Team Canada faces Sweden Wednesday night in their final preliminary round game at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Canada comes into the matchup undefeated after beating Switzerland 7-3 to open the tournament and are coming off a 6-1 win over Slovakia on Tuesday.
Canada sits atop the Group A standings with six points. The top two teams in each group advance to the medal rounds.
The United States is first in Group B after regulation wins over Czechia and Finland. Czechia and Finland are playing each other for a spot in the medal rounds. Both teams have three points, with one win and one loss.
The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is an international Under-18 tournament featuring to NHL draft-eligible players.
Canadian captain Landon Dupont was named as the Player of the Game against Slovakia. The defenceman opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period and assisted on Kayden Stroeder’s goal in the third period.
“He was all over the ice. You could hear him talking to his teammates before faceoffs, during the play, you saw him talking on the bench,” TSN Hockey analyst Cameron Gaunce told Ryan Rishaug after Tuesday’s game. “He was engaged from puck drop. That type of play is what they’re going to need, what Canada is going to need, and Landon DuPont can bring. When he plays like that, he’s the best player in the tournament.”
DuPont, who is committed to the Michigan Wolverines for the upcoming season, is the only returning player from last year’s bronze-medal winning team and a potential first overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
DuPont was held off the scoresheet in Canada’s opening game against Switzerland. He looked much more on form against Slovakia.
“Far and away the best player on the ice today. This was the player we were all expecting coming into this tournament,” Gaunce said. “In that first game, it seemed like he was trying to do too much. We can talk as much as we want about the experiences he’s had until this point, but that was the first game of this tournament where he had to play as the captain of Team Canada at this event and with the expectation of potentially being a first overall pick.”
Watch Sweden vs. Canada at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT on TSN1/3/4, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
Stroeder had two goals for Canada against Slovakia. The forward had 32 points in 55 games during his rookie season with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
“Kayden Stroeder brings something as a third-line centre that most of the other nations don’t have as a first-line centre,” Gaunce said. “He had 127 points in his Under-15 year. That type of production is not usually seen in a third-line centre.”
Canada has won the tournament 25 times, including winning three straight between 2022 and 2024.
Their run of gold medals ended with a shootout loss to the United States in the semifinals in 2025. Canada beat Finland to with the bronze medal.
Defending champions Sweden opened their tournament with a 4-3 overtime win against Slovakia. They are coming off a 7-6 loss against Switzerland on Tuesday.
Sweden is one point behind Switzerland for second in Group A. They can advance to the medal rounds with a regulation win if Switzerland loses to Slovakia. Sweden could still advance with an overtime win, but Switzerland would need to lose in overtime.
