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A trio of Vancouver Canucks prospects have landed themselves a massive opportunity at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, which begins on Friday.
The holiday season is officially upon us and for hockey fans around the globe that means one thing – the World Juniors, one of the greatest international events in the sport.
This time around, the Vancouver Canucks are going to have three prospects at the tournament, all of whom will begin their quest for the gold medal in just a matter of days.
Trio of Vancouver Canucks prospects to suit up at 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship
With the pre-tournament officially wrapping up last night and all ten participating nations set to announce their final rosters before the puck drops on the 2026 World Juniors on Friday afternoon in Minnesota, it looks like the Vancouver Canucks will have a good chance at one of their prospects taking home a medal.
“Cootes could become the first Canucks prospect since 2019 to play a meaningful role on Canada’s World Juniors. Back in 2019, goaltender Michael DiPietro was Canada’s starting goalie, posting stellar numbers before suffering a heartbreaking loss to Finland in the quarterfinals.” Beggs said about Braeden Cootes.
For Cootes and Bjorck, this will be their first World Juniors experience and both will have a very good chance at wearing the gold medal around their neck on January 5th, while Basile Sansonnens is set for his second trip to the tournament with Switzlerand, who lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual championship, the United States, earlier this year.
With anticipation building for the 2026 World Juniors, Vancouver Canucks fans are excited to see what the team’s three prospects have in store and for those interested in tuning in, here’s the schedule for Canada, Sweden and Switzerland.
Canada’s schedule (Braeden Cootes)
December 26th vs Czechia at 5:30 p.m. PT.
December 27th vs Latvia at 1:30 p.m. PT.
December 29th vs Denmark at 5:30 p.m. PT
December 31st vs Finland at 5:30 p.m. PT.
Sweden’s schedule (Wilson Bjorck)
December 26th vs Slovakia at 10 a.m. PT.
December 28th vs Switzerland at 11 a.m. PT.
December 29th vs Germany at 10 a.m. PT.
December 31st vs United States at 3 p.m. PT.
Switzerland’s schedule (Basile Sansonnens)
December 27th vs United States at 3 p.m. PT.
December 28th vs Sweden at 11 a.m. PT.
December 30th vs Germany at 11 a.m. PT.
December 31st vs Slovakia at 10 a.m. PT.
As is the case every year, fans from coast-to-coast will be able to watch the entire World Junior tournament on TSN and TSN+.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily