It's not exactly a rematch, but Canada's win over the Czech Republic on day one seems pretty close.
Of course, this isn't a gold medal game or even a quarter-final, but after the Czech Republic got the boot in the last two tournaments, beating their new opponents 7-5 to open the 2026 World Junior Championships is sure to be a confidence booster.
It's definitely a step in the right direction in Canada's quest to change its fortunes and compete for gold.
But it wasn't an easy first step.
Canadian goaltender Carter George had to be on his guard early and often, and made several Grade A saves in the first match to keep Canada competitive. Canada led for most of the game, but the Czech Republic tied the score three times – the lead never seemed safe for either team.
It wasn't until Tij Iginla and Ethan McKenzie scored back-to-back goals in the third period that Canada felt it had put the game away, and Porter Marton's insurance marker in the empty net officially capped Canada's landslide victory.
“I think we can take a lot of positives out of the game,” George said. Andrew Podnieks from IIHF.com after the game. “To score seven goals is always a positive and I think we made a lot of good plays and didn't let the game get out of hand. Every time they scored we had a good shift straight away. And we were disciplined. We only gave away one penalty, two if you count the one at the end.”
It may just be the first game, but it's an important building block as Canada prepares for Saturday's matinee against Latvia.
Here are a few more takeaways from Canada's tournament debut.
After the dust settled on Canada's second straight quarterfinal exit at the 2025 tournament, one glaring question remained: Why wasn't 2024 CHL Defensive Player of the Year Zane Parekh on the team?
Canada has struggled to score goals throughout the tournament, and Parekh is fresh off an OHL campaign in which he scored 96 points in 66 games. Frankly, his exclusion was a mystery.
Alas, Canada was confident it wouldn't make the same mistake twice, and Parekh made sure the choice paid immediate dividends.
The No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft scored two goals and posted a team-best 22:27 of ice time and tied Martone with a team-best five shots as the top player in his tournament debut.
As impressive as Parekh's goals were, they also played a major role in turning the tide in Canada's favor.
Canada's wind blew away when Petr Sikora scored to give the Czech Republic their first lead of the night in the second period. Canada struggled to get anything going offensively in that middle frame, being badly outplayed by a Czech Republic team that seemed more hungry for a win and desperate for someone to step up.
He tied the game at 3–3 with a sniper from the slot with three minutes left in the second period and gave Canada the lead early in the third with a solo power-play goal.
Neither was the game winner, but Parekh was the turning point in a game Canada essentially needed to win.
While it's too early to tell whether this team will be as dominant as Connor Bedard's in 2023, the trio of Gavin McKenna, Michael Hage and Brady Martin was buzzing on Friday night.
They outscored the entire Czech Republic in the first period and somehow rallied to score both of Canada's first period goals.
That line combined for seven points on the night (two goals, five assists), with each finishing the game at plus-3.
McKenna, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, finished the night with two assists (including the primary assist on Parekh's third-period goal and the see-one pass to Martin to open the scoring) in his second World Junior Championship and led his line in ice time with 16:05.
Hage, meanwhile, provided the main assist on McKenzie's winning goal and is tied for second in the tournament's scoring list with Czech Vojtech Csihar after the first day.
Goals after goals…
Canada, rather uncharacteristically, managed to score just 13 goals throughout the entire 2025 tournament.
With seven already in the bank, they are well on track to break that mark this year.
We're used to seeing this tournament dominated by Canada, with rosters full of NHL talent or prospects. We saw glimpses of this with the 2025 team, but they faltered when faced with medal-chasing talent and held off on a 4-1 win against the eventual gold medal-winning Team USA.
Seeing Canada score as often as it did against not only a team that has beaten it two years in a row, but against a team that has back-to-back bronze medals under its belt gives some hope that its scoring woes are a thing of the past.
Also important: 12 different skaters scored points, and five had multi-point games for Canada. If this depth continues, it will come in handy as the tournament progresses.
Ethan McKenzie hasn't been selected in the last two drafts, but he sure turned some heads on Friday night.
The 19-year-old finished the game with a goal and two assists, including the game-winner, while posting the second-most time on ice among defensemen at 11:14.
Each World Junior Championships usually has one pleasant surprise. This year it might just be Mackenzie.
