"Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford and Team Canada were halted in the semi finals of the 2025-26 World Junior Tournament at the hands of Team Czechia, falling 6-4 to miss the gold medal game for a third-straight year. It also marked the third year in a row that Canada has been eliminated by Czechia, losing out in the quarter finals in both 2024 and 2025 and the semi final in 2026."
"It's been a tough stretch for Canada, who haven't failed to medal three years in a row since the late 1970s. Canada originally defeated Czechia on Boxing Day in a high-scoring 7-5 thriller, but Czechia proved to be a nation to be taken seriously, both in that game and in recent memory. They have stepped up in the years since Russia have been banned from the tournament, picking up two bronzes, a silver, and a top-four finish in each of the four tournaments since then."
"It was a back-and-forth affair in the semi-final game. Tij Iginla, son of the legendary Jarome Iginla and Utah Mammoth prospect opened the scoring for Canada before Czechia scored two to take the lead. The two teams would trade goals before Philadelphia Flyers prospect and team captain Porter Marton scored a thriller inside the final three minutes of the game."
Team Canada fell 6-4 to Czechia in the 2025-26 World Junior semi-final, preventing a spot in the gold medal game for a third straight year. Czechia has eliminated Canada in three consecutive tournaments, advancing past Canada in 2024, 2025, and 2026. The semi-final featured multiple lead changes, with Tij Iginla opening the scoring and Porter Marton briefly leveling the game late. Tomas Poletin scored with just over a minute remaining and added an empty-net goal after a late penalty. Ben Danford recorded one assist and a plus-3 rating across six games, primarily on the penalty kill. Canada will play Finland for bronze.
Read at TheLeafsNation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]