Slovakia's Adam Kalman skates away from Canadian defender Keaton Verhoeff when the teams met in last year's group stage. Verhoeff will be back on Team Canada in Trencin this year.
Trencin welcomes back the IIHF U18 Men’s Ice Hockey World Championship for the first time since 2002, with the Pavol Demitra Stadium set to turn into something of a bear-pit when the host nation takes to the ice in Group A.
Slovakia finds itself up against the exact same group rivals it faced a year ago in Texas. Back then, Canada swept imperiously through with 29 goals in four straight wins. Slovakia edged Finland into third place and Latvia completed the playoff qualifiers ahead of Norway. Which countries can change their results this season?
Canada
The defending champion is going for a three-peat after gold in Finland (2024) and the USA (2025). Only Team USA (2009-2012) has managed more than two consecutive titles before.
Three of last year’s team return, with defender Keaton Verhoeff the stand-out on a stacked roster. He captained Canada to bronze at the Hlinka-Gretzky earlier this season and also picked up a medal at the World Juniors. Standing at 193 cm and weighing 96 kg, he already has a man’s physique and his profile ticks all the boxes for a potential #1 draft pick. Fellow defender Ryan Lin had more than a point a game in the WHL with Vancouver this season, while forward Alessandro di Iorio (2+1 at last year’s U18s) also returns.
New faces to watch include forward Mathis Preston, a team-mate of Lin at the Giants who shared the scoring lead for Canada at the Hlinka-Gretzky with 7 (3+4) points. He’s a likely first-round pick, and some sources rate Adam Valentini (University of Michigan) as a potential first-round choice. He was third in scoring in the summer tournament, and had 27 points in 40 games in his rookie NCAA campaign.
Finland
The Finns are seeking a first medal since bronze in 2022 and will be eager to improve on a 2-7 quarter-final loss to Sweden.
Oliver Suvanto, a centre enjoying his rookie season in the Liiga with Tappara, could be key to driving that improvement for Tuomo Ropo’s team. He played a big role at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in the summer, where his figures of 2+2 in five games didn’t tell the whole story. He also got a call to the World Juniors, scoring twice in seven games. Suvanto is a genuine two-way center, effective on both sides of the puck. Expect him to put in the hard yards and make himself busy in front of both nets. With rapid progress this season, a strong showing here would consolidate Suvanto’s status as a potential first-round pick.
Elsewhere on the team, Ropo has U18 experience to call upon from defenders Juho Piiparinen and Samu Alalauri. Both Turku natives, they both featured last year. Piiparinen, a team-mate of Suvanto at Tappara, captains the team with Massachusetts-bound Alalauri wearing the ‘A’. Forward Anttoni Uronen of HIFK, completes the leadership trio and has his twin brother Eelis with him on the roster.
Latvia
Latvia’s long-serving head coach Olegs Sorokins is out to continue a proud record. Not only is his country on its longest unbroken run at the U18 World Championship, it has never faced a relegation playoff since Sorokins coached a promotion-winning campaign back in 2018. That’s no mean feat when the national program has players scattered around the world.
Among those, Olivers Murnieks looks set to play despite being inactive in the QMJHL since February 1. The forward joined up with his compatriots after posting 20 (7+13) points in an injury-hit season with St. John Sea Dogs and came through Latvia’s last warm-up game unscathed. However, that 1-8 loss to Sweden followed a 0-3 reverse against Germany. Last year’s group stage saw Latvia take a shoot-out win against Norway in its opening game – good enough to avoid a relegation playoff. And the Sunday evening showdown between those two in Trencin could well be the defining game of the tournament for both countries.
Norway
A shoot-out win over Switzerland in last year’s relegation game kept Norway in the top division. It was the third year running that the Norwegians survived a playoff, and it seems likely that big target will be getting ahead of Latvia and making the quarterfinals.
If that happens, it’s likely that Niklas Aaram-Olsen will have plenty to say about it. The forward has a shot at becoming only the third Norwegian player to be drafted in the first round. He had 5 (3+2) points at last year’s tournament, including involvement in all four goals in that vital win over the Swiss. Since then, he’s top scored as Norway’s juniors won promotion from Division IA and made his SHL debut for Orebro in the Swedish top league.
There’s experience on Kim Veisten’s team, with six more returnees from last season. That includes all three goalies. They had a rough time in Texas last year, with heavy losses against Finland (1-7), Canada (1-8) and Slovakia (1-9). But holding Latvia to a shoot-out loss before edging a verdict against the Swiss gives hope for a more competitive showing in Trencin.
Slovakia
After dropping the bronze medal game in the last three tournaments, Slovakia is hoping home ice can secure the country’s first hardware since 2003. And in Trencin, a city that has been a production line for Slovak hockey legends, there are high hopes for one of their own.
Defender Adam Goljer spent the season playing in the pro game with Dukla Trencin. He’s not always the most eye-catching offensive option, but he’s logged plenty of minutes on a struggling team and earned glowing write-ups for his defensive contribution. It was a similar story on his World Junior debut in December: no points in seven games, but good notices for the defensive effort.
Much of the team has played together in Slovakia’s lower leagues under head coach Martin Dendis. But others, such as goalies Denis Sisko (Ocelari Trinec, CZE) and Samuel Hrenak (Fargo Force, USHL), defender Jakub Floris (Lukko, FIN) or Michal Jakubec (Dukla Trencin) have wider experience. Wednesday’s opening game against Canada promises to be a huge occasion, especially for the Trencin-born players on the team.
Slovakia finds itself up against the exact same group rivals it faced a year ago in Texas. Back then, Canada swept imperiously through with 29 goals in four straight wins. Slovakia edged Finland into third place and Latvia completed the playoff qualifiers ahead of Norway. Which countries can change their results this season?
Canada
The defending champion is going for a three-peat after gold in Finland (2024) and the USA (2025). Only Team USA (2009-2012) has managed more than two consecutive titles before.
Three of last year’s team return, with defender Keaton Verhoeff the stand-out on a stacked roster. He captained Canada to bronze at the Hlinka-Gretzky earlier this season and also picked up a medal at the World Juniors. Standing at 193 cm and weighing 96 kg, he already has a man’s physique and his profile ticks all the boxes for a potential #1 draft pick. Fellow defender Ryan Lin had more than a point a game in the WHL with Vancouver this season, while forward Alessandro di Iorio (2+1 at last year’s U18s) also returns.
New faces to watch include forward Mathis Preston, a team-mate of Lin at the Giants who shared the scoring lead for Canada at the Hlinka-Gretzky with 7 (3+4) points. He’s a likely first-round pick, and some sources rate Adam Valentini (University of Michigan) as a potential first-round choice. He was third in scoring in the summer tournament, and had 27 points in 40 games in his rookie NCAA campaign.
Finland
The Finns are seeking a first medal since bronze in 2022 and will be eager to improve on a 2-7 quarter-final loss to Sweden.
Oliver Suvanto, a centre enjoying his rookie season in the Liiga with Tappara, could be key to driving that improvement for Tuomo Ropo’s team. He played a big role at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in the summer, where his figures of 2+2 in five games didn’t tell the whole story. He also got a call to the World Juniors, scoring twice in seven games. Suvanto is a genuine two-way center, effective on both sides of the puck. Expect him to put in the hard yards and make himself busy in front of both nets. With rapid progress this season, a strong showing here would consolidate Suvanto’s status as a potential first-round pick.
Elsewhere on the team, Ropo has U18 experience to call upon from defenders Juho Piiparinen and Samu Alalauri. Both Turku natives, they both featured last year. Piiparinen, a team-mate of Suvanto at Tappara, captains the team with Massachusetts-bound Alalauri wearing the ‘A’. Forward Anttoni Uronen of HIFK, completes the leadership trio and has his twin brother Eelis with him on the roster.
Latvia
Latvia’s long-serving head coach Olegs Sorokins is out to continue a proud record. Not only is his country on its longest unbroken run at the U18 World Championship, it has never faced a relegation playoff since Sorokins coached a promotion-winning campaign back in 2018. That’s no mean feat when the national program has players scattered around the world.
Among those, Olivers Murnieks looks set to play despite being inactive in the QMJHL since February 1. The forward joined up with his compatriots after posting 20 (7+13) points in an injury-hit season with St. John Sea Dogs and came through Latvia’s last warm-up game unscathed. However, that 1-8 loss to Sweden followed a 0-3 reverse against Germany. Last year’s group stage saw Latvia take a shoot-out win against Norway in its opening game – good enough to avoid a relegation playoff. And the Sunday evening showdown between those two in Trencin could well be the defining game of the tournament for both countries.
Norway
A shoot-out win over Switzerland in last year’s relegation game kept Norway in the top division. It was the third year running that the Norwegians survived a playoff, and it seems likely that big target will be getting ahead of Latvia and making the quarterfinals.
If that happens, it’s likely that Niklas Aaram-Olsen will have plenty to say about it. The forward has a shot at becoming only the third Norwegian player to be drafted in the first round. He had 5 (3+2) points at last year’s tournament, including involvement in all four goals in that vital win over the Swiss. Since then, he’s top scored as Norway’s juniors won promotion from Division IA and made his SHL debut for Orebro in the Swedish top league.
There’s experience on Kim Veisten’s team, with six more returnees from last season. That includes all three goalies. They had a rough time in Texas last year, with heavy losses against Finland (1-7), Canada (1-8) and Slovakia (1-9). But holding Latvia to a shoot-out loss before edging a verdict against the Swiss gives hope for a more competitive showing in Trencin.
Slovakia
After dropping the bronze medal game in the last three tournaments, Slovakia is hoping home ice can secure the country’s first hardware since 2003. And in Trencin, a city that has been a production line for Slovak hockey legends, there are high hopes for one of their own.
Defender Adam Goljer spent the season playing in the pro game with Dukla Trencin. He’s not always the most eye-catching offensive option, but he’s logged plenty of minutes on a struggling team and earned glowing write-ups for his defensive contribution. It was a similar story on his World Junior debut in December: no points in seven games, but good notices for the defensive effort.
Much of the team has played together in Slovakia’s lower leagues under head coach Martin Dendis. But others, such as goalies Denis Sisko (Ocelari Trinec, CZE) and Samuel Hrenak (Fargo Force, USHL), defender Jakub Floris (Lukko, FIN) or Michal Jakubec (Dukla Trencin) have wider experience. Wednesday’s opening game against Canada promises to be a huge occasion, especially for the Trencin-born players on the team.