Canada wins 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup for record 24th gold medal

For the 24th time in tournament history, Canada has won gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup after beating Czechia 3-2 in overtime in Breclav, Czechia on Saturday evening.

The win is Canada’s second in a row and their ninth title-clinching win over Czechia. Czechia has secured silver for the ninth time and the first time since losing to Canada in 2017.

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is the first event on the 2024 NHL Draft calendar, with a handful of top prospects – including Canada’s Berkly Catton and Sam Dickinson, and USA’s Trevor Connelly and Mac Swanson – taking center stage. The tournament also put a handful of 2025 draft prospects in the spotlight, such as Canada’s Michael Misa and Czechia’s Adam Benak.

Czechia gave the home crowd much to be excited about early on, taking a 1-0 lead into the first break. Adam Titlbach, Czechia’s best winger, made it 1-0 at 8:09 when Benak found him near the net.

It was the lone Czech goal, though, as Canada scored a pair of goals in the second to take the lead. Cayden Lindstrom scored just 57 seconds into the second frame when Porter Martone flipped the puck past a defenseman to Lindstrom. The WHL star made no mistake on the shot, beating Jakub Milota 1-on-1 to tie it up.

Canada kept the pressure level up, and it paid off at 29:17. After getting stopped on a point shot, Berkly Catton skated in and capitalized on the rebound, scoring a power-play goal to make it 2-1.

The two teams traded high-quality chances, with the two goaltenders – Milota for Czechia and Carter George for Canada – taking center stage. But with just over four minutes to go, Matej Kubiesa scored a massive goal for the Czechs, with Benak setting him up on the team’s sixth power-play chance to make it 2-2.

The game required overtime, marking an exciting end to a tournament marred with blowouts. It was a wild back-and-forth affair that looked destined to head to double OT for the first time in tournament history. But with about seven seconds left, 2025 draft prospect Malcolm Spence stole the puck and created his own breakaway. The Erie Otters star managed to outlast Milota before roofing it up high for the game-winning goal, securing gold for the 24th time.

Meanwhile, the United States won bronze for the first time since 2014 and their first medal of any color since 2016 after beating Finland 5-2 in Slovakia.