Canada Takes Gold, Lopušanová Named MVP

The Canadians are back on top at the U18 Women's Worlds after defeating last year's champions Team USA 3-0.

Both teams entered the gold medal game undefeated, with Team USA having allowed only 2 goals in the tournament. The strong goaltending remained throughout this game, with no goals coming in the first period. In the end, it was Marilou Grenier who came out with the shutout, as the Canadians scored three unanswered to win gold.

Caileigh Tiller scored on the powerplay to open the scoring and notched what would end up as the game-winner. She finished the tournament third in points. Dorothy Copetti and Stryker Zablocki added the other two goals, cementing the win for Canada over their rivals.

"I'm so proud of the group," Team Canada coach Vicki Sunohara said, "We had a plan from the beginning and the players stuck together. They played for one another and this is what what happens. We came out victorious."

Zablocki finished the tournament with the most points and was named to the media all-star team, along with teammate Chloe Primerano. Primerano was also named the top defender.

Despite her team not making it past the quarter-finals, Nela Lopušanová of Slovakia took home MVP honours in Finland. The 16-year-old phenom was part of all but three of Slovakia's goals in the tournament. She also joins Primerano on the media all-star team.

Although Team USA eliminated Slovakia in the quarter-finals, the team did fight back against Team Japan, keeping them in the top group for the 2026 tournament. We'll likely get to see Lopušanová back on the U18 stage next year.

Takeaways

Wrapping up the tournament with a gold medal is exactly what Canada would have hoped for coming into the tournament. Although they often got off to a slow start, the team was able to maintain leads or get themselves back into the game, usually with a strong third period. After an elimination in the semi-finals last year, getting back to the top spot, and defeating their closest rivals, can only be seen as a success. It's also positive that many of Canada's successful players in this tournament are only 17, meaning many will hopefully return in 2026.

For Team Slovakia, losing 9-1 to the USA in the quarter-finals is not how they would have wanted to end the tournament, but I don't think the 2025 U18s were a bust for the program. Defeating Japan to stay in the top division was "like winning a medal", Slovakia's head coach Michal Kobezda said. Many of Slovakia's top players in this tournament are young enough to return next year, including MVP Lopušanová and goaltender Sumegova, who faced the most shots throughout the tournament. The more these players are performing at the top level with each other, the better they will be in years to come. The future looks bright for Slovakia at this level and the senior level.