Monday will bring a conclusion to the 2026 World Junior Championship, and this year’s tournament has been nothing short of spectacular, as usual. Sunday’s semifinals featured a pair of games that needed extra hockey, as neither were decided in 60 minutes of regulation. Now comes the real challenge. For the two teams that won, can peak once again just 24 hours after such an emotionally uplifting victory. On the flip side, can the two losing nations turn the page quickly enough to rebound and win a bronze medal. Three teams will leave with hardware tonight, one team will go home emptyhanded.
WJC: Medal Games
Bronze: Finland vs. Canada
At least two Kings prospect are guaranteed to medal this year. Today’s bronze medal game has LA hopefuls on both sides; the question is, how many will actually play? Goaltender Petteri Rimpinen is a lock to start in net for Finland. He was last year’s Top Goaltender of the tournament and he’s started every game for his home country this year.
Players of the tournament for Finland, as chosen by the staff, obviously includes goalie Petteri Rimpinen.
He played every game at the WJC again this year. Did it last year too, when he was named best goalie at the entire #WorldJuniors#GoKingsGo prospect to
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) January 5, 2026
In Sunday’s semifinal, Rimpinen made big save after big save throughout the contest, yet Sweden ultimately prevailed 4-3 in a shootout.
Meanwhile, Canada battled Czechia but just couldn’t put away their newfound rival. After being eliminated by the European nation in back-to-back years, revenge wasn’t in the cards. Kings prospect Vojtech Cihar — who has been Czechia’s best forward throughout the WJC — came up big once again, scoring late in the third period to give his country a 4-3 lead. He later added an empty net goal to secure a 6-4 win.
Carter George didn’t start in net for the semifinal yet is expected to get the call for Canada in their final game. He hasn’t been particularly strong this year, after being lights out last year. This will be a good opportunity for the young Kings prospect to leave a positive impression in his last ever appearance at the World Juniors (he’ll age out after today).
Will Liam Greentree get to play? Probably not, as Canada is believed to be going with eight defensemen again, like they did for the semifinals. Even in the few games Canada has allowed him to suit up, he hasn’t seen much ice time — a topic we looked into here.
Gold: Czechia vs. Sweden
Cihar has become destination viewing at this point. Just take a look at his goal from yesterday:
VOJTECH CIHAR WITH A NASTY GOAL TO GIVE CZECHIA THE LEAD#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/60pIyRDxCC
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2026
LA’s second round pick from 2025 was named Player of the Game for Czechia and is now tied for the tournament lead with 11 points (4G, 7A). He’s also one of several Czechia players having a really good tournament. They’re not in the gold medal by accident; they’re a real threat.
On the other side is Sweden, who are desperate to win a gold medal for the first time since 2012. Seeing them ready to fight for the top prize at the tournament is also a subtle reminder of what a blunder Team USA made starting a 17-year-old untested goalie on New Year’s Eve. Had they won that game, they would have earned the No. 1 seed in Group A and faced Latvia in the quarterfinals. Instead, Sweden won the Group and USA drew Finland in the quarters — in what ended in another heartbreaking defeat to the blue and white by the Americans.
Sweden does not have any Kings prospects on their roster this year. Their top producing forward has been Blackhawks draft pick Anton Frondell, who has picked up eight points (5G, 3A).
WJC Medal Schedule
January 5
Bronze Medal game, 1:30 p.m. Pacific
Championship game, 5:30 p.m.
Finally, looking ahead to future tournaments:
Follow @mayorsmanor
MORE LA KINGS NEWS:
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com
Continue reading...