Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes and Team Canada have officially won bronze after defeating Finland by a score of 6-3.
After a heartbreaking loss to Czechia last night, Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes and Team Canada have won Bronze at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, taking Finland down by a score of 6–3. This is Canada’s sixth bronze medal at the World Juniors and their 36th overall.
The past few World Junior Championships have been rough for Canada, as they have been eliminated from gold medal contention by Czechia for the past three straight years. Their last gold medal came in 2023, during which they took down none-other than Czechia to achieve the feat. Prior to this year, this was Canada’s last medal placement. The last time Canada placed third at the World Juniors was in 2012.
The 2026 World Junior Championship was an interesting one for Cootes, who played predominantly on Canada’s fourth line despite a decent showing at his team’s training camp. In today’s game, Cootes scored his second goal of the tournament and played in a total of 6:21 minutes. He finishes the tournament with two goals, seven shots on goal, and an average of 8:48 minutes played per game.
With Canada and Finland’s bronze-medal game now wrapped up, fans’ attention will turn to Canucks prospect Wilson Björck and Team Sweden as they take on Czechia for gold. Sweden’s last gold medal game appearance came in 2024, during which they lost 6–2 to Team USA. Canucks players Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Elias Pettersson (D), Tom Willander, Liam Öhgren, and Zeev Buium took part in this game. Sweden’s quest for their first gold medal since 2012 resumes tonight at 5:30 pm PT.
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