Canada tops World Juniors standings midway

Canada sits at the top of the table on both sides of the 2026 World Junior Curling Championships in Taarnby, Denmark.

Roughly halfway through the nine-game round robin, Canada’s men, skipped by Truro, Nova Scotia’s Calan MacIsaac, remain undefeated with a 4-0 record, while the women, skipped by Edmonton’s Myla Plett, sit at 4-1.

Team MacIsaac, with third Nathan Gray, second Owain Fisher, and lead Christopher McCurdy, won their only game of the day Thursday, with a tightly contested 8-6 victory over Team Poland.

“We played well today,” said McCurdy of their extra-end win. “Poland played great and made it tricky for us late in the game, but we came out on top. We played a really good 11th end. Everyone was throwing really well through the day.”

The team will face Team Scotland and Team Italy on Friday. The Scots are also currently undefeated, while the Italians are 3-1.

“Going into tomorrow we are really excited for two big games against Scotland and Italy, and we are hoping to keep the momentum rolling,” said McCurdy. “I’m really happy with where we are in the record right now. It’s a great feeling to be 4-0.”

The women, meanwhile, dropped their first game of the day 8-6 to Team China before rallying in the evening draw with a 9-1 win over Team Denmark. Their 4-1 record still keeps them at the top of the standings.

“After some rest, a reset, and some extremely good coffee, we were ready to play the local team, Denmark,” the team shared. “After a strong start on the feature sheet, we made sure to focus on good communication and rock management.”

The matchup with the Danes was a lopsided affair, which meant that alternate Abby Whitbread got to see some playing time for the second straight day, while second Chloe Fediuk took a break. 

Plett, along with third Alyssa Nedohin, Fediuk, lead Allie Iskiw, and Whitbread, will face Team Sweden in the afternoon draw on Friday.

“With a sleep-in tomorrow morning, we’re excited to head into Game 6 against some familiar faces from Sweden,” the team messaged from Denmark. “As we mark halfway into the event, we are happy with our standings in a three-way tie for first place.” 

The round robin draw will wrap up on Sunday, followed by semifinals on Monday and medal matchups on Tuesday. 

The women are supported by coach Dave Nedohin, assistant coach Blair Lenton, and team leader Beth Iskiw.

The men are coached by Craig Burgess and supported by alternate Nicholas Mosher and team leader Daryell Nowlan.

For scores and schedules, visit the World Curling website at: https://livescores.worldcurling.org/wjcc/aspnet/livescores?EventID=0

Games can be streamed via paid subscription on the Curling Channel here: https://curlingchannel.tv/subscribe