The preliminary round of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship has concluded; all three Canucks prospects are moving onto the quarter-finals.
All three Vancouver Canucks prospects’ teams were in action today in what was the final game of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship preliminary round. With the results from today, the tournament’s quarter-final matchups have all officially been decided. Here’s how the final day of the preliminary round concluded.
Switzerland 3, Slovakia 2
This was Switzerland’s second game in as many days, as they also played yesterday in a 4–0 win against Germany. While things came close after Slovakia scored to cut their deficit to one goal with 10 seconds remaining, Switzerland ultimately took the win. Canucks prospect Basile Sansonnens registered his highest TOI of the tournament in this game, playing for 19:57 minutes. Only one other teammate of his, Ludvig Johnson, played more minutes (20:00). Sansonnens wraps the preliminary round with a goal and an assist, as well as an average of 17:37 minutes played per game.
Sweden 6, USA 3
With their win tonight, Sweden finishes the preliminary round of the 2026 World Junior Championship undefeated, finishing first-place in their group for the third straight year. In today’s game, Canucks prospect Wilson Björck ended up healthy-scratched for the third time this tournament. Björck finishes the preliminary round with a total of 4:35 minutes played and one shot on goal.
Canada 7, Finland 4
With their fourth win of the tournament, Canada took first place in Group B today, relegating Finland to third in the group. One of the most interesting things about this game was that both Canada and Finland had scored three goals each 13 minutes in. Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes didn’t make it on the scoresheet tonight, but logged 9:55 of ice time and had two shots on goal. Cootes finishes the preliminary round with one goal and an average of 8:48 played per game.
Preliminary Round Recaps
Tournament Standings
Group A:
Sweden
USA
Switzerland
Slovakia
Germany
Group B:
Canada
Czechia
Finland
Latvia
Denmark
January 2 Schedule
Sweden vs. Latvia: 11:00 am PT
Czechia vs. Switzerland: 1:30 pm PT
Canada vs. Slovakia: 5:30 pm PT
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