With a stellar performance at the 2026 World Junior Championship semifinal, the Los Angeles Kings may have found themselves another notable asset. Left winger Vojtech Cihar led Czechia to a victory over Team Canada and advanced to the gold medal game.
Los Angeles Kings prospect Vojtech Cihar has sent Czechia to the gold medal game at the 2026 World Junior Championship.
In a 5-4 thrilling win for the Czechs over Team Canada, Cihar was named the player of the game. The left winger scored two goals, including an empty-netter to seal the victory for his nation, capping it off with the 'heartbreaker' celebration.
Cihar has been a force for the Czech's all tournament. He leads his team in points with 11 in six games. With that, going into the gold medal game, Cihar is among the top three scorers in the competition.
The Kings drafted Cihar in the second round of the 2025 draft with the 59th overall pick. With his performance at the world juniors so far, Los Angeles may have another asset in its hands.
The 18-year-old helped Czechia win bronze in last year's tournament, and will now at least claim silver as they will take on Sweden in the final on Monday.
This season, Cihar plays for Energie Karlovy Vary in the Czech Extraliga and has recorded four goals and eight points in 27 appearances for them. Following this tournament, he'll be moving to North America to join the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL.
He also signed his entry-level contract with the Kings on Dec. 10, inking the three-year deal at $975,000 per season.
With Cihar lifting the Czech's past Canada, he eliminates fellow Kings prospects goaltender Carter George and right winger Liam Greentree. George didn't start in the world junior semifinal matchup against Czechia, and Greentree was scratched.
Nonetheless, this was the third straight campaign in which Czechia eliminated Canada at the world juniors. Furthermore, this will be the fourth straight year that Czechia will earn a medal at the tournament.
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