It was time to hand out medals at the 2026 World Juniors. In the bronze medal game, it was not the medal Canada wanted to be playing for, but the stakes were still high. Canada was at risk of failing to medal for three consecutive years for the first time ever, making bronze just as important. It would be no easy task against a Finnish team that had played extremely well throughout the tournament.

On the other side, the gold medal game featured two countries for whom gold has not come often. Czechia has only two gold medals, both won in 2000 and 2001. Sweden also somehow just have two. Their first captured in 1981 and most recently in 2012.

Both games promised to be battles. Here’s how the final day of the World Juniors unfolded.

🇨🇦 Canada 6 vs 🇫🇮 Finland 3

Bronze medal game

First, a correction from the previous recap. Zayne Parekh was initially credited with a goal against Czechia, which would have tied a Canadian record. While it was clear the goal belonged to Cole Reschny, the official scoring credited Parekh with the goal and it was not changed until well after the game, leading to my confusion. Parekh still needed one point against Finland to tie the record — and thankfully, my saying it before it happened did not end up being a jinx.

If anyone expected this game to look different from previous Canada–Finland match-ups, they were mistaken. It got off to another wild start, with Canada opening the scoring just over a minute in when Sam O’Reilly found the back of the net.

The same issue that plagued Canada against Czechia surfaced again. Canada scored, then quickly surrendered a tying goal. Just over two minutes after the opener, Arttu Valila struck to even the game.

Canada responded almost immediately. Braeden Cootes scored his second of the tournament to restore the lead just over a minute later.

Again, Finland answered. Parekh took a holding penalty, sending Finland to its first power play. Julius Miettinen beat Carter George with a shot from the face-off circle as the Canadian goaltender got caught between staying upright and dropping into the butterfly.

Then came the moment everyone was waiting for. On a Canadian power play, Parekh blasted a shot past the Finnish goaltender to put Canada back on top. The goal gave Parekh 12 points, tying Bryan McCabe and Alex Pietrangelo for the most points by a Canadian defenceman in a single World Juniors tournament.

Parekh wasn’t done. Early in the second period, he chipped the puck forward to Michael Misa, who found Porter Martone. Martone buried his tournament-leading sixth goal to make it 4-2. With the secondary assist, Parekh moved alone into first place for points by a Canadian defenceman in a single tournament.

Canada took control from there. O’Reilly scored his second of the game shortly after the Martone goal to give Canada a 5-2 cushion.

Finland pulled one back before the end of the frame when Heikki Ruohonen beat George cleanly, but Canada still carried a two-goal lead into the third.

The opening half of the third period was tense, as Canada worked to prevent Finland from getting within one. Finland pushed, but Canada did a strong job limiting quality chances.

Just past the midway point, Canada delivered a critical insurance goal. Gavin McKenna capped off a four-point game with a goal that allowed Canada to finally exhale. They defended a three-goal lead over the final six minutes.

Finland pressed in the final few minutes, but George made a sprawling save across the crease to deny a prime scoring chance — a moment that felt like the final blow. Canada closed out the 6-3 win to claim the bronze medal.

It wasn’t gold, but it was a meaningful finish. After two years without a medal, Canada ended the tournament with a win and a medal to show for a strong group effort.

Even though Cole Reschny played on the top line for the majority of the time after Brady Martin was injured in the semi finals, instead of continuing with that, Reschny was reconnected with the line he began the tournament with, playing alongside Cole Beauduin and Caleb Desnoyers. Though he didn’t factor into the scoring this time around, he still played a solid 200 foot game and was all over the ice. He was third among Canadian forwards in ice-time and finished just above 50 per cent on face-offs. Reschny got better with every game and is impact across the ice showed it.

As for Parekh, there’s little left to say. He set the Canadian record for points in a single tournament by a defenceman and tied the all-time Canadian record for goals by a blueliner. He was a game-changer throughout the event, driving offence in a way few defencemen ever have at this tournament. Sure he had some penalty issues and he’s always gonna take digs at his defence but he almost forces you to say “who cares?” He was the best defenceman in the tournament and showed everyone he’s legit. His performance earned him a spot on the media all-star team alongside teammate Michael Hage.

🇸🇪 Sweden 4 vs 🇨🇿 Czechia 2

Gold medal game

The gold medal was up for grabs, and the opening period was tightly contested. Czechia generated several strong opportunities but could not find a way through Sweden’s disciplined defensive structure.

It appeared the officiating had Ivar Stenberg in its sights early. He was blatantly high-sticked, with the opponent’s stick getting lodged between his visor and helmet. As Stenberg reached up to remove it, he was penalized for holding the stick. That was a brutal call to be made but luckily for Sweden, it didn’t cost them as Czechia did not score on the powerplay.

Sweden capitalized later in the period in unexpected fashion. On Sweden’s second penalty, Jacob Berglund chased down a puck and had his stick slashed out of his hands, resulting in a delayed penalty. Czechia seemed to stop playing as the referee’s arm went up, and Berglund broke in on a partial breakaway. His initial shot was stopped, but he fed Casper Juustovaara from behind the net, who scored into an open cage for a shorthanded goal.

Sweden carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Czechia had now allowed the opening goal in six of seven games, but they had shown all tournament they could respond. Sweden, however, had other plans.

The second period remained tight, but special teams again proved decisive. On a Swedish power play, Czech goaltender Michal Orsulak made several big saves, but sustained pressure paid off when Victor Eklund buried a loose puck to make it 2-0.

Czechia had its own power play shortly after but couldn’t convert, with Love Härenstam coming up big in goal for Sweden. Sweden entered the second intermission 20 minutes away from gold.

Sweden added an insurance goal early in the third when Sascha Boumedienne made it 3-0.

Things took a turn though. With time dwindling down and the Czech net empty, Czechia almost made one of the greatest comebacks in any championship game ever.

Czechia had Sweden on their heels and they were firing shots from all over the zone trying to get something through. Then finally with two and a half minutes left, Adam Jiricek found the answer and fired a shot that found the back of the net.

With that Czechia had little time but they had life. Right on the next face-off, Czechia got the puck deep and established themselves in Sweden’s zone once again. Then the story was the same. Sweden couldn’t clear the puck from the zone, Czechia was moving the puck around well and firing all kinds of shots. Then with 23 seconds left, Matej Kubiesa scored to get within one.

Czechia would call a timeout to try and put a play together. As the puck dropped, Czechia immediately got the puck deep in the Swedish zone and it looked like they were going to get set up once again. But then Ivar Stenberg was able to just get a stick on a pass and deflect the puck out of the zone. He raced the Czech player for the puck when the Czech player stumbled and fell allowing Stenberg to get the puck and go in all alone towards and empty net. Stenberg sealed the deal giving Sweden the 4-2 win and their first gold medal since 2012.

It was a great tournament for Czechia, they did fall short of winning their first gold medal since 2001 but they eliminated Canada from gold medal contention for the third straight year and didn’t go down without a fight in the finals.

Overall, this was a fantastic tournament. The level of competition and quality of games made it one of the most entertaining World Juniors in recent memory. Congratulations to Sweden, and here’s to next year.