World Juniors 2026 quarterfinals: USA bounced, Canada wins big, Swiss honor fire victims
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler
The World Juniors semifinals matchups in Minnesota on Sunday are Sweden vs. Finland and Canada vs. Czechia.
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL — Friday was the only five-game day of the 2026 World Juniors, with the quarterfinals and this year’s relegation game all being played.
The story of the day was USA — the host nation coming off back-to-back golds for the first time ever — losing 4-3 to the Finns in overtime in a packed and stunned Grand Casino Arena, ending their tournament.
“That one hurts. On so many levels,” head coach Bob Motzko said postgame. “We were this close from playing a perfect game. … But that’s sports. It rips your bloody heart out.”
Reigning tournament top goaltender award winner Petteri Rimpinen (LAK) made 28 saves on 31 shots in the game, a rematch of last year’s gold medal game, for the Finns.
“I waited for this the whole year,” Rimpinen said postgame. “All the time, in the back of my mind. Just wanting to go far. It’s a once and a lifetime experience.”
Here are The Athletic’s daily takeaways and standouts from prospects writers Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler.
Germany defeated Denmark 8-4 in the relegation game, winning their first game of the tournament and extending their run in the tournament’s top flight to eight years. David Lewandowski (EDM) and Carlos Handel (MTL) each had three points for the Germans. The Danes will be relegated and replaced by Division 1A champions Norway in the 2027 World Juniors in Edmonton and Red Deer.
Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3. Anton Frondell (CHI) scored twice for Sweden, and Leo Sahlin Wallenius (SJS) continued his strong tournament with three points.
Czechia defeated Switzerland 6-2. First line forwards Vojtech Cihar (LAK) and Petr Sikora (WSH) continued strong tournaments with two points apiece.
Cole Hutson (WSH) returned for USA and had a goal and an assist, but it wasn’t enough.
Canada routed Slovakia 7-1 to return to the semifinals for the first time since Connor Bedard’s historic performance in 2023.
Blackhawks’ Frondell continues strong tournament
Frondell scored twice and was named player of the game in Sweden’s quarterfinal win over Latvia. Instead of scoring off his great one-timer, he opened the game with a deflection on the first shift of the game and a wrister from the slot in the third. He was noticeable throughout the match with his skill and physicality. He’s been one of the best forwards so far in the event. — Pronman
Swiss honor ski resort bar fire victims
The Swiss team wore “black mourning armbands” on Friday against Czechia to honor the more than 40 people who were killed and more than 100 others who were injured in a Swiss ski resort bar fire on New Year’s Eve. The armbands, which were worn around their left biceps, were quite noticeable.
“We wanted to send our emotions and energy to all of the people and families who are touched by this,” said head coach Jan Cadieux. “The province where it happened is a hockey province with lots of people who love this sport. We told the guys we have a chance to show gratitude and battle for them. We didn’t succeed, but we were proud. We have to remember that no matter our defeat, there are things in life that are more important.”
The fire took place in a resort in the Crans-Montana area of the country, and officials have said most of the victims were aged 16-26 (the legal drinking age for beer and wine is 16 in Switzerland), the same age as many of the players.
“We’re a nation. It was important for us to show our pride to them and our support to the families. It’s really hard times,” said Swiss captain and Capitals prospect Leon Muggli.
Forward and quarterfinal goal scorer Jamiro Reber, who is from Munsingen, about an hour and a half north of the community, said the team made the decision together with the staff.
“What happened is a tragedy,” Reber said. “We wanted to give something back to them, their families, and our country. Today we didn’t win, but I hope the country got some energy from us with how we played.”
Swiss defenseman Niklas Blessing pictured wearing his black armband. (Steve Ellis / Daily Faceoff)
The Swiss should be very proud of the tournament they had. It was one of the strongest showings they’ve had in years at the event. They’ll be seeded sixth for next year’s tournament. They won twice, beating Slovakia and Germany, and played close games with USA and Sweden. They also led twice on Friday, including midway through the second period, before the Czechs pushed back. Jonah Neuenschwander (2027) was noticeable on Friday and picked up his first point of the tournament on a nice power-play assist on Reber’s goal.
“We can be proud of ourselves for these five games,” Reber said. “I’m very happy with how we did.” — Wheeler
Caps’ Sikora impresses on birthday
Sikora is the oldest player in this year’s tournament, at just two days away from being eligible, and that meant Czechia’s captain was celebrating his 20th birthday on Friday. He celebrated in fashion with a goal and three points to give him eight points through five games in the tournament. Sikora, a Capitals prospect, has had a strong tournament centering Czechia’s top line and playing on both top special teams. He leads their forwards in time on ice at 20:11 per game. — Wheeler
USA’s stars let them down
USA entered the tournament with five first-round picks on the roster: Forwards James Hagens, Cole Eiserman, Will Horcoff and Ryker Lee and defenseman Logan Hensler. Between all of them, they totaled seven goals and 15 points over five games. That simply wasn’t good enough. Hagens and Lee had good moments. Eiserman and Hensler were borderline awful all tournament. Still, they had nobody who could step up and take over a game for them. Hutson was the closest thing, but he was injured for most of the tournament. Their best scorer was Will Zellers, who was a late addition, and while productive, I wouldn’t describe him as spectacular, either. Their workers in players like Brody Ziemer, Teddy Stiga, A.J. Spellacy and L.J. Mooney played well, but they are not natural scorers.
“We let our country down,” Eiserman said postgame. — Pronman
A Canada performance three years in waiting
It has been a long time since Canada had a performance that said they were the class of the tournament. They didn’t have one last year in Ottawa, where they lost three of their five games. They didn’t have one the year before in Gothenburg, when they lost to both Sweden and Czechia and had to score an empty-netter against Germany. And through the first four games of this tournament, we were still waiting for it. Friday was that, though. Say what you will about this Slovak team, which doesn’t have the stars that it has had in recent years (Dalibor Dvorsky, Maxim Strbak, Adam Gajan), they still played Sweden to a 3-2 loss and USA to a 6-5 loss this year. And Canada throttled them. That used to be the norm, but it hasn’t been lately.
In all, 14 Canadian players found the scoresheet, a testament to the depth they should be flexing at this tournament. The first line of Tij Iginla, Michael Misa and Porter Martone has gotten better as the tournament has gone on after some quiet early games. After going with 12 forwards and eight defensemen for the first time, the fourth pairing with draft-eligibles Keaton Verhoeff and Carson Carels played well, and Verhoeff stood out at times. The middle two lines continue to click. Only Jett Luchanko (still pointless) and Braeden Cootes (one goal) are having a tough time finding the scoresheet, and they’ve now scored seven or more goals in four of their five games this year.
Now they get their rematch with the Czechs, who’ve eliminated them in back-to-back tournaments, and a chance to flex their muscle again. I expect we’ll see the same roster, with the only real decision being whether they go back to a now-rested but underperforming Carter George in net (their preferred starter through the preliminary round) or stick with Jack Ivankovic, who has given up just a lone goal in each of his two starts. — Wheeler
Semifinals schedule
Jan. 3 will be a day off at the tournament. Here’s your schedule for the two semifinals on Jan. 4 as the tournament moves exclusively to Grand Casino Arena:
Sweden vs. Finland at 3:30 p.m. CT
Canada vs. Czechia at 7:30 p.m. CT
