With the Maple Leafs set to begin their holiday break beginning on the 23rd, fans will turn their heads to the next era of NHL superstars, with the 2026 World Junior Championships set to begin this Friday, December 26th in Minnesota.
Team Canada comes into this tournament as many people's favourite to win (including my own), with a roster led by superstars Gavin Mckenna and Michael Misa up front, loaned-from-the-NHL Zayne Parekh and Harrison Brunicke, as well as the Leafs very own Ben Danford on the back end, and returning netminders Carter George and Jack Ivankovic in net.
This year is Canada's to lose, and the red and white are looking to avenge the past two tournaments, where the Canadians fell in the quarterfinals in heartbreaking fashion to Team Czechia both times.
Here's how Canada stacks up at this year's World Juniors.
Team Canada WJC Preview: Ben Danford set to represent Maple Leafs
Round-robin schedule:
Dec. 26 vs Czechia, 8:30pm EST
Dec. 27 vs Latvia, 4:30pm EST
Dec. 29 vs Denmark, 8:30pm EST
Dec. 31 vs Finland, 8:30pm EST
Canada opens their tournament with back-to-back games against two teams who defeated them in heartbreaking fashion a year ago, opening their tournament against Czechia and following up with the Latvians, who defeated Canada in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history a year ago during group play.
The red and white follows up with a game on the 29th against the Danes, who are back in the WJC Top Division for the first time since 2019, and conclude their round-robin play with the Finns on New Year's Eve.
Winning the top spot in the group phase of the tournament is critical for Canada, who knows from first-hand experience how crucial the quarterfinals are.
Maple Leafs represented by Team Canada for 3rd time in a row
2024 first-rounder Ben Danford will be the third Leafs player in as many years to play for Team Canada at the WJC, following Easton Cowan in 2025 and Fraser Minten (and Cowan again) in 2024.
Danford, who's currently slotted on Canada's third defense pair, will take his penalty killing and shutdown abilities from the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs to Team Canada this year, where he'll be a key contributor on the back end.
Will Danford light up the score sheet like Cale Makar did in the past? Probably not, but he'll play a major part in defending leads and killling penalties, an area where Canda struggled with last year.
Anything but winning the gold medal will be considered a disappointment for this group, who has all the tools to win the whole thing, but just need to put it all together.
Danford and Team Canada play their final exhibition game on December 23rd against Team Denmark, getting one last chance to fine-tune their game before the tournament officially starts on Boxing Day.