"Canada is done": Hockey fans react as USA are crowned Hlinka Gretzky Cup winners after 5-3 win over Sweden

ARJUN B
Fans react as USA are crowned Hlinka Gretzky Cup winners after 5-3 win over Sweden Credit - Imagn
Fans react as USA are crowned Hlinka Gretzky Cup winners after 5-3 win over Sweden Credit - Imagn

Fans reacted as Team USA clinched the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a 5-3 win over Sweden at Pavol Demitra Ice Stadium in Trencín, Slovakia. It is the first Hlinka Gretzky title since 2003 for the Americans and their second U18 summer championship overall.

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Team USA had lost to Sweden earlier in the tournament, but turned the tables in the finals.

Social media lit up with reactions to the triumph, with one fan even declaring,

“Canada is done.”
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Another fan wrote,

"The USA don't deserve to be HlinksGretzky Champions. It was supposed to Canada, damn it"
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Here are some fan reactions:

"Canada should have been playing Sweden today and USA plays Finland to see who get's into the finals." one fan wrote.
"Very impressive, really shows how much of an advancement has been made in the US from a depth perspective. For those not aware, the US typically sends a “B” team in a sense to this, they don’t bring any of the NTDP players minus a few exceptions over the years." a fan wrote.
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"Bro the states are having themselves a renaissance.. and with that loss at 4nations they are gonna be hungry af for gold at the Olympics.. can’t wait!" a user commented.
"USA Men’s Hockey will be winning everything for the next decade" another user wrote.

Canada, meanwhile, settled for bronze after blanking Finland 3-0, marking their 30th medal in summer U18 international play.

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Team USA head coach Kevin Porter on winning Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Elton Hermansson opened the scoring for Sweden just 10 seconds in, but Levi Harper (Tampa, Fla.) answered at 2:53 with a shot through traffic. Noah Davidson (Irvine, Calif.) added a power-play goal just over a minute later to give the Americans the lead.

Theodor Knights tied it midway through the first, before Hextall put the U.S. back ahead with a power-play marker at 17:12. Nikita Klepov (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) extended the lead early in the second with another power-play goal, making it 4-2.

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Hermansson struck again on a 5-on-3 late in the second to cut it to 4-3, but Nick Bogas (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) sealed the win with the fourth power-play goal late in the third, securing the victory.

“It’s amazing. Our guys battled hard, and our power play was great. It’s a great feeling to win that one,” said Kevin Porter (Plymouth, Mich.), head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team. “These players came to play every night. It was awesome to see. We’re champions now.”

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is a yearly U-18 international tournament, jointly hosted by Hockey Canada, the Czech Ice Hockey Association and the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra
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