HALIFAX — After a slow start, Canada has rebounded in a huge way scoring 27 goals in its last three games at the world juniors and entering the quarterfinals on a serious heater.
So, as the Canadians prepare to face Slovakia on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT), it’s the perfect time to check out what we learned about Canada through four preliminary round games and what it means for the mission to defend gold.
1. Connor Bedard is as good as advertised
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first. Heading into this year’s tournament, Bedard was seen as a superstar-in-the-making, sure, but some wondered if he would separate himself from other top players on the team, including fellow draft-eligible prospect Adam Fantilli. Needless to say, Bedard has done that and more.
His 18 points in the tournament are good for 10 up on the next player (linemate Logan Stankoven) and along the way, Bedard has tied Jordan Eberle for most goals and Eric Lindros for most points for a Canadian at the world juniors. The crowd holds its collective breath whenever he has the puck, knowing there’s a chance he’s going to do something amazing. And, as has been evident time and time again — see that impossible-angle goal with a wobbling puck against Austria — he’s shown he can do it.
Reminder: He’s just 17.
“He’s just an incredible player and you never really know what he’s going to do with the puck because he has not only a great shot, but his vision on the ice is incredible,” said Canada netminder Thomas Milic, who’s faced Bedard a time or two in practice with Canada and also in the WHL as an opponent with Seattle.
2. Goaltending was scary but now is not
After the Boxing Day debacle of a loss to Czechia, Canada’s offensive explosion has been obvious. Not so obvious was the tightening of its defensive work, as the team allowed just three goals in its last three games, including just one against powerful Sweden. Tight defensive play is always the responsible thing to do, of course, but with this team, it was also necessitated by goaltending that hadn’t exactly been reliable.
With his play against Sweden, however, Milic has seemingly assuaged concerns there, putting in a solid and reliable performance to (almost) eliminate that worry from Canada’s game. Heck, he even made a couple of spectacular and timely saves against Sweden, which were essential to Canada’s commanding performance.
As is often repeated, the games will get harder. And one bad goal could result in your team going home. But having confidence in your goaltending — or, even, not having major concerns — can make all the difference in the world for a young team’s medal hopes.
3. The Czechia game was a timely lesson
Two Michigans in the first period of the first game of the tournament? Not a good look. And it was all downhill from there against Czechia, a team Canada was obviously not taking seriously and paid the price for it.
But as much as that game sent Canadian fans into a panic, in hindsight the loss was the best thing to happen to Canada: Get your wakeup call out of the way early, regroup and then bounce back with crushing defeats of your next three teams to roll into the quarterfinals. Maybe the coaches do know what they’re talking about, after all. (For what it’s worth, we haven’t seen a Michigan attempt since, even in two blowout wins.)
“We made a statement to all of the teams in the tournament that the first game was just a mistake,” Canada forward Joshua Roy said, “and we’re going to be ready for Slovakia.”
4. Olen Zellweger is exciting to watch
The second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks isn’t going to crush forwards with his size or poleaxe anyone in front of the net, but the 5-foot-10, 182-pound Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., native has been a revelation for those who are fans of defencemen.
His speed and stick skills — check out his stickhandling in warmup — are fun to watch and make one thankful the NHL has evolved away from wanting nothing but size on the blue line. It won’t be long before he brings his Torey Krug kind of vibe to Anaheim, where there is definitely room for someone of his skill set and potential.
5. Canada still needs to work on its discipline
At the IIHF level, Canada has a reputation for being tough. And, let’s be honest, Canada also has a reputation for being, at times, dirty. This reputation can sometimes lead to Canada being penalized for infractions that the players would not be called for in their junior leagues. The players know this every year, and every year there are complaints about how Canada takes too many penalties.
But the bottom line is that, although they have improved since the Czechia game, Canada still is walking that fine line between rugged and penalized. It cannot afford to take roughing penalties or, to cite the extreme, majors for kneeing. The team has settled into a nice, disciplined mindset since the opening game, but, just like the specter of a bad goal, the fear of a bad penalty is always in the back of fans’ minds.
“I still think we have a lot of work to do you, we have a lot of things we just need to tidy up, but I’m definitely seeing improvement throughout it, and that’s what the tournament is all about,” said Canada coach Dennis Williams. “And as I said to the guys afterward, be real proud of this phase of it because we’ve gotten better each game.
“But now it comes down to single games, and … we need to make sure that we don’t find ourselves in a penalty-box kind of situation. We’ve got to make sure we clean that up before we get to the quarterfinals.”
