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World Juniors daily recap: Sweden wins gold, Canada takes bronze

It was a big day for Flyers prospects, with Jack Berglund capturing gold for Sweden and Porter Martone and Jett Luchanko earning bronze with Canada.

Posted on by Brad Keffer
Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

Throughout the World Juniors tournament, we’ve been keeping track of all the action and bringing you all of the results in one place. Now, we have the final results.

Canada vs Finland

It was a battle of Flyers prospects for bronze in the early game: Heikki Ruohonen and Max Westergard vs. Porter Martone and Jett Luchanko. Often a hard game to get motivated for after falling just short of fighting for gold, both the Canadians and the Finns still put on an explosive, entertaining show.

The first period started with a flurry of offense, with three goals in the first five minutes. Sam O’Reilly opened the scoring, connecting on an odd-man rush with Michael Hage just 70 seconds into the game, before Arttu Valila tied the game for Finland on their first shot. Finland would be held to one shot on goal for about half of the first period, before quickly pushing back and evening the shot total late in the first. Finishing the scoring squall was Braeden Cootes with a quick shot from the slot. This electric start would slow a bit as the teams got settled in, but there were still two more goals before the horn.

First, the Finns once again tied the game with a power play goal from Julius Miettinen. A failed clear immediately burned the Canadians, with Miettinen’s shot somehow finding its way to the back of the net, under Carter George. It was a one-timer, with a screen, but it was a weird goal for George to give up, with the puck knuckling off of Miettinen’s stick and sliding along the ice. On a power play of their own, Canada took their third lead of the game thanks to a Zayne Parekh wrister from the top faceoff circle.

The second period was a big one for Flyers prospects. First, Martone picked up his tournament-leading sixth goal off of a great feed from Tij Iginla. The Flyers’ 2025 first rounder had been under a microscope, as all Canadian captains have been before him, and while there was this feeling floating around that he had been a bit quiet, he leaves the tournament with more goals than anyone else.

On the Martone goal, Parekh picked up his 13th point of the tournament, breaking the single WJC record for most points by a Canadian defenseman, previously held by Alex Pietrangelo.

Canada added to their lead with yet another power play goal, with O’Reilly picking up his second of the game, redirecting a Gavin McKenna shot-pass. Just under ten minutes later, the Finns would respond, as Ruohonen picked up his second point of the game and third goal of the tournament.

Ruohonen had a really strong showing for the Finns in this tournament, and while it’s always wise to not put too much stock into a short event, it was encouraging to see from a prospect who has flown pretty under the radar. Westergard also had a solid showing, but the bad news from this game was that after being on the receiving end of a massive hit late in the first period, he did not take a shift for the rest of the game.

Around the midway point of the third, Luchanko broke free for a shorthanded breakaway, but was denied by Rimpinen. Eventually Canada did find a sixth goal, this time off the stick of McKenna, to give them a more comfortable three goal lead. McKenna and Hage each finished with four point nights.

Final: Canada 6 – Finland 3
Canada earns bronze

Sweden vs. Czechia

A defensive battle from the first drop of the puck was finally broken open when Casper Juustovaara found the back of the net shorthanded, following an incredible play from Berglund, dancing around two Czech skaters before finding Juustovaara from behind the net.

Yeah — that’s sick.

Both teams continued to play solid defensive hockey through the second period, and stayed out of the box until a cross-checking minor put Sweden on their second power play of the game. With about a minute left on the man advantage, Victor Eklund upped the Swedes lead to two, with Berglund again collecting the primary assist.

Berglund was fantastic for Sweden throughout, but especially over their last two games. In their game against the Finns, his work on the penalty kill was a huge reason why Sweden even had the opportunity to win that game in the shootout — where he picked up one of the two goals that sent them to this game. Then against Czechia, he set up his team’s first two goals of the game, and was making a huge impact throughout the entire game.

As was the case with Ruohonen, it’s important not to overreact to small sample sizes, but Berglund still stood out as extremely impressive. The Flyers remain in need of long-term solutions at center, and the picture gets much clearer if one of these players hits.

After Eklund’s goal, Sweden took control of the game. From that point until Sascha Boumedienne scored to make it 3-0, the Swedes outshot the Czechs 16-3. It was potential first-overall pick Ivar Stenberg who set up Boumedienne for the one-timer. He’s still likely behind McKenna, but as McKenna’s game continues to be picked apart as the long-time consensus top pick, Stenberg has a legitimate lane to challenge for the top spot.

While it looked as though Sweden was on track to cruise to gold, Czechia refused to go quietly. Down three goals, the Czechs pulled the goalie with over three minutes remaining, and Adam Jiricek sparked a comeback bid with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle. Then, with just 24 seconds left in regulation, Matej Kubiesa cut Sweden’s lead to one on a nearly identical play. It proved to be a brief scare, however, as Stenberg sealed the game with a late empty-net goal.

Final: Sweden 4 – Czechia 2
Sweden wins gold, Czechia takes silver

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