Dale Hunter responds after Hockey Canada issues public apology to Czechia.

2025 is a year that Hockey Canada would likely prefer to put behind them as quickly as possible, especially with another controversy hitting the organization at the very end of the calendar year.

On Saturday, Hockey Canada was forced to issue a public apology to their opponents in the first game of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, the Czech Ice Hockey Association and the lIHF after a classless gesture that occurred after the final horn had sounded in their game against Czechia on Friday.

The Canadians, who were supposed to shake the hands of their opponents before making their exit from the ice, simply skated straight to the locker room and failed to participate in the handshake line. The result of this decision was a wave of criticism directed at the Canadians, but I am happy to report that Hockey Canada has already attempted to make amends.

The Canadian junior team is currently being coached by Dale Hunter who also spoke to the media on Saturday and issued his own apology for what he calls a simple mistake. According to Hunter, the team simply hadn't been made aware of the handshake line and meant no offense by immediately leaving the ice after the game had concluded.

"You know something, though, I didn't know," said Hunter. "But I know now, so there'll be a handshake [tonight] and I'll say sorry to the Czechs."

While the Canadians were understandably being criticized for their role in this controversy it does now appear that it was more a matter of a genuine misunderstanding rather than an attempt at genuinely disrespecting their opponents. That being said, I suspect the Czechs will be using this incident as motivation for a potential revenge game against Canada later in this tournament.