Yahoo Sports 2025 World Junior Championship: Canada Needs To Win To Avert Crisis
The World Juniors used to be Canada's event.
They won five consecutive gold medals from 2005 to 2009, part of a run that saw them medal every year from 1999 to 2012. Even after their golden era was over, they won four gold medals in six years from 2018 to 2023.
That makes last year's fifth-place finish and this year's mediocre round-robin all the more shocking. A loss tonight, and Team Canada would fail to finish in the top four in consecutive years for the first time since 1979-1981, before the institution of the playoff round.
Not only are they on the verge of crisis, but Canada is a clear underdog in the quarterfinals against Czechia.
The Czechs boast the highest-scoring offence in the tournament, scoring 25 goals over four round-robin games and claiming two of the top five scorers heading into the playoff round. They back it up with excellent defence, led primarily by highly-touted Utah prospect Michael Hrabal in net.
By all rights, Canada shouldn't be the underdog against Czechia. They're flush with top NHL prospects, including two projected top-three picks in this year's draft and the presumptive top prospect in 2026, Gavin McKenna. They can boast the best defensive unit in the tournament, with just seven goals allowed in four games, and two shutouts from goaltender Carter George.
But therein lies the problem for Canada: just because you have the best players doesn't mean you have the best team. While Canada's stars have been floundering, Czechia has been able to lean on less-heralded players such as Eduard Sale, Jakub Stancl, and Vojtech Hradec.
That's another part of the problem for Canada: a lack of trust in their players. Oilers prospect Beau Akey has barely played, and while he's not an offensive dynamo he's got a good shot and IQ. The same goes for sharpshooter Carson Rehkopf, one of the best scorers in the OHL who has solid chemistry with Mississauga teammate Porter Martone, another player who's found himself on the outside looking in.
Why bring these guys if they're not going to play? To say nothing of the talent that was passed over in favour of these players who clearly don't have the trust of the coaching staff.
There will be plenty of hand-wringing, autopsies, and talk of summits if Canada loses in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Some of it will be deserved, as neither the management nor the coaching has impressed. But they can put a stop to all that with a win over the Czechs tonight, and maybe one or two more wins in the medal round.
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