Sweden defeats host Slovakia to win third IIHF U18 worlds gold medal

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HEY YA HEY YA HEY YA SLOVENSKO!” they chanted. “WOAH OH OH OH OH OH! SLO-VEN-SKO! WOAH OH OH OH OH OH!” they shouted and clapped. “MARIAN HOSSA! GAB-O-RIK! MARIAN HOSSA! GAB-O-RIK!” they screamed when local legends and NHL icons Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik stepped to center ice before puck drop to deliver speeches. Even when 2026 draft-eligible forward Wiggo Sorensson opened the scoring early in the first period, or top scorer Elton Hermansson made it 2-0 in the second, or Adam Andersson sealed it in the third, the drumming and jumping stopped only for a brief second before ramping back up to its deafening baseline pitch. It persisted for 60 unrelenting minutes, crescendoing again when 2026 draft eligibles Lucian Bernat and Samuel Karasay nearly scored on a two-on-zero in the second period to tie the game and then were hauled down with no call on a two-on-one seconds later. Ivan Matta ignited them with a little more than four minutes left, and 2027 draft-eligible Maxim Simko made it a game a minute late to cut Sweden’s lead to 4-2 with 3:17 left. The crowd noise peaked moments after that when the Slovaks, with all of the momentum, drew a penalty and thought they had a real chance to tie it. The energy and volume — as loud as any IIHF tournament I’ve covered in Europe or North America — wasn’t enough for the Slovaks to win one more game and their first gold medal. The home team’s loss wasn’t enough to take away from a near-perfect two weeks they had as hosts, though, either. When the buzzer sounded, and the Swedes spilled over the boards, throwing their equipment into the air and piling onto goalie Kevin Thornblom, the Slovaks skated to their bench, and the crowd picked them back up to accept the country’s second-ever silver medal at the U18 worlds. They even chanted forward 2027 star Timothy Kazda’s name when he was announced as tournament MVP. Typically, in defeat, the losing silver medalists can’t wait to get off the ice once the trophy is presented to the victors. On Saturday, the Slovaks stayed, circling the ice in a line with their medals and second-place trophy to acknowledge the fans and posing for a team picture at center ice while the Swedes waited for them. Before they left, the crowd sang the Slovakian national anthem impromptu. For Sweden, the gold is their 16th medal all-time at the event, the second-most in tournament history behind the Americans’ 21. But for Slovakia, the silver is just as meaningful. It’s only their third medal ever at the event (one bronze and now two silvers) and first in 23 years. And the loss was their first in regulation after winning five of six games to play their way into the gold medal game, dropping only a 5-4 game in three-on-three overtime to the Finns in their run to first place in Group A. Pavol Demitra Ice Stadium was slammed for all of Slovakia’s games. But the neighbouring Czechs crowded into the rink for their games as well, and they got to cheer their team onto its fourth medal ever at the event in a 4-1 win over Latvia in the bronze medal game that required two empty netters in the final minute. Top 2027 prospect and captain Petr Tomek finished the tournament with six points in seven games, and projected 2026 top-two-round pick Jakub Vanecek finished with five points in seven games, logged a team-high 22:39 per game and picked up a team-high 22 shots on goal. You should know the name Matyas Michalek as well. Michalek, eligible for the 2028 draft, played alongside Vanecek as an underager. He only had one point but impressed scouts, played 21:24 per game, had 16 shots on goal (third on the team) and made a big play in the bronze medal game to set up the game-tying goal after the Latvians jumped out to an early lead. He’s already 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, and he’s strong and a good skater (his feet can kick a little when he’s in a hurry going forward, but he sets really good gaps going backwards and walks the line proficiently). Note: Ballots must be submitted by the end of the first intermission of the gold medal game. F Alexander Command (Sweden/2026 NHL Draft) F Wyatt Cullen (USA/2026 NHL Draft) F Timothy Kazda (Slovakia/2027 NHL Draft) D Malte Gustafsson (Sweden/2026 NHL Draft) D Adam Goljer (Slovakia/2026 NHL Draft) G Patriks Plumins (Latvia/2026 NHL Draft) — MVP Honorable mentions F Bosse Meijer (Sweden/2027 NHL Draft) F Elton Hermansson (Sweden/2026 NHL Draft) F Dima Zhilkin (Canada/2027 NHL Draft) D Ryan Lin (Canada/2026 NHL Draft) D Jakub Vanecek (Czechia/2026 NHL Draft) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms