University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass' Nestrašil Earns Silver Medal At IIHF World Junior Championships
January 05, 2026 | Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – University of Massachusetts hockey freshman forward Václav Nestrašil has earned Silver at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship after helping his native Czechia reach the championship game where the squad fell to Sweden, 4-2 on Monday in the Gold Medal game at Grand Casino Arena.
Nestrašil is the fifth medal winner from UMass since 2023 as current Minuteman sophomore goaltender Michael Hrabal helped Czechia to Bronze medals in 2024 and 2025 and Kenny Connors and Ryan Ufko were part of a Bronze Medal winning Team USA squad in 2023.
In total, eight individuals from UMass have collected nine medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Goaltender Filip Lindberg captured Gold with Finland in 2020 and Cale Makar took home Gold with Canada in 2018, while that same tournament Director of Equipment Operations Josh Penn earned a Bronze medal on staff with Team USA. Stephen Werner was the first Minuteman to collect a medal at the World Junior Championship, winning gold with the United States in 2004.
In the tournament, Nestrašil registered eight points on two goals and six assists over seven games and was +4 with a game-winner and a power-play goal.
Nestrašil is the fifth medal winner from UMass since 2023 as current Minuteman sophomore goaltender Michael Hrabal helped Czechia to Bronze medals in 2024 and 2025 and Kenny Connors and Ryan Ufko were part of a Bronze Medal winning Team USA squad in 2023.
In total, eight individuals from UMass have collected nine medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Goaltender Filip Lindberg captured Gold with Finland in 2020 and Cale Makar took home Gold with Canada in 2018, while that same tournament Director of Equipment Operations Josh Penn earned a Bronze medal on staff with Team USA. Stephen Werner was the first Minuteman to collect a medal at the World Junior Championship, winning gold with the United States in 2004.
In the tournament, Nestrašil registered eight points on two goals and six assists over seven games and was +4 with a game-winner and a power-play goal.
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