Today in World Junior Championship for 4 January 2026

Day 10 games

Sweden vs. Finland (4:30 ET) — Sweden won 6-3 against Latvia in the quarterfinal round and has had the look of a team on a mission as it seeks its first gold medal since 2012. The Swedes have outscored opponents 27-11 in five straight wins, rank second in the tournament on the power play (45.0 percent; 9-for-20) and fourth on the penalty kill (72.2 percent; 13-for-18). Six players have two or more goals and 12 have three or more points, including forwards Anton Frondell (five goals; Chicago Blackhawks) and Jack Berglund (three goals; Philadelphia Flyers), and defenseman Alfons Freij (seven assists; Winnipeg Jets), each with seven points. Forwards Ivar Stenberg (two goals, three assists) and Viggo Bjorck (three goals, three assists), each a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, have been solid. Goaltender Love Harenstam (St. Louis Blues) is 4-0 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in four games. “I feel like we’ve been coming together really well; we’re a tight group,” Frondell said. “That’s really important if you want to go all the way.”

Finland advanced to the semis with a thrilling 4-3 overtime triumph against the United States in the quarterfinals. It has been led by defenseman Aron Kiviharju (Minnesota Wild), who has four assists and averages 21:53 in ice time. Forward Heikki Ruohonen (Philadelphia Flyers) has six points (two goals, four assists) and forward Roope Vesterinen (2026 NHL Draft eligible) leads the team with four goals. Finland defeated Sweden 4-3 in overtime in the semifinal round of the 2025 WJC. “We played Sweden last year, so it’s going to be a huge matchup again,” said Finland goalie Petteri Rimpinen (Los Angeles Kings), who made 28 saves in the win against the U.S. “[Sweden] is such a good team with so many talented players. They’ve had a really good tournament.” Finland last won a gold medal in 2019.

Canada vs. Czechia (8:30 ET) — For the third straight year at World Juniors, Canada and Czechia will meet after the preliminary-round stage with Czechia celebrating quarterfinal-round wins in 2024 (3-2) and 2025 (4-3). Canada did earn a 7-5 win against Czechia in the prelims and will look to duplicate that result, following a 7-1 win against Slovakia in the quarterfinals on Friday. “It was a wide-open hockey game,” Canada coach Dale Hunter said of the Dec. 26 game. “Both coaches didn’t script it that way, but it happens in a game sometimes. We know each other a little bit better now because we played them already. So it’ll be a good game.” Canada has outscored the opposition 32-12 in five straight wins, leads the tournament in power-play percentage (47.0; 8-for-17) and is second in penalty killing percentage (91.6; 11-for-12). Six players have three or more goals, including forwards Brady Martin (Nashville Predators) and Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers), and defenseman Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames), each tied for the team lead with four goals. Left wing Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 Draft, has nine points (three goals, six assists) and is averaging 16:45 of ice time. Goalie Jack Ivankovic (Predators), the likely starter, is 2-0 with a 0.99 GAA and .952 save percentage in two games for Canada, which last won a gold medal in 2023. “It’s gold medal or nothing and I’m really excited,” Martone said. “We got our hands full. We’re going to have a tough opponent in Czechia but we’re ready for the challenge.”

Czechia has medaled three straight years, winning silver in 2023, and bronze in 2024 and 2025 and seeks gold for the first time since winning back-to-back in 2000 and 2001. The country ranks fourth on the power play (31.6 percent; 6-for-19) and third on the penalty kill (75.0 percent; 12-for-16). Defenseman Adam Jiricek (St. Louis Blues) has scored in four straight games (four goals) and forward Vojtech Cihar (Los Angeles Kings) leads the team with nine points (two goals, seven assists). “I still think we can be more dangerous from the blue line,” Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said. “We have very creative defensemen, they can make plays, but I wish they were shooting more and they were getting the pucks on the net. I think our power play and penalty kill can get better so there’s a lot of room for improvement.”