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World Junior Recap Day 2

This is what happens when Macklin plays. A 5 point performance by Celebrini (2024 Draft eligible) seals a Canadian double digit pounding of the Latvians. Not much to say about this game, these are the kinds of mean nothing games for the big teams in the tournament. It is as close to a guaranteed win as you can get, and that is exactly the performance Canada put forth. 

While the score itself did not change the bar for the Canadians, we did see some great individual performances that can lead to momentum throughout the short tournament. Yes, multiple things can be true at once. Let's start off negative here, I am a canucks fan if you didn’t know, it's in my nature. Matthew Poitras (BOS, 2022 2nd), the lone NHL player for the Canadians scored but overall did not shine. His line did not have puck possession time like they did against the Fins, and eventually the trio of Matthew Savoie (BUF, 2022 1st), Easton Cowan (TOR, 2023 1st), and the aforementioned Poitras were broken up in favor of some higher quality drivers. The reigning QMJHL MVP Jordan Dumais (CBJ 2022, 3rd) also did not impress, looking out of place as lines were juggled later into the game. While I cannot foresee Poitras being the 13th forward due to his NHL experience, look for Dumais to be on the outside looking in as we have seen some other players step up.

While I’ve spoken enough about Celebrini, I think my 3 stars outside of him would be Matthew Wood (NSH, 2023 1st), Connor Geekie (ARI, 2022 1st) and Carson Rehkopf (SEA, 2023 2nd). All 3 were electric and put up multi-point games in the victory. Look for them to feature more heavily as the tournament runs on, especially beside MVP Mac. 

Across the Tournament:

Slovakia continues to roll with a 3-0 shutout versus the Swiss, Gajan (CHI, 2023 2nd) is scary good and can steal games here. The Slovaks are scary, and a NYE matchup with the Americans will determine their fate in the group. 

Czechia pounds Norway 8-1 in a routine victory, highlighted by dueling hat tricks for Kulich (BUF, 2022 1st) and Sale (SEA, 2023 1st). 

Germany does the impossible and upsets Finland, backed by strong overall defensive play and 2 goals from Veit Oswald (2024 Draft eligible). This complicates things in group A. We know first place is likely to be Canada or Sweden, but there is now a likely scenario where Finland can finish 4th in the group.

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World Junior Recap Day 1

Alan Letang needs to hear these 4 words: Play Macklin Celebrini more. In a 5-2 win over the Fins, Celebrini (Draft eligible, 2024)was by far Canada’s best player, although he was deployed as their 4th line center. With limited powerplay time against a disciplined Finnish team, Celebrini rarely saw the ice. If Canada looks to have success against the wagon of Sweden, they will need to deploy the Terrier center more than today. 

Owen Beck (MTL, 2022 2nd) looked great for Canada today, and while he did not get on the scoresheet he was easily Canada’s best penalty killer and was the key cog of the Canadian checking line which scored the first two Canadian goals. Look for him to start scoring soon. 

Denton Mateychuk has taken over as Canada’s number one d and had a strong showing where he was a plus 3 and had an assist. 

For the Fins, Niklas Kokko (SEA, 2022 2nd) was excellent and made some key stops to keep the Fins in the game. Up front, Kostas Helenius (2024 Draft eligible) and Lenni Hammenaho (NJ, 2023 2nd) were dangerous, although not factoring into the 5-2 decision. 

Canada can continue to rely on a strong penalty kill (⅚) and excellence from Mathis Rosseau (2024 Draft eligible) to bail themselves out. Next up is the Germans who will playing their first game of the tournament. I expect a score similar to today but with the Canadians further dominating the shot and high danger scoring metrics. 

Across the Tournament:

The US completed a routine 4-1 win over Norway, I really expected a larger score differential. 

The Swedes powered over the undisciplined Latvians 6-0, Lekkerimaki (VAN, 2022 1st) and Bystedt (SJ, 2022 1st) both scored 2 goals apiece, look for that Swedish powerplay to continue to be lethal as the tournament runs on. 

Slovakia upsets (???) Czechia 6-2 with their firepower on display. Servac Petrovsky (MIN, 2022 6th) dazzled with a three point performance.