Cole Reschny’s performance at the World Junior Championship won him the medal
2026 World Junior Championship
Following the World Junior Championship (WJC) has become a yearly tradition in most households across the country. On boxing day every year for the last 50 years, families have tuned into TSN to watch the next up and coming Canadian hockey players.
Athletes like Jordan Eberle, Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, Leon Draisaitl and Matthew Schaefer have all donned the maple leaf jerseys at the tournament over the years. The tournament often acts as a precursor for fans to watch draft-eligible athletes show off their skills in game play before they go to the big times.
The WJC hosts an under 20 roster that pulls from major junior hockey, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and other elite junior leagues across the globe. Teams from across the world compete in a round robin style to playoff in gold and bronze medal games.
This year, the tournament was held in Minnesota. Canada placed third in the tournament after nearly three seasons of not even making it past the quarter final round. The last time Canada won gold was in 2023.
Saskatchewan born and bred
This season saw one athlete from Saskatchewan make the Team Canada roster. This athlete was Cole Reschny, originally from Macklin, Saskatchewan, a small community two and a half hours southeast of Saskatoon.
Reschny currently plays for the University of North Dakota as a freshman forward. He has three goals and 17 assists in 18 games thus far in the current season. His professional hockey rights belong to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL), which drafted him in the first round, 18th overall, in 2025.
The 18-year-old spent a good amount of his junior career playing with the Victoria Royals for three seasons. He also has an impressive resume with appearances in tournaments like the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Reschny believes that his upbringing in small town Saskatchewan played into his development as an athlete. “I got a lot of opportunities there, it’s kind of the perfect place to grow up,” he shared. “It’s a good community, not too big of a town, but it was great.”
He also noted that he did have to travel a lot to bigger centres in the province to advance to where he is now.
I got a lot of opportunities there, it’s kind of the perfect place to grow up. It’s a good community, not too big of a town, but it was great.” -Cole Reschny
Making his way to the WJC
The selection process started for Reschny in the summer when 40 athletes, which is approximately a team and a half, were invited to Minneapolis. From there, scouts narrowed them down to a smaller team and invited them to another camp in Niagara. Following the last round of cuts and a few exhibition games, the team was rostered. Reschny was the only Saskatchewan born player in consideration for the team from the beginning.
“I mean, obviously Saskatchewan does have a lot of pretty talented hockey players, but I think it just goes to show how good the rest of Canada is too.”
This winter, Reschny won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the WJC. He played seven total games and scored four goals and one assist. He scored his most notable goal against Latvia in round-robin play.
Latvia, normally not a huge contender at the tournament, beat Canada in the 2025 WJC in a historic 3-2 win in a shootout. This season, Latvia took Canada to overtime once again but lost, still leaving a big impression on Canadian hockey fans.
Reschny broke the ice in this year’s match against Latvia when he scored in the second period, putting Canada up 1-0. He scored that goal on the power play and noted his gratitude for the opportunity for special teams play.
“It’s great getting the opportunity there. I was lucky enough to get on the power play too and get some special team times. I was lucky enough to get a pretty good pass from Gavin McKenna, and I stepped up and shot it.”
To an outsider, the dialogue around this tournament and this team can be constant and overwhelming. For ten days, the tournament dominates sports channels and the pressure on these young athletes can be immense.
However, for an experienced athlete, it boils down to just another day at the office. “I think once you’ve played the game for so long, at the end of the day, it’s just a game, and you’re having fun, and you just go and don’t overthink things and do what you can to help the team win.”
Family’s support
Reschny is one of the three boys in his family who play hockey. His younger brother, Austin, is following Reschny’s footsteps by playing for the Saskatoon Blazers.
His older brother, Anderson, played his junior career in Alberta and recently competed in the Viking Cup tournament where he won a silver medal. While his eldest brother could not attend the WJC games in the USA, the rest of the Reschny family were there to support Reschny.
“We’re very supportive of each other. They’re kind of my best friends,” he said.
Reschny added that during the early days of the Reschny brothers’ careers and throughout their childhood, their family home’s basement took some dents during some extreme mini stick battles.
I think once you’ve played the game for so long, at the end of the day, it’s just a game, and you’re having fun.” -Cole Reschny
Teammate’s support
Another form of support came from one of Reschny’s teammates, Keaton Verhoeff, a freshman defenseman at the University of North Dakota who joined Reschny at the tournament.
Prior to university, Verhoeff and Reschny had played together in Victoria during their major junior time. Reschny and Verhoeff are roommates at the university and are very close, so being able to share the experience of the World Junior tournament was something that Reschny said was “very special.”
Next steps forward
Now that the tournament is over, Reschny has returned to the University of North Dakota. He will continue to play with the Hawks until he graduates. Soon after, he will have the opportunity to play with the Calgary Flames.
