6 days ago
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After a thrilling final, Seattle Kraken prospect Loke Krantz and Team Sweden took home gold medals at the 2026 World Junior Championship.
With the elation Krantz feels comes the heartbreak that Team Czechia and Jakub Fibigr likely feel. Fibigr and Czechia left the 2025 world juniors with a bronze medal, but this year, they had bigger aspirations, hoping to win gold for the first time since 2001, when they went back-to-back. Although Czechia would have loved to win gold, its medal streak at the world juniors extends to four years in a row.
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Sweden was dominant throughout the tournament, going 4-0-0-0 in the group stage before defeating Latvia 6-3 in the quarter-finals, Finland 4-3 in a shootout in the semi-finals, and Czechia 4-2 in the finals.
Sweden jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period of the final with a short-handed goal. In the second period, New York Islanders prospect Eklund added a power play marker to extend the lead to 2-0. A third-period even-strength goal by Winnipeg Jets' Sascha Boumedienne furthered the lead, and the goal proved to be a vital one. Czechia attempted to make a frantic comeback, cutting the lead to 3-2, with a pair of primary assists from Fibigr. But, Ivar Stenberg, a projected top two pick in the upcoming NHL draft, scored into the empty net, adding his third point of the game.
Krantz finished the tournament with no goals or points in any of the six games he played in, but he was a physical threat, using his size to remain engaged at both ends of the ice. The 18-year-old is eligible to return for next year's event, and he likely will.
Fibigr played a more significant role for Czechia, skating on the top pair alongside St. Louis Blues' Adam Jiricek. The duo took on the bulk of tough matchups and succeeded. The 19-year-old's final year of world junior eligibility ends with one goal and four points in seven games.
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