CANADIAN SURGE

All signs are pointing to an American victory in Ottawa this holiday season. But if the Canadians can hold court, we might see a repeat in Minnesota next year

WITH RYAN KENNEDY

BY RYAN KENNEDY ON PAPER, THE FAVORITE for this year’s World Junior Championship is Team USA, just as it was last year, when we predicted in our 2024 World Juniors Preview issue that the Americans would triumph in Gothenburg. But as much as national programs would hope that success springs eternal, it’s just a fact of life that these things move in cycles. The days of Canada winning five tournaments in a row (or the Soviet Union winning four straight back in the WJC’s infancy) are gone. In fact, Canada’s back-to-back wins in 2022 and ’23 marked the first repeat by any team since the dominant Canadian stretch from 2005 to 2009. Even if we do see Team USA win gold this year, the chances of a three-peat in 2026 look remote. Not…

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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, World Juniors Special 2025

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