Allen, Texas- Top 2025 NHL Draft-eligible defenceman Jackson Smith scored his second goal of the tournament and WHL skaters combined for another five points as Canada cruised to a 7-1 win over Latvia on Friday night.
Smith (Calgary, Alta. / Tri-City Americans) opened the scoring with his second goal of the tournament after wristing a strong shot from the high slot.
The defenceman lets it fly! Jackson Smith opens the scoring!
#IIHF #U18MensWorlds #LATCAN @HockeyCanada pic.twitter.com/UU24Jrb8iL
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) April 26, 2025
Matthew Gard, another projected top pick for the 2025 NHL Draft, continued his point-per-game pace at his first tournament representing Canada with an assist on Xavier Villeneuve’s first-period strike.
Prince George Cougars standout defenceman Carson Carels finished off an all-WHL goal that saw Captain Braeden Cootes (Sherwood Park, Alta. / Seattle Thunderbirds) and Ryan Lin (Richmond, B.C. / Vancouver Giants) pick up the helpers.
Gard, who is representing Canada for the first time at the U18 World Championship, picked up his second assist of the night as Canada turned up the heat in the third period.
Canada’s gold medal defence continues with round-robin action against Finland (1-0-1-0) on Sunday.
Cootes, who is ranked 20th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, leads Canada in scoring at the tournament with two goals and four assists for six points in two outings.
NOTES
2025 NHL Draft-eligible forward David Lewandowski (Dusseldorf, Ger. / Saskatoon Blades) picked up his second assist of the tournament as Germany fell 9-4 to Sweden… Five WHLers are in action on Saturday as Blake Fiddler (Frisco, Texas / Edmonton Oil Kings) and the United States face Sweden and Czech skaters Radim Mrtka (Havlickuv, Cze. / Seattle Thunderbirds), Vit Zahejsky (Plzen, Cze. / Kamloops Blazers), Matej Pekar (Prerov, Cze. / Seattle Thunderbirds) and Dominik Pavlick (Trutnov, Cze. / Moose Jaw Warriors) take on Switzerland.
