Canadian men finish fourth at World Junior Championships

A promising week proved to be a tough finish for the Canadian men at the 2026 World Junior Curling Championships.

Skip Calan MacIsaac, third Nathan Gray, second Owain Fisher, and lead/vice-skip Christopher McCurdy of Truro, N.S., will leave Taarnby, Denmark, short of the podium after the men’s team skipped by Calan MacIsaac (Truro, N.S.) lost to Scotland’s Team Orrin Carson 9-8 in the bronze-medal game.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Gray. “Overall, we had a good week with some very close playoff games. Obviously hard to lose, but we came against a very strong Scottish team, and just weren’t quite able to get it done.” 

The Canadians had a shot for two (perhaps three) in the sixth end, which would have tied the game – or given them the lead; however, the soft-tap just missed the mark, resulting in a steal and a three-point deficit. 

That made the difference in the game. Canada needed to steal two in the tenth, and while they managed a single, it wasn’t enough.  

“We’d like to thank everyone in Canada for their support over this week, and hope we made everyone proud back home,” said Gray. “We have such a strong support system; we appreciate everyone who’s believed in us.” 

That support system includes coach Craig Burgess, team leader Daryell Nowlan, and alternate Nick Mosher.

The United States took the gold medal over Italy on the men’s side. Team Caden Hebertearned the win with an 8-6 final over Italy’s Team Stefano Spiller.  

On the women’s side, South Korea’s Bobae Kang took her second consecutive World Junior Championship with a win over Sweden’s Team Moa Dryburgh.