Team Canada has improved to a record of three wins and zero losses at the 2026 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Hockey Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On Monday, Canada clobbered Denmark 9-1.
Four Canadians posted three point games. Gavin McKenna of Whitehorse, Yukon, the projected first overall pick of the 2026 National Hockey League Draft, notched a hat trick. McKenna currently plays for Penn State after being with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League last year. The other three players with three point games were Michigan State Spartans right winger and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Porter Martone of Peterborough, Ontario (two goals and one assist), San Jose Sharks centre Michael Misa of Oakville, Ontario (one goal and two assists), and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds centre and Nashville Predators prospect Brady Martin of Kitchener, Ontario (three assists).
Five more Canadians had a multi-point game. Defensemen Kashawn Aitcheson and Zayne Parekh each had one goal and one assist for two points. Aitcheson is a prospect of the New York Islanders from Toronto, Ontario who plays for the Barrie Colts. Parekh is from Markham, Ontario and plays for the Calgary Flames. Meanwhile, Moncton Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec (Utah Mammoth prospect), Kelowna Rockets centre Tij Iginla of Kelowna, British Columbia (Mammoth prospect), and University of Michigan centre Michael Hage of Oakville, Ontario (Montreal Canadiens prospect) had two assists. The other Canadian goal scorer was centre Braeden Cootes of Sherwood Park, Alberta, who is a Vancouver Canucks prospect and plays for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Canada next plays Finland on New Year’s Eve.
