"Very egotistical, arrogant": Former player coached by Dave Cameron berates Canada World Juniors HC after shocking exit

Former Canadian hockey defenseman Brenden Kichton has criticized Canada's World Juniors coach Dave Cameron following the team's elimination by Czechia at the 2025 World Juniors Hockey Championship.

On Thursday, Czechia shocked the crowd at Canadian Tire Centre by beating Team Canada 4-3 to secure its place in the semifinal.

Kichton, who played under Cameron, expressed his strong discontent, labeling him as a "very egotistical" coach.

He recalled his experience playing for Cameron, describing him as arrogant and not a players' coach, alleging that he frequently threatened to demote young Austrian players to a lower league.

"Played for Dave Cameron in Vienna, he’s an arrogant guy. Not a players coach IMO. Would threaten to send the young Austrian players down to the second league almost every day. Not surprised he didn’t pick the best players. Very egotistical," Kichton tweeted.

Canada has been out in the quarterfinal for the second straight year in the World Juniors against the same opponent, losing 4-3 to Czechia last time.

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Dave Cameron on Canada's elimination to Czechia at World Juniors

In response to Team Canada's loss to Czechia at the World Juniors, coach Dave Cameron addressed the team's struggles with scoring.

He acknowledged that while the team was generating chances, they were unable to convert those opportunities into goals, which impacted their momentum.

"We weren't scoring, and scoring generates your emotion," Canada coach Dave Cameron said via NHL.com.

"We were creating chances. Could you create more? Of course, you could. If you look at the analytics, 5-on-5, we created enough chances to win the games, they just didn't go in. That's the nature of the game tonight."

Czech coach Patrik Augusta, meanwhile, was impressed with his players following the win over Canada. However, he emphasized that the achievement is just a step in the right direction as the team is yet to secure any medal.

"I'm really proud of the players. But it doesn't mean anything yet. We're in the semifinals. They're not giving us any medals yet. But playing a big game like this, in Canada, on the big stage, with 18,000 people cheering for Canada, I think it's going to be something the players will remember," the Czech coach said.

Czechia will look to win its third straight medal when it faces the United States in the semifinal on Saturday.