Czechia secures third straight medal at World Junior Hockey Championship
Czech hockey players have won their third consecutive medal at the 2025 World Junior Championship in Ottawa. In their final match on Sunday night, the Czech team defeated Sweden 3-2 in a shootout for the bronze medal.
The bronze match between Czechia and Sweden was decided by Czech captain Eduard Šalé in what became the longest shootout in World Junior history. The Czech captain beat goaltender Marcus Gidlof on his fifth attempt—and the 28th between the teams—securing the third consecutive medal for the junior team.
Patrik Augusta, the coach of the national junior team, had nothing but praise for his players:
"I know it's ‘just bronze’, but this group deserved it very much. They worked very hard, they stuck together as a team, we managed to put it together well, and the players were rewarded for it. And our reward is being able to experience it with them.”
The Czechs, eager to rebound from their 4-1 loss to the Americans in the semi-final, struck first with Štancl’s power-play goal at 3:47. Sweden tied at 12:37 thanks to Edstrom, but Šalé restored Czechia’s lead with a backhand finish off a turnover. Edstrom evened the score again late in the period, tipping in Unger Sorum’s pass for his second goal of the game.
With Sunday’s win, Czechia won medals for the third consecutive year, having earned silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024. All three matches featured the same player, the current captain Eduard Šalé. Patrik Augusta again:
“Hats off to Eda, because he is probably the only player in the under-20s at the moment who has three medals in a row. I told him that before the game, as part of my motivational speech in front of the whole team. He scored when he had to and then he scored the decisive goal.”
Šalé, a top Seattle Kraken prospect who set another record with five shootout attempts, slid on his knees as his teammates flooded off the bench to congratulate him. This is what the Czech captain had to say after the winning match:
“I was a little shaken up when I got on the ice, but once I scored the goal and tied it up, I knew I was going to give 100% on the next shot. It was tough, I had some chances there in overtime, that could have decided the game, but shootouts are 50-50. Hraboš made a great save and I knew it was up to me. I did what I know how to do.”
In total, the Czechs now own three bronze medals in their modern era – or nine, including medals won by the former Czechoslovakia.
