ST. PAUL – For the third straight World Juniors, Canada is left looking for answers for why they can’t beat Czechia in the playoff round in this tournament. After being bounced twice in the quarterfinals, Canada lost 6-4 to Czechia in a wild semifinal at the 2026 World Juniors in Minnesota. Once again, they will fall short of winning gold and once again it's the Czechs getting the better of them.

• Watch Elite Junior And College Hockey All Season On FloHockey
  
• 2026 Winter Olympics Hockey Rosters: Team Canada's Final List Is Revealed
  
• Follow FloHockey's Coverage Of The 2026 World Junior Championship

It really was one of the weirdest, more chaotic games we’ve seen in a tournament that has had plenty of them over the years. This is one of those games, however, where you can say with some confidence that the Czechs were the better team for the vast majority of the game, especially at even strength.

Of all the years that Canada has played Czechia, this was one where the Czechs felt as if they were on truly equal or even better footing and it showed. In 2024 and 2025, the Czechs may not have been the best team on paper, but they had the best goalie in Michael Hrabal, who had aged out this year.

From a relentless forecheck to, the best defensive depth in the tournament, Czechia outlasted a Canada team that probably had an overall talent advantage on paper. But this Czech team was certainly better than the one that Canada beat 7-5 on Boxing Day.

There were also some wild bounces, some that went Canada’s way and more that went Czechia’s way. In the end, the margin for error was so slim in the game and the Czechs managed it just a bit better.

You can look at a lot of different moments in the game to pinpoint why it went the way it did. From Michael Hage’s back-to-back penalty shot attempts that the Czechs survived, to the puck off a skate that gave Czechia the go-ahead goal, the swings in this one were wild.

Let’s take a look at some of the key factors that led to Canada’s disappointing semifinal loss.

Czechia Was The Better Team 5-On-5

Throughout the entire game, Canada struggled to generate at 5-on-5 until the third period. Czechia used an aggressive forecheck and sound defensive structure to make Canada have to work harder for their chances. 

Canada’s defensemen was overwhelmed by the forecheck and struggled to cleanly exit their zone with possession. They had to focus on a lot more chipping pucks and trying to skate into space, but Czechia kept their structure sound. 

After the game, coach Patrik Augusta credited the depth of his team for the win and said that he thought his players were hungrier. He also talked about the ability to roll four lines and three defensive pairings with little deviation. 

That was one of the more impressive performances we’ve seen at this event considering how much of Czechia's roster was utilized and how many of their players found ways to factor into the game.

The Czech blue line has been the best of any team in this tournament. Adam Jiricek (STL), Jakub Fibigr (SEA), Radim Mrtka (BUF), Tomas Galvas, Max Psenicka (UTA) and Matyas Man all played regular shifts. Jiricek, Fibigr and Galvas each played more than 21 minutes, but none of the top six defensemen played fewer than 16. That kind of trust in your blue line goes a long way and they kept their energy. 

To Canada’s credit, they kept coming back and found ways to keep themselves in the game. Their talent made them a threat and players like Cole Reschny (CGY) and Porter Martone (PHI) scored some clutch goals, but even when momentum swung, Czechia always had an answer.

This is one of those games where the other team deserves a ton of credit for the way they played the game.

Canada’s Defense Struggled 

Canada dressed all eight defensemen in this game and all of them played, but it never felt like they got comfortable in this one.

Inconsistent play from the defensemen was a continual theme for Canada in this tournament. Zayne Parekh (CGY) had the most ice time, but beyond his work on the power play, he had some tough moments and also appeared to get nicked up in the third period that affected his play.

Kashawn Aitcheson (NYI) and Ben Danford (TOR) saw the ice quite a bit more in this game, too, as Canada’s primary shutdown pairing. They did, however, get burned badly on the goal that made it 4-3 and allowed the Czechs to get some life in them.

You can pinpoint a number of tough moments for all of the defensemen, though. The only pairing that didn’t allow a goal was the young defensemen Carson Carels and Keaton Verhoeff, but they played about nine minutes each in managed minutes.

The inability to get Canada’s transition game going was a disaster and neutralized one of their best assets. When that isn’t working, you often have to look back at the defensemen who are responsible for getting those pucks up ice.

Officiating Was A Factor

I’m not in the business of making excuses for teams, especially when there are many different ways to win and lose a hockey game, but the officiating was wild in this game.

There were some extremely questionable calls that went both ways. The goalie contact was a bit out of control at times, but the refs made some brutal calls like a slash on Petr Sikora (WSH) and a cross-check on Jett Luchanko (PHI). The slash on Sikora was followed by a penalty they had to call in delay of game and Canada scored on the five-on-three. That really disrupted the flow of the game.

I thought the refs had a tough night and it impacted both teams negatively at times. You hate to see that happen at this stage of the tournament.

On top of that, there were mistakes made by Canada late in the game. From Michael Misa’s (SJS) glove off the faceoff to Cole Reschny’s goalie interference penalty when they were trying to tie the game, the wheels came off at the worst possible time. Discipline waned as the desperation set in and that's not on the refs.

Canada Needed More From Its Big Guns

We all know the age-eligible players for Canada that are not here. That's going to be the case every year. It also didn’t help that Brady Martin (NSH) went down with an injury early in the game, taking one of Canada’s best overall forwards of this event out of their lineup. That hurts.

But they still had so much talent. 

Zayne Parekh scored a goal, but he really struggled on the defensive side of the game and got caught up ice a few times. He’s been one of their best players here and didn’t have it tonight. Porter Martone scored a big goal, but was a little quiet overall and that goal was his only shot on net. Michael Misa struggled at the faceoff dot and had just one shot on goal. Gavin McKenna had some great looks, but ended up with one assist and one shot on goal. 

You need your best players to be your best players and Czechia’s were better, especially the defensemen.

What's Next For Canada?

Canada has a quick turnaround to play for bronze at 3:30 p.m. CT after finishing the game shortly before 11 p.m. They will play Finland who gets a few more hours rest and fell one goal shy to Sweden in their semifinal overtime loss. The Finns will be motivated not to leave empty-handed. 

Canada had better be motivated, too. Should the Canadians fail to win Monday, this will be the first time since 1979-81 that Canada failed to medal in three consecutive World Juniors. That is not the kind of history you’d want to be part of making in the 50th year of the tournament.

On the other hand, this is the first time since 2012 that someone other than USA, Canada or Finland will win the World Junior Championship. It will be a chance for a new country to really put their stamp on this tournament in a way we haven't seen in a while.

Sweden has not won it since 2012 and Czechia has not won it since going back-to-back in 2000 and 2001. 

This wild World Juniors will get an incredible finish one way or another.

2026 World Juniors Medal Game Schedule

Monday, January 5

• 4:30 p.m. ET - Bronze Medal Game - Canada Vs. Finland
• 8:30 p.m. ET - Gold Medal Game - Sweden Vs. Czechia

Follow FloHockey's Coverage Of The 2026 World Junior Championship

FloHockey will be on site for complete coverage of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can expect game-by-game coverage of both Team USA and Team Canada from FloHockey's experts, interviews with key players and coaches and much more. Follow FloHockey's WJC coverage here.

NHL Prospect Coverage On FloHockey

The best, and most complete, coverage of the NHL minor league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don't miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.

Join The Hockey Conversation On FloHockey Social

• Follow us on Twitter @FloHockey
• Follow us on Instagram @flohockey
• Follow us on TikTok @flohockeytv
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook