Sweden defeats Czechia to win third world junior hockey title

In the first all-European junior world hockey finale since 2016, Sweden was crowned junior world ice hockey junior champion for the third time on Monday after defeating Czechia on Monday, January 5, 2026.

Swedish forward Antol Frodell said, “It was time for a gold and we did it. It’s amazing. We are a big family. We love each other and we did the right things for the team to win.”

Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said the team was tired after last night’s semifinal win over Canada “not just physically but mentally.”

He added, “I think Sweden played better from the beginning.”

Augusta continued: “We were looking for a spark which came in the last couple of minutes, that was too late.”

Casper Juustovaara and Viktor Eklund scored in the first period, before Sascha Boumedienne extended Sweden’s lead to 3–0 early in the second.

Adam Jiricek and Matej Kubiesa scored for Czechia, with Kubiesa striking with 24 seconds left. Ivar Stenberg capped the scoring with an empty-netter with eight seconds left.

Earlier in the tournament, Canada’s Zayne Parekh recorded a goal and an assist to break the national record for points by a defenseman, finishing with 13 points