Latvian goalie Linards Feldbergs was one of the feel-good stories in Ottawa.
photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
The 2025 World Junior Championship is in the books. There were some highs and lows, some brilliant moments and a few some would like to forget. There were great goals and fancy plays, comebacks, upsets, and thrills. Here’s looking at Ottawa.
For the Americans, their memories will always be golden. Back-to-back championships for the first time ever, their fate was sealed in the gold-medal game. Trailing Finland, 3-1, in the second and on their heels, they scored two late goals in the period to tie the game. After that, a win seemed inevitable, and when Teddy Stiga scored the golden goal, history was written.
Finland started with a tough loss to Canada but later had an impressive win over the U.S. They didn’t dominate in the quarter-finals by any means but managed to beat Slovakia, 5-3, and they raised their emotions in the semis to advance to the finals. In a back-and-forth game, it was Benjamin Rautiainen who scored on a late power play in overtime to give Suomi a 4-3 win over arch-rivals Sweden. They had killed a penalty of their own earlier in the OT.
Czechia finished the tournament in dramatic fashion, winning its final two games late. In the quarter-finals against Canada, they let leads of 1-0 and 3-1 slip away, but Adam Jecho scored on the power play with 39.4 seconds remaining, sending Canada packing for the second straight year. Then, in the bronze-medal game, they made history, winning the longest IIHF shootout ever (28 shots) with an Eduard Sale goal in the 14th round. Sale also set a record by taking five of his teams shots, and he scored on the last two to give the Czechs their third consecutive medal.
Sweden suffered two heart-breaking losses in a row to close out the tournament. Perhaps their finest moment was their first game, a rock-solid 5-2 win over Slovakia. Captain and defender Axel Sandin Pellikka had a career game, scoring three goals and adding an assist. In the end, he tied for second in tournament scoring with 10 points and was named IIHF Directorate Best Defender.
Woe, Canada…for a second year in a row. Another late-goal loss to the Czechs left them out of the final four, much to the dismay of the hometown Ottawa fans. After a solid, 4-0, win over Finland to start, Canada ran into two problems you don’t often associate with the team in the 21st century. They had trouble scoring, and they took way too many penalties. Their best moments were when they came back in the quarter-finals to Czechia, erasing a 3-1 deficit in admirable fashion, only to lose on another late penalty.
In one of the most thrilling games of the tournament, Slovakia beat Kazakhstan 5-4 in overtime on a Maxim Strbak goal. Later, they lost a 4-3 decision to Finland in the quarter-finals, despite outshooting the Finns handily, 36-18.
The Latvians captured the hearts of Canadian fans by making history in the first game. They not only beat Canada, 3-2, in a shootout, they did so almost entirely thanks to goalie Linards Feldbergs, who stopped 55 of 57 shots in 65 minutes of game action and then stopped all eight Canadian shooters in an extended penalty-shot shootout. Three days later, he was at it again, leading his team to a 4-3 OT win over Germany. In all, Feldbergs faced a whopping 226 shots in just five games and was one of the tournament’s best players.
The Swiss had a tough tournament, winning only one of five games and struggling to score. But their best moment came in a wild 7-5 loss to Sweden, when the teams tied a World Juniors record by combining for five power-play goals in the third period. More incredible, the Swiss scored four of those and made a 6-1 deficit a much closer 7-5 defeat. Leon Muggli had three assists in that crazy third period.
Germany saved its best for last. After a winless preliminary round, it faced Kazakhstan in the crucial relegation game and came away with a 4-3 win. It wasn’t easy. They trailed the Kazakhs 3-1 early in the second, and the prospects of playing in Division I-A next year looked only all to real. But then Julius Sumpf took the team under his wings. He assisted on two quick goals to tie the game and then scored the relegation winner early in the third to keep the Germans in the top level for 2026.
Kazakhstan was a little bit out of its depth this year, going winless and earning just one point in the standings. But that one point was from the most amazing finish of a game this year. Trailing Slovakia 4-2 and looking like they were headed to defeat, forward Assanali Sarkenov took a major penalty with 4:39 remaining in the game. Yet despite being short-handed for five minutes, they scored not one but two short-handed goals to tie the game and send it to overtime. A more improbable ending you cannot imagine. Slovakia gathered their wits to win in the short fourth period, but the Kazakhs gave the crowd something to remember.
For the Americans, their memories will always be golden. Back-to-back championships for the first time ever, their fate was sealed in the gold-medal game. Trailing Finland, 3-1, in the second and on their heels, they scored two late goals in the period to tie the game. After that, a win seemed inevitable, and when Teddy Stiga scored the golden goal, history was written.
Finland started with a tough loss to Canada but later had an impressive win over the U.S. They didn’t dominate in the quarter-finals by any means but managed to beat Slovakia, 5-3, and they raised their emotions in the semis to advance to the finals. In a back-and-forth game, it was Benjamin Rautiainen who scored on a late power play in overtime to give Suomi a 4-3 win over arch-rivals Sweden. They had killed a penalty of their own earlier in the OT.
Czechia finished the tournament in dramatic fashion, winning its final two games late. In the quarter-finals against Canada, they let leads of 1-0 and 3-1 slip away, but Adam Jecho scored on the power play with 39.4 seconds remaining, sending Canada packing for the second straight year. Then, in the bronze-medal game, they made history, winning the longest IIHF shootout ever (28 shots) with an Eduard Sale goal in the 14th round. Sale also set a record by taking five of his teams shots, and he scored on the last two to give the Czechs their third consecutive medal.
Sweden suffered two heart-breaking losses in a row to close out the tournament. Perhaps their finest moment was their first game, a rock-solid 5-2 win over Slovakia. Captain and defender Axel Sandin Pellikka had a career game, scoring three goals and adding an assist. In the end, he tied for second in tournament scoring with 10 points and was named IIHF Directorate Best Defender.
Woe, Canada…for a second year in a row. Another late-goal loss to the Czechs left them out of the final four, much to the dismay of the hometown Ottawa fans. After a solid, 4-0, win over Finland to start, Canada ran into two problems you don’t often associate with the team in the 21st century. They had trouble scoring, and they took way too many penalties. Their best moments were when they came back in the quarter-finals to Czechia, erasing a 3-1 deficit in admirable fashion, only to lose on another late penalty.
In one of the most thrilling games of the tournament, Slovakia beat Kazakhstan 5-4 in overtime on a Maxim Strbak goal. Later, they lost a 4-3 decision to Finland in the quarter-finals, despite outshooting the Finns handily, 36-18.
The Latvians captured the hearts of Canadian fans by making history in the first game. They not only beat Canada, 3-2, in a shootout, they did so almost entirely thanks to goalie Linards Feldbergs, who stopped 55 of 57 shots in 65 minutes of game action and then stopped all eight Canadian shooters in an extended penalty-shot shootout. Three days later, he was at it again, leading his team to a 4-3 OT win over Germany. In all, Feldbergs faced a whopping 226 shots in just five games and was one of the tournament’s best players.
The Swiss had a tough tournament, winning only one of five games and struggling to score. But their best moment came in a wild 7-5 loss to Sweden, when the teams tied a World Juniors record by combining for five power-play goals in the third period. More incredible, the Swiss scored four of those and made a 6-1 deficit a much closer 7-5 defeat. Leon Muggli had three assists in that crazy third period.
Germany saved its best for last. After a winless preliminary round, it faced Kazakhstan in the crucial relegation game and came away with a 4-3 win. It wasn’t easy. They trailed the Kazakhs 3-1 early in the second, and the prospects of playing in Division I-A next year looked only all to real. But then Julius Sumpf took the team under his wings. He assisted on two quick goals to tie the game and then scored the relegation winner early in the third to keep the Germans in the top level for 2026.
Kazakhstan was a little bit out of its depth this year, going winless and earning just one point in the standings. But that one point was from the most amazing finish of a game this year. Trailing Slovakia 4-2 and looking like they were headed to defeat, forward Assanali Sarkenov took a major penalty with 4:39 remaining in the game. Yet despite being short-handed for five minutes, they scored not one but two short-handed goals to tie the game and send it to overtime. A more improbable ending you cannot imagine. Slovakia gathered their wits to win in the short fourth period, but the Kazakhs gave the crowd something to remember.