After dominating the round robin, Canada has eyes on avenging last year’s semifinal loss on Friday at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as they face Finland for a spot in the gold-medal game.
Watch Canada take on Finland in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup semifinal LIVE on Friday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN4 and streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Canada has not struggled for offence this year, scoring a combined 20 goals in three games, as they are led by two players who aren’t eligible for the draft until 2028.
Forward Maddox Schultz, who plays for the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats, is second in tournament scoring with one goal and seven points in three games.
Liam Pue, Schultz’s Pats teammate, is second in the tournament in goals with four and has six points in three games.
The duo are the rare 16-year-olds to suit up for Canada at this tournament as they are eligible to return for next year’s edition.
Forward Kayden Stroeder has also had a big showing for Canada, scoring three goals with six points while centre Ryerson Edgar also has three goals with two assists.
Defenceman Landon DuPont, the only returning player from last year’s team and Canada’s captain, has one goal and two assists. A candidate to go first overall in the 2027 NHL Draft, DuPont will play at the University of Michigan this upcoming season after spending the last two seasons with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips.
In last year’s semifinal, Canada lost in a shootout to the United States, snapping a three-year gold medal streak. Canada would go on to beat Finland 3-0 for bronze while the Americans captured their first Hlinka Gretzky Cup title since 2003.
The Finns went 2-1 in the round robin, beating Germany and Czechia with their lone loss coming against the United States 4-1 on Tuesday.
Canada has won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup 25 times with three silver medals and two bronze, while Finland has captured five medals in tournament history (two silver, three bronze).
