Can Sweden ward off the surging Czechs and win its first gold medal in 14 years at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship on Monday?
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
This is the point in the movie when the heroes enter the cave and unlock the treasure chest. The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship is heading into unfamiliar territory as we witness the first-ever gold medal game between Sweden and Czechia.
It feels hard to believe. After all, the Swedes have won two Olympic gold medals (1994, 2006) and the Czechs one (1998). These traditional contenders faced off against each other almost 20 years ago in the 2006 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship final (a 4-0 Swedish win in Riga, Latvia).
But now the spotlight is on Minnesota. On Monday, Sweden has a chance to win its third gold medal in World Junior history (1981, 2012). The Czechs are also vying for their third gold and (in fact) have never lost a World Junior final. They won back-to-back titles under coach Jaroslav Holik in 2000 and 2001, but haven’t played for gold since. It’s a true Czech U20 revival as 2026 marks the fourth straight year they will medal (2023 silver, 2024 and 2025 bronze).
It feels hard to believe. After all, the Swedes have won two Olympic gold medals (1994, 2006) and the Czechs one (1998). These traditional contenders faced off against each other almost 20 years ago in the 2006 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship final (a 4-0 Swedish win in Riga, Latvia).
But now the spotlight is on Minnesota. On Monday, Sweden has a chance to win its third gold medal in World Junior history (1981, 2012). The Czechs are also vying for their third gold and (in fact) have never lost a World Junior final. They won back-to-back titles under coach Jaroslav Holik in 2000 and 2001, but haven’t played for gold since. It’s a true Czech U20 revival as 2026 marks the fourth straight year they will medal (2023 silver, 2024 and 2025 bronze).
This is the first all-European gold medal game since Finland’s 4-3 sudden-death victory over Russia in 2016 in Helsinki. Perhaps even wilder is the fact that 2026 will see a gold-medal winner other than Canada, the U.S., or Finland for the first time since (wait for it) Sweden’s last triumph in 2012.
That’s so long ago that forward Mika Zibanejad – who got the 1-0 overtime winner versus the Russians – is now a 32-year-old New York Rangers star and has Men’s Worlds medals (2018 gold, 2025 bronze) as he awaits his Olympic debut in Milan.
So where will today’s gold-medal adventure take us? These are two evenly matched teams in many ways.
The Swedes have scored 31 goals and the Czechs 30. Sweden hasn’t lost a game yet – but the Czechs haven’t lost either since dropping their opener to Canada. And while Sweden has allowed just 14 goals to Czechia’s 19, 11 of those Czech goals-against were in the 7-5 opening-game loss and 6-4 semi-final win versus the Canadians. The Swedes haven’t faced opposition of that calibre yet, with due respect to the host Americans whom they beat 6-3 on New Year’s Eve.
“It's going to be a great match-up,” said Czech forward Vaclav Nestrasil. “Obviously we haven't played them, and I think it'll be fun to watch. All credit to Canada, I think it's going to be a similar game with Sweden as well.”
Interestingly, the Swedish power play capitalized three times in that New Year’s Eve game, but has come up empty in the playoffs. The only two Czech power play goals this round have been their sixth and final insurance markers against the Swiss and Canadians respectively. It’s hard to put too much weight on those.
There is scoring throughout both lineups. So it may come down to whether Swedish goalie Love Harenstam – a definite all-star contender – can frustrate top Czech forwards like Vojtech Cihar (11 points) and captain Petr Sikora (9 points). The Czechs have also successfully activated their defence from the diminutive Tomas Galvas’ nifty heroics (nine points) to big Adam Jiricek’s four goals (including two game-winners).
That’s so long ago that forward Mika Zibanejad – who got the 1-0 overtime winner versus the Russians – is now a 32-year-old New York Rangers star and has Men’s Worlds medals (2018 gold, 2025 bronze) as he awaits his Olympic debut in Milan.
So where will today’s gold-medal adventure take us? These are two evenly matched teams in many ways.
The Swedes have scored 31 goals and the Czechs 30. Sweden hasn’t lost a game yet – but the Czechs haven’t lost either since dropping their opener to Canada. And while Sweden has allowed just 14 goals to Czechia’s 19, 11 of those Czech goals-against were in the 7-5 opening-game loss and 6-4 semi-final win versus the Canadians. The Swedes haven’t faced opposition of that calibre yet, with due respect to the host Americans whom they beat 6-3 on New Year’s Eve.
“It's going to be a great match-up,” said Czech forward Vaclav Nestrasil. “Obviously we haven't played them, and I think it'll be fun to watch. All credit to Canada, I think it's going to be a similar game with Sweden as well.”
Interestingly, the Swedish power play capitalized three times in that New Year’s Eve game, but has come up empty in the playoffs. The only two Czech power play goals this round have been their sixth and final insurance markers against the Swiss and Canadians respectively. It’s hard to put too much weight on those.
There is scoring throughout both lineups. So it may come down to whether Swedish goalie Love Harenstam – a definite all-star contender – can frustrate top Czech forwards like Vojtech Cihar (11 points) and captain Petr Sikora (9 points). The Czechs have also successfully activated their defence from the diminutive Tomas Galvas’ nifty heroics (nine points) to big Adam Jiricek’s four goals (including two game-winners).
Having forward Lucas Pettersson out of the lineup (also four goals and two GWG) made life tougher for Sweden in its 4-3 shootout win over the Finns in the semis. Top sniper Anton Frondell (five goals) ultimately provided the shootout winner, and Viggo Bjorck (seven points) did chip in an assist in regulation time despite missing multiple OT breakaways and struggling in the shootout. The Swedes also have a championship-worthy blue line in Alfons Freij, Leo Sahlin Wallenius, and Sascha Boumedienne.
“It's going to be a fun game tomorrow, and we look forward to it,” said forward Ivar Stenberg (seven points), another top Swedish draft prospect at age 18.
The looming question is whether the Swedes can avoid being their own worst enemies and struggling to deliver in the clutch. This tendency has plagued the Juniorkronorna, who on paper should have won many more golds.
Sweden has lost six out of the seven finals in which it has played since the IIHF’s 1996 adoption of a playoff system for the World Juniors. That includes falling four times to Canada (1996, 2008, 2009, 2018), once to the U.S. (2024), and once to Finland (2014). In total, it has 12 silver medals dating back to the tournament’s 1977 inception – more than any other nation.
There is more pressure on the Swedes than the Czechs, whose return to glory is still recent after years in the wilderness (i.e. zero medals from 2006 to 2022). It’s similar to facing the Finns in some respects. If the Swedes bring their talent out and don’t get too nervous, they can win. But the Czechs have gritted it out successfully against Canada – three playoffs in a row – and that never-say-die flair could bring them gold too.
“It's going to be a fun game tomorrow, and we look forward to it,” said forward Ivar Stenberg (seven points), another top Swedish draft prospect at age 18.
The looming question is whether the Swedes can avoid being their own worst enemies and struggling to deliver in the clutch. This tendency has plagued the Juniorkronorna, who on paper should have won many more golds.
Sweden has lost six out of the seven finals in which it has played since the IIHF’s 1996 adoption of a playoff system for the World Juniors. That includes falling four times to Canada (1996, 2008, 2009, 2018), once to the U.S. (2024), and once to Finland (2014). In total, it has 12 silver medals dating back to the tournament’s 1977 inception – more than any other nation.
There is more pressure on the Swedes than the Czechs, whose return to glory is still recent after years in the wilderness (i.e. zero medals from 2006 to 2022). It’s similar to facing the Finns in some respects. If the Swedes bring their talent out and don’t get too nervous, they can win. But the Czechs have gritted it out successfully against Canada – three playoffs in a row – and that never-say-die flair could bring them gold too.
As for the bronze medal game, we’ve only seen a Canada-Finland showdown once before. In Calgary in 2012, the host Canadians beat Finland 4-0, including a 27-save Mark Visentin shutout and a goal and an assist from Mark Scheifele.
In other words, it was utterly unlike the round-robin meeting between Canada and Finland this year, where each side scored three goals on eight first-period shots before Canada pulled away for a 7-4 win.
Bronze still means more to Finland than Canada. But the Canadians no longer dismiss these third-place games as they might have earlier in international hockey history, and this year’s team has more depth than Suomi.
If the Finns avoid trading chances and stay out of the box – Canada’s power play leads the tournament at 10-for-20, 50.0 percent – their odds of taking bronze home go up. If Canadian stars like captain Porter Martone, tournament scoring leader Zayne Parekh, and potential number one 2026 draft pick Gavin McKenna are focused and determined to not end their World Junior careers with no medals, then it will be hard for Finland to prevail.
“The quick turnaround is tough, because we imagined us being in the gold medal game,” said Martone. “But you know, the Finns are a really good hockey team. We talked about how we want to win the last game of the tournament, so we've got a chance to do that tomorrow.”
Let’s see which heroes will survive to bring home some hockey treasures.
In other words, it was utterly unlike the round-robin meeting between Canada and Finland this year, where each side scored three goals on eight first-period shots before Canada pulled away for a 7-4 win.
Bronze still means more to Finland than Canada. But the Canadians no longer dismiss these third-place games as they might have earlier in international hockey history, and this year’s team has more depth than Suomi.
If the Finns avoid trading chances and stay out of the box – Canada’s power play leads the tournament at 10-for-20, 50.0 percent – their odds of taking bronze home go up. If Canadian stars like captain Porter Martone, tournament scoring leader Zayne Parekh, and potential number one 2026 draft pick Gavin McKenna are focused and determined to not end their World Junior careers with no medals, then it will be hard for Finland to prevail.
“The quick turnaround is tough, because we imagined us being in the gold medal game,” said Martone. “But you know, the Finns are a really good hockey team. We talked about how we want to win the last game of the tournament, so we've got a chance to do that tomorrow.”
Let’s see which heroes will survive to bring home some hockey treasures.