Islanders prospects clash for World Junior gold! Poletin's late heroics propel Czechia against Eklund's Sweden in a championship showdown.
After a thrilling day of Semi-Final action at the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Championship, a pair of New York Islanders will have the chance to win the coveted gold medal. Tomas Poletin and Czechia will face off with Victor Eklund and Sweden to call themselves 2026's World Junior champions.
The action began on Sunday afternoon, with Eklund and Sweden facing Finland. Eklund had an assist on the game's opening goal, sparking a line rush with Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell and the eventual goal scorer, Florida Panthers prospect Linus Eriksson:
The game itself was a back-and-forth affair, with the two teams trading goals three times. However, a shootout goal by Frondell proved to be the difference in a 4-3 shootout win for the Swedes.
Later in the day, it was Kashawn Aitcheson and Canada squaring off with Poletin and the Czechs. The teams engaged in a thriller where Canada came back to tie the game three times. However, Poletin stole the show 1:27 after Canada tied the game in the final three minutes.
On a chaotic scramble in front of the net, Poletin found the loose change to give Czechia a 5-4 lead with 1:14 to go in regulation time:
Poletin also earned an assist on a goal by Adam Benak, a Minnesota Wild prospect, in the second period. Poletin picked off a pass and sparked a two-on-one rush for his linemates Benak and Max Curran, Colorado Avalanche farmhand:
On the Canadian side, Aitcheson did have a hand in the dramatics. After receiving a handoff from Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers) before the goal line, the defenseman sent an outlet pass to Harrison Brunicke (Pittsburgh Penguins) at the point, who let go a shot that produced the rebound for Martone to finish:
Regardless of outcomes, this year's tournament has the potential for three prospects to be on the podium in Minnesota. Aitcheson and Canada play for bronze against Finland at 4:30 p.m., while Sweden and Czechia meet for gold at 8:30 p.m.
Both contests can be found on NHL Network.