Top prospects, biggest surprises from the 2026 World Juniors

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The IIHF World Junior Championships wrapped up on Monday, and for the first time in a very long time, neither Canada nor the United States played for gold.

Perhaps the most important takeaway is that the field at the junior levels is more competitive than ever before. The number of teams capable of winning a medal has expanded.

We can quibble about what Canada's team would have looked like with all NHL players available -- Macklin Celebrini, Beckett Sennecke, Sam Dickinson, Berkly Catton, Matthew Schaefer among them -- but Canada should always be deep enough to withstand that. The talent is there, but perhaps nations with an embarrassment of…