With two days to go until Canada's opener at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, the Canadian entry took to the ice for the last time before the tournament's start in a tune-up game against Hungary. That game would end up being a 3-1 decision in favor of the Canadians, with all three goals coming in the opening frame of action.
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, who was named to the Canadian lineup alongside teammate Darnell Nurse but was scratched for the pre-tournament opener against France, would record an assist on Canada's opening goal of the game, which was scored by Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele. The secondary assist on the goal was recorded by San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini.
Hungarian forward Istvan Terbocs would level the score just mere seconds after Canada took the early lead, with assists from Zeteny Hadobas and Balazs Sebok. But Ottawa Senators forward Dylan Cozens would restore the Canadians' advantage almost three minutes after Hungary's lone goal of the game, with St Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas and Nashville Predators forward Ryan O'Reilly providing assists.
With under five minutes left in the first period, Toronto Maple Leafs forward/ex-captain John Tavares would score an insurance marker for Canada. Thomas and Winnipeg Jets forward Gabe Vilardi would record assists on Tavares' goal.
Bouchard wasn't the only Oiler to contribute for the Canadian team on Wednesday
Former Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot would earn the start in net for Canada against Hungary. While he would record a 0.889 save percentage, that was only a result of the fact that he only had to face nine shots all game.
For Hungary, Bence Balizs and Adam Vay would share the goaltending duties. Balizs was in net for the first half of the game, stopping 18 of the 21 shots he faced over the course of his stint in net for a 0.857 save percentage. The second half of the game would see Vay assume the goaltending duties; he would stop all 12 shots that he faced over that 30 minute span.
Like Bouchard, Nurse was scratched for the pre-tournament game against France but would earn some playing time against Hungary. Two former Oilers like the one that got away; Dylan Holloway and Connor Brown also appeared during the tune-up game against Hungary.
Sidney Crosby, Porter Martone, and Jack Ivankovic were scratches for Canada, though the former had only recently been named to the roster in place of New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal. Goaltender Levente Hegedus was the only scratch for Hungary.
What's next for both teams?
Both Canada and Hungary will open their respective World Championship campaigns over the next two days.
On Friday, Canada will take on reigning bronze-medallists Sweden to open their tournament. Hungary will start their preliminary round campaign the next day against Finland, who lost in the quarterfinal round of the previous tournament.
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