Hlinka Gretzky Cup: Canada Beats Czechia for Gold, USA Wins Bronze

Medal day at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup did everything but disappoint, with Canada winning gold over Czechia in overtime and Team USA beating Finland for bronze.

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup has come and gone with Canada and Czechia facing off in the final – a fitting end to the tournament named for Czech hockey legend Ivan Hlinka and Canadian great Wayne Gretzky.

The Canadians are the ultimate winners, while Team USA came away victorious over Finland in the bronze medal game. The semifinal round featured two blowouts, a common occurrence at the Hlinka this year in one of the more up-and-down tournaments for just about every team.

In one semifinal, Canada took down the rival Americans after trailing twice in the game, ultimately winning 7-2 after the Canadians pulled away in the third period. They got outstanding efforts from the players who have been stars for then throughout the tournament. Captain Berkly Catton had two goals and an assist while Maxim Masse continued to find twine, adding two of his own.

Czechia took on Finland in the other semifinal, but the game felt over quickly as the Czechs found themselves up two goals just over four minutes into the game. Finland scored on the power play toward the end of the first frame, but a four-goal second period eliminated all hope for Finland. Adam Benak, a 2025 NHL draft prospect, and Adam Titlbach had three point nights to help their nation to the Hlinka final.

In what wound up being a highly competitive contest, the Canadians/Czechs came away victorious after a physical battle of two teams who didn’t seem to like each other.

Czechia opened the scoring half way through the first period as Benak and Titlbach carried over their success from the semifinal, hooking up for a goal yet again. The 2007-born Benak carried the puck up ice, putting the puck into the Canadian defender's feet and taking advantage of the tumble they took trying to defend him. Benak passed it to a center-lane streaking Titlbach, who finished with a Canadian defender on his back. The Czechs took the one-goal lead into the first intermission.

The Canadians came out firing in the second period, pushing the pace of play up a notch. They would get on the board on a beautiful pass from Porter Martone, feathering from the boards to a blazing Cayden Lindstrom, who got in behind the defense and beat the Czech netminder 1-on-1.

Shortly after the game was tied, Canada’s top defender Sam Dickinson was given a double minor for roughing and unsportsmanlike misconduct as he didn’t like the initial call and began to chirp at the referees. Canada managed to kill off the penalty, but Czechia was buzzing. Canada began to play a bit more undisciplined, playing with fire as the game went on by heading to the box more than a few times in pivotal moments.

Canada found themselves on the power play around the halfway point of the middle frame with an excellent opportunity to capture the lead. It would be none other than Canadian captain Catton, who cashed in when it mattered most for the squad. With the puck loose around the net on the power play, everyone dug for it in the traffic. But Catton corralled and flipped the puck in over the netminder to give Canada the 2-1 lead.

After each team had a few key penalty kills, including Canada having to kill off four penalties, the game got even more intense as the third period begun to wind down. Czechia pressured more consistently, and Canadian netminder Carter George made big saves until he couldn’t hold the Czech attack back anymore.

In a completely unshocking turn of events, it was Benak who got involved once again. Streaking up the wing and into the offensive zone, he evaded a sprawling Canadian defender before taking a hit to make a play to the front of the net where Matej Kubiesa buried the puck from in tight. Czechia tied the game and sent shockwaves through the building.

The game went to overtime where each team looked for a hero, and it was back and forth the whole way.

Benak and Ondrej Kos generated good opportunities for Czechia. For Canada, Catton and Michael Misa put fans on the edge of their seats. Czech forward Maxmillian Curran made a huge diving defensive play on the backcheck to prevent a chance. Then it was Zayne Parekh controlling play and not allowing the Czech forwards to get possession of the puck when he was on the ice. It was a competitive and entertaining overtime. 

With just under eight minutes to play in the first overtime, after both teams committed uncalled infractions, the Canadians were called for a tripping penalty as Roger McQueen got his stick caught in Benak’s feet. The Canadians were faced with a pivotal overtime penalty kill but survived it thanks to some excellent play by George in the Canadian crease. 

Just when everyone thought the gold medal game was going to a second overtime frame, it was all over with seven seconds remaining. Malcolm Spence, one of the youngest players on the team, stole the puck in the neutral zone and used his blistering speed to bear everyone up ice. Spence cut across the crease and waited out Czech netminder Jakub Milota to create an opening. Spence flicked the puck top-shelf to end the game in dramatic fashion.

Canada captures the Hlinka Gretzky Cup once again on the back of several impressive performances from players eligible for the 2024 and 2025 NHL drafts. What a game, and what a win. And kudos to the hometown crowd cheering on Czechia nonstop throughout the game and as the team received their silver medals and runner-up trophy.

Just 15 seconds into the game, the Americans were on a mission to earn their first medal at the Hlinka since the summer of 2016. Captain Tory Pitner fired a shot from above the faceoff dots, and Mac Swanson was on the doorstep to shovel in the rebound. Swanson was a bit inconsistent throughout the tournament, but he came up huge to start the bronze medal game.

Trevor Connelly was USA's best player throughout the tournament, and he continued that trend with a great play. The Tri-City Storm forward went lateral to set up Will Felicio for a chance. Connelly drew the attention of the Finns, which gave Felicio all of the time in the world to step up, pick his spot, and snipe for the Americans' second goal in about two minutes of play.

The magic of Connelly wasn’t done there, though. On a beautiful end-to-end play, the young American put his speed and puck skill on display, evading defenders and putting the puck over the goalie's shoulder with an effortless flick to give the U.S. a three-goal lead.

The Finns weren’t going down without a fight. Heikki Ruohonen intercepted a pass high in the zone on a U.S. power play and rushed up ice to get Finland on the board shorthanded. A few minutes later, Roope Vesterinen buried a rebound off a Tuomas Suoniemi shot from high in the zone. Team USA's lead was down to one in the second frame, and they seemed to be on the heels because of it.

The Americans were nevertheless determined to capture a medal. JJ Monteiro, a lethal penalty-killer, broke up a play at the defensive blueline down a man and fed Chase Stefanek, who attacked the net front to score a shorthanded goal.

The goal seemed to calm the Americans down, and they settled into the lead, adding another later in the game. Connelly continued to generate offensive chances and even tried to score a lacrosse goal. He led the Americans to a medal for the first time since 2016 and certainly put his name on the map for the top end of the 2024 NHL draft.