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2025 u18mwc can svk matchup

U18 Men’s Worlds Preview: Canada vs. Slovakia

Friday, May 2 | 3 p.m. CT | Frisco, Texas | Semifinal

Jason LaRose
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May 1, 2025
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Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team is into the semifinals at the 2025 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, taking on Slovakia in its final four faceoff Friday at the Comerica Center.

Last Game

Canada punched its ticket to the semifinals with a narrow 3-2 overtime win over Czechia in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Cole Reschny was the extra-time hero, scoring his second goal of the game 2:41 into the 3-on-3 period. Jackson Smith had the other goal for the Canadians, while Jack Ivankovic made 22 saves.

The Slovaks secured their medal round spot with a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Germany. Jan Chovan scored in the second period, and Lukas Tomka and Luka Radivojevic added goals in the third before the Germans made a late, but unsuccessful, push. Michal Pradel finished with 21 saves in the Slovak goal.

Last Meeting

Canada and Slovakia clashed just last Thursday in the Canadians’ prelim opener, a 9-2 victory in Allen. Cameron Schmidt, Lev Katzin, Smith, Matthew Gard and Ryan Lin all scored first-period goals as Canada took a commanding early lead with five goals in a span of 7:12. Schmidt finished with a pair of goals, as did Braeden Cootes, who added three assists for just the seventh five-point game by a Canadian in U18 Men’s Worlds history. In all, 13 of 16 skaters recorded at least a point in the win.

What to Watch

There’s no easy answer in this section going into this game, and that’s because there are so many Canadians who have been so darn good in Texas. While Cootes leads the way in scoring with 10 points (5-5—10) in five games, he’s followed closely behind by Brady Martin (1-8—9), Lev Katzin (4-4—8), Ryan Roobroeck (3-5—8) and Reschny (4-2—6). The balanced offence bodes well for Canada’s medal chances this weekend, but it also bodes well for Canadian content at the 2025 NHL Draft. While Roobroeck isn’t eligible until 2026, the others all appeared in the final North American skater rankings by NHL Central Scouting – 11th (Martin), 20th (Cootes), 25th (Reschny) and 142nd (Katzin). Throw in some of the players we haven’t mentioned above, like Smith (13th), Jack Nesbitt (15th) and Ben Kindel (21st) and this team should be very well represented in Los Angeles next month.

While Chovan – the highest-rated Slovak for the NHL Draft – has performed as expected with four goals in five games, it’s Tomas Chrenko leading the charge offensively with eight points (5-3—8). Chrenko was simply dominant with HK Nitra in the Slovak U20 league this season, recording 61 points (30-31—61) in just 28 regular-season games before posting 20 (4-16—20) in 10 playoff games. And while Pradel – the third-ranked North American goaltender by Central Scouting – lasted only one period against Canada in the prelims, the puck-stopper has been terrific otherwise, fashioning a 1.81 goals-against average and .930 save percentage across five games.

A Look Back

Canada has never lost to Slovakia at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, winning all 13 meetings (with two coming by way of overtime).

The last medal-round meeting between the teams came in the bronze medal game at the 2023 tournament in Switzerland. In that one, Matthew Wood tied the game with 70 seconds to go and Macklin Celebrini – 14 months before he was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft was the overtime hero as Canada earned a 4-3 victory to win bronze. Wood finished with a goal and three assists, while Celebrini contributed two goals and a helper.

All-time record: Canada leads 13-0 (2-0 in OT)
Canada goals: 52
Slovakia goals: 19

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

Photos
Videos
2025 U18MWC: CAN 8 – NOR 1 (Preliminary)
Roobroeck’s four-point performance helped Canada power past Norway.
2025 TELUS Cup: Day 7 (Sunday, April 27)
The Pat Canadians won the TELUS Cup, while the Flyers earned the bronze medal.
2025 U18MWC: CAN 5 – FIN 1 (Preliminary)
Ivankovic made 39 saves as Canada beat Finland at U18 Men’s Worlds.
2025 TELUS Cup: Day 6 (Saturday, April 26)
The Chevaliers and Pat Canadians won to set up a showdown for the national title.
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