game
Canada closed out the preliminary round—and 2025—with a 7-4 win over Finland on Wednesday night to finish an unbeaten prelims and sit atop Group B. Cole Beaudoin led the charge with a pair of goals and an assist, Brady Martin scored twice, and Zayne Parekh and Sam O’Reilly chipped in with a goal and two helpers apiece for the Canadians, who pulled away over the last 40 minutes after a wild opening period ended 3-3.
The Slovaks finished their preliminary round with a 3-2 loss to Switzerland in a Wednesday matinee in Saint Paul. Adam Nemec and Luka Radivojevic provided the goals, scoring in the third period to almost erase a three-goal deficit. Michal Pradel made 15 saves in a losing cause.
Last Meeting
There’s not a Canadian hockey fan alive who doesn’t remember the last time the Canadians and Slovaks clashed. In the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax, Connor Bedard provided the most iconic moment of his record-breaking tournament, scoring the overtime winner to send Canada to the semifinals with a 4-3 victory. Bedard opened and closed the scoring and added an assist, part of his 23-point effort to help lead Canada to gold in the Maritimes.
What to Watch
One of four returning skaters on the Team Canada roster, Beaudoin had not found the back of the net through eight games at the World Juniors—until Wednesday. The Kanata product picked an opportune time to open his account, scoring the eventual game-winning goal late in the second period before adding a little insurance midway through the third (and he selflessly passed up a chance at a hat trick in the final minute, passing off to O’Reilly for the empty-net goal). Beaudoin was all over the ice against the Finns—he played 20:39, the most of any Canadian forward in the tournament and the second-most of any skater in the game, behind only Kashawn Aitcheson (21:28). That the Utah first-rounder (24th overall in 2024) is flexing his offensive muscle is no surprise; Beaudoin ranked in the top five of Ontario Hockey League scoring when he left for training camp, posting 41 points (14-27—41) in 25 games with the Barrie Colts.
Tomas Chrenko did the damage for the Slovaks in the preliminary round, scoring five of the team’s 13 goals while setting up three others to sit atop the tournament scoring chart alongside three Canadians—Parekh, Michael Hage and Gavin McKenna. The 18-year-old has almost equalled his goal-scoring output for the season; he has eight in 31 games split between HK Nitra’s entry in the Slovak Extraliga and its U20 team. Chrenko—who is projected by some to be a late first-round pick in the 2026 Draft—has played at each of the last two editions of the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, posting 13 points (7-6—13) in 14 games and helping Slovakia reach a pair of bronze medal games.
Be There Next Year!
The holiday hockey tradition returns to Canadian ice a year from now when Edmonton and Red Deer host the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship. Fans interested in ticket packages can register until Jan. 6 for the Priority Ticket Draw at HockeyCanada.ca/PriorityDraw.
A Look Back
The head-to-head history has been a one-sided one, with Canada winning 16 of 17 meetings (the other was a 0-0 tie in 1999, the only scoreless draw in World Juniors history).
The biggest Canadian win came at the 2022 World Juniors, the COVID-delayed summer tournament played in Edmonton, when Mason McTavish recorded the seventh and most recent four-goal game by a Canadian (and also added two assists) as part of an 11-1 victory.
It’ll be the fifth time the teams have met in a playoff game—Canada earned wins in the quarterfinals in 1997 (7-2), 2020 (6-1) and 2023 (4-3 in OT, see above), and in the semifinals in 2015 (5-1).
All-time record: Canada leads 16-0-1 (1-0 in OT) Canada goals: 90 Slovakia goals: 21