Gavin McKenna doesn't mince his words about officiating in Canada's elimination game against Czechia

Team Canada ended their 2025 World Junior Championship run with a loss to Team Czechia in the quarterfinals. This marked the second consecutive year they were beaten in the QFs by the same opponents. Much of the Canadian team was frustrated with officiating, with young forward Gavin McKenna among those voicing his displeasure.

The referees for the game were Riku Brander from Finland and Sean MacFarlane from the USA. The most controversial officiating moment came in the first period when Canada's Cole Beaudoin was ejected for kneeing Czechia's Petr Sykora. Many believed the hit was clean and the Canadian team was unjustly penalized.

“I didn’t think it was a five-minute penalty,” Canadian coach Dave Cameron said.

With Canada trailing 3-2, McKenna took a hard hit from Czech center Miroslav Holinka and was down on the ice for some time. Despite the significant blow, no penalty was called on the Czechs, further frustrating the Canadian players and fans.

Gavin McKenna, post-game, felt the need to make it known that they weren't impressed with how the officials went about the decisions.

“Speaks for itself, it was terrible,” McKenna said.

Dave Cameron was posed with the same question but the coach chose to sway away from it.

“Does it matter what I think?," he said.

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Gavin McKenna feels hard done by 'hockey gods'

In the post-game presser, McKenna also said that he felt that Canada was unlucky on the night. He felt sorry for not getting the job.

“It sucks we didn’t get it done for the guys who are in their last year,” McKenna said. “I thought we deserved to win that game; the hockey gods weren’t there for us.”

Team Canada was indisciplined overall, earning a lot of penalty time. They earned a total of 55 minutes of penalty-on-ice time, including Beaudoin's ejection. Czechia were able to take advantage of the power play. However, Canada outshooting their opponents 32 to 26 can make a case for the 17-year-old's claim.

This is the first time in history that Canada has bowed out in the quarter-final stage for two consecutive years. Gavin McKenna will have a chance to correct this failure when he suits up for the Canadian roster for next year's World Juniors. For now, Canada can rue their loss and reflect on how they can get better. Meanwhile, Team Czechia advanced to the semis where they will face Team United States.