WJC 2026: Canada Looks to Get Back on Track on Rival's Home Ice
For some, seeing Christmas come and go so quickly after the year-long wait and so much anticipation elicits a feeling of sadness. But for hockey fans, the day after the holiday is almost as exciting as Christmas itself.
Happy WJC Opening Day to those who celebrate!
That’s right, the 2026 World Junior Championship, featuring the best under-20 hockey players in the world, is here, and the start of the 2026 WJC brings even better news as the tournament once again will be played on North American soil, with St. Paul, Minn., serving as the host city.
So, this year there will be no early morning wakeup calls to watch games being played during the afternoon in Europe; no contest starts earlier than 1 p.m. EST, and either the United States or Canada (or both) will be skating in the 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. time slot most evenings. The 2025 WJC was held in Ottawa, Ontario.
With the U.S. and Canada playing in different pools this year, unfortunately we won’t get our semi-traditional USA vs. Canada New Year’s Eve tilt, but both teams still will help us ring in the new year by facing some of the world’s stiffest competition. The U.S. takes on Sweden that day at 6 p.m. EST as part of a prime-time doubleheader, followed by a matchup between Canada and Finland at 8:30 p.m.
The 2026 WJC begins Friday, Dec. 26, at 1 p.m. EST when Sweden and Slovakia face off, and the tournament continues through Jan. 5. Pool play concludes Dec. 31, with the relegation game and quarterfinals set for Jan. 2. Semifinal games are scheduled for Jan. 4, while the bronze- and-gold-medal games will be contested Jan. 5.
WJC games are being played at Grand Casino Arena and 3M Arena at Mariucci and can be viewed in the United States on NHL Network and Canada via one of the various TSN platforms.
This year’s tournament is broken down as follows:
Group A
Sweden, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland, USA
Group B
Denmark, Finland, Czechia, Latvia, Canada
Teams play one game against each of the other teams in their pool to determine quarterfinal seedings. The top four finishers in each pool advance to the playoff round, while the fifth-place teams compete in a relegation game. The loser of that contest is dropped from the top level and replaced by another team at the 2027 WJC.
The first-place team in each pool faces the fourth-place team from the other pool in the quarterfinals, with the second- and third-place teams from each pool also crossing over to play each other.
A year ago, Ottawa hosted the 49th edition of the WJC, and the United States knocked off Finland, 4-3, in overtime to capture its second consecutive gold medal in what turned out to be a second consecutive disappointing tournament for the host country. Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Czechia, which went on to fall to the Americans, 4-1, in the semis. Finland defeated bitter-rival Sweden, 4-3 in overtime, in the other semifinal.
Despite the disappointing showing last year, Canada still leads all nations with 20 all-time WJC gold medals and 35 medals overall. Russia, which currently is banned from competing in International Ice Hockey Federation events, is second with 23 medals, not including those won by the Soviet Union or Commonwealth of Independent States. The United States has captured 16 total medals (seven gold and seven bronze), while Sweden has earned 21 medals (two gold), Finland has won 18 medals (five gold) and Czechia has earned six medals (two gold, not including those won by Czechoslovakia).
With the exclusion of Russia, Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland generally had been considered the top four hockey-playing nations in the world, but in recent years, Czechia has earned its way into that conversation.
The Czechs have captured the last two WJC bronze medals after placing second in 2023. Meanwhile Finland, which earned a gold medal in 2019 and a silver in 2022, finished second to return to the medal stand after a two-year absence in 2025. Sweden won a silver medal in 2024 but has finished out of the medals in two of the last three years.
Canada and the U.S. have captured the last four gold medals, with the Canadians going back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 and the Americans following suit the last two years. Canada has not placed among the top four since winning the 2023 gold medal. Prior to that, the last time the Canadians hadn’t placed among the top four was 2016.
Clearly this is an important year for Canada to right the ship, especially with the tournament being played on its biggest rival’s home ice. Of course, it should be noted that often some of Canada’s top WJC-eligible players already are playing in the National Hockey League and not released to play in the tournament.
Many pundits feel that Canada will return to the top of the podium in 2026; this year’s Canadian team is led by Gavin McKenna, the top NHL draft prospect according to many observers. While nations such as Slovakia, which has won two bronze medals all time and placed sixth the last two years, Switzerland and Germany, usually are competitive and more than capable of pulling off an upset or two – and Latvia continues to improve its standing on world stage – the consensus is that Canada, the U.S., Czechia, Sweden and Finland will finish among the top five in some order.
Even the weakest teams in the field have players who already have been drafted by NHL teams and others who will be scouted during the tournament and are likely to get to take a crack at playing professionally in North America.
London Knights Coach Dale Hunter has been brought in to guide a Canadian team that should be the deepest in the field. The roster includes three players who could be selected among the top five in the 2026 NHL draft, and even Latvia has defenseman Alberts Smits, a player who could merit consideration to be selected that early.
Sweden has its usual assortment of potential first-round selections, U.S. defenseman Chase Reid could be chosen among that group at the top of the overall draft board and Czechia forward Adam Novotny currently is tearing up the Ontario Hockey League. Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Latvia and Switzerland all have players who are listed among the WJC’s top prospects and have a legitimate chance to be first-round selections.
The Nashville Predators and Utah Mammoth each have seven players they already drafted competing at the 2026 WJC. Nashville’s first five picks from the 2025 draft are there, and six players who have been selected by each of the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals are representing their home nations in St. Paul. All told, 29 of the 32 NHL teams have prospects playing in the tournament.
As usual, Canada and the United States lead the way with 21 players who already have been drafted by NHL teams. Seventeen players on Sweden’s roster have been selected, while Finland’s roster boasts 13 draft picks, Czechia has 11, Switzerland has five, Germany has three, Slovakia has three, Latvia has two and Denmark has one.
Here is the 2026 WJC schedule and viewing information:
All times EST
Dec. 26
Sweden vs. Slovakia; 1 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Denmark vs. Finland; 3:30 p.m. NHLN, TSN
Germany vs. United States; 6 p.m. ET, NHLN, TSN
Canada vs. Czechia; 8:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Dec. 27
Slovakia vs. Germany; 2 p.m., NHLN, TSN3
Latvia vs. Canada; 4:30 p.m., TSN
United States vs. Switzerland; 6 p.m., NHLN, TSN3
Denmark vs. Czechia; 8:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Dec. 28
Sweden vs. Switzerland; 2 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Finland vs. Latvia; 4:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Dec. 29
Germany vs. Sweden; 1 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Finland vs. Czechia; 3:30 p.m. ET, NHLN, TSN
Slovakia vs. United States; 6 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Canada vs. Denmark; 8:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Dec. 30
Switzerland vs. Germany; 2 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Latvia vs. Denmark; 4:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Dec. 31
Switzerland vs. Slovakia; 1 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Czechia vs. Latvia; 3:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
United States vs. Sweden; 6 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Canada vs. Finland; 8:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Jan. 2
Relegation game, 3M Arena; 12:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal 1, Grand Casino Arena; 2 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Quarterfinal 2, 3M Arena; 4:30 p.m., TSN
Quarterfinal 3, Grand Casino Arena; 6 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Quarterfinal 4, 3M Arena; 8:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Jan. 4 (Grand Casino Arena)
Semifinal 1; 4:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Semifinal 2; 8:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Jan. 5 (Grand Casino Arena)
Third-place game; 4:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
Championship game; 8:30 p.m., NHLN, TSN
