Hockey Canada in Hot Water After Incident At World Juniors
After their wild 7-5 win against Czechia in the World Junior Hockey Championships opener, Team Canada did not shake the hands of their opponents before departing the ice. This was not a good look for the Canadian team, and Hockey Canada has had to issue a public apology on Saturday.
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 27, 2025
"Following last night's game, Canada's junior hockey team skated off the ice before shaking hands with Czechia. Hockey Canada takes full responsibility for this oversight and we have apologized to the team, Czech Ice Hockey Association and the IIHF for our mistake," read the statement.
Shaking hands, of course, is customary for both teams in international competition at the conclusion of on-ice festivities.
But Canada coach Dale Hunter surprisingly said he was unaware of the tradition.
"I didn't know. But I know now, so there'll be a handshake [tonight] & I'll say sorry to the Czechs."
That incident closely followed another controversial moment for the team, when captain Porter Martone, after scoring the empty-net goal to ice it, was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for tapping the behind of a Czech player while skating back to the bench.
Porter Martone was called for unsportsmanlike conduct following his empty net goal. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/EDcGHM8AHY
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025
One of the other players on Czechia immediately responded with a little shove on Martone as he skated by.
On Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers' top prospect apologized for his actions.
"I need to apologize for the actions I took yesterday at the end of the game. That's unacceptable, and that can't happen. As the captain of this team, it just sets a bad (example) for the rest of the guys. That's on me and I just can't do that."
I’m sorry but Porter Martone taking 2 min for slapping a Czech on the ass after his empty netter is bad, but to do it as the captain is an even worse look. I’d say the same thing if it was USA & they have b2b golds. It’s game 1 - take the W & move on, no time to get too cocky
— Andrew Paterson (@hustlerama) December 27, 2025
Controversy and Hockey Canada once again manage to find each other.
