Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond says "the buck stops" with him. The country's men's under-20 team was eliminated from the world junior hockey championship in the quarterfinals for a second straight year Thursday.

Canadian fans are frustrated after seeing their team lose out in the quarter final at the World Juniors for a second straight year.

Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond he’s ‘incredibly disappointed’ and ‘apologetic’ after Canada lost 4-3 to Czechia

The winner will clinch the top seed and a Thursday quarterfinal meeting against Switzerland, the bottom seed in Group B. The loser could drop to third place behind Finland. The defending champion USA beat Germany and Latvia and lost to Finland in overtime.

The defending champion United States beat Switzerland 7-2 in the quarterfinals of the world junior hockey championship. It will face Czechia next.

After beating Canada 4-1 in a New Year’s Eve showdown, Team USA’s U20 hockey team is quarterfinal bound at the 2025 World Junior Championship. The tournament, played annually, features the ten highest ranked under-20 national hockey teams in the world.