Team Canada suited up for its first pre-tournament game Wednesday night in Kitchener and came away with a relatively buttoned up 2-1 victory over Team Sweden.
Brady Martin scored both goals for Canada with Gavin McKenna drawing a couple of assists.
The highly anticipated head-to-head viewing of the potential top three picks in this year’s NHL draft attracted a flock of NHL scouts to the game. But with Ivar Stenberg not dressing for Sweden they will have to wait a little longer to compare Canada’s McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff to Stenberg in the same contest.
The first half of the game resembled a chess match. Neither team took many chances in the first period, but the second and third periods were much more entertaining and included a fair amount of off the rush playmaking and power play execution from both clubs.
With the teams scheduled to meet again on Saturday, here are my observations from Wednesday’s game in Kitchener:
Canada’s Top Line
Canada’s first line was centred by Michael Hage (University of Michigan), while McKenna (Penn State) and Martin (Soo Greyhounds) flanked him on the wings.
The group complements one another:
• Martin is the kind of forward who opens up space for his linemates with his physicality.
• Hage provides a combination of above average power and high-end skill.
• McKenna pushes the pace in transition and is an elusive playmaker in the offensive zone.
McKenna was the most dynamic forward on the ice from either team. He had the primary assist on both of Martin’s goals and showed off his quick strike ability and distribution skill.
He pulled up just inside Team Sweden’s blue line to feed Martin a back door pass that Martin one-timed into the back of Sweden’s net to open the scoring, and worked a nifty give-and-go through neutral ice with Hage before sliding an outstanding backhand feed to Martin driving to tuck in Canada’s second goal of the game with less than 10 minutes left in the third period.
The Goaltending
Carter George (Owen Sound Attack) was Canada’s top player at last year’s tournament in Ottawa and the LA Kings prospect looks poised to be the team’s number one goaltender this time around as well.
George didn’t have a chance on Sweden’s only goal of the game, a back-side one-timer off the stick of Viggo Bjorck with the Swedes on a 5-on-3 power-play. He looked poised and confident the entire night. George worked to find pucks in traffic and tracked the play moving side to side on time while absorbing shots from distance without giving Sweden any second chances off unnecessary rebounds.
The Defence
The team elected to suit up seven defenders who slotted into roles that complemented their primary skill sets:
• Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames) quarterbacked one of Canada’s power-play units and was active off the puck attempting to catch Sweden off-guard with his constant motion.
• Draft eligible prospect Carson Carels (Prince George Cougars) was deployed at even strength and on the penalty-kill. Carels’ speed and the way he thinks the game stand out for me. He’s very reliable in all three zones and sacrifices his body to block shots when required.
• Top prospect Verhoeff logged a ton of minutes, subtly and responsibly going about his business. He absorbed some big hits below his goal line when he arrived ahead of an opponent to move pucks up ice and was also credited with some key shot blocks at the end of the game when Sweden was looking for the equalizer with their goalie pulled.
• Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie Colts), Cameron Reid (Kitchener Rangers) and Ethan Mackenzie (Edmonton Oil Kings) didn’t stand out for me in any one category but also didn’t present any overall concerns with their 60-minute effort.
The Scratches
Canada elected to scratch some key players for their first pre-tournament game. Forwards Tig Iginla (Kelowna Rockets), Porter Martone (Michigan State), Cole Beaudoin (Barrie Colts) and Michael Misa (San Jose Sharks) where joined by defencemen Harrison Brunicke (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Ben Danford (Brantford Bulldogs) along with goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen (Prince George Cougars) in the press-box for game one, but should get a chance to play in London on Saturday.
Overall First Impression
Canada’s head coach, Dale Hunter, has a history of slotting players into roles that allow them to thrive within their skill set. He generally allows the highly skilled skaters to roam and make plays offensively, but also demands accountability defensively.
On Thursday the team made three cuts, sending Jake O’Brien, Jackson Smith and Marek Vanacker back to their junior teams. We’ll see if what they have left for skaters makes up the final roster, or if other NHLers (Sam Dickinson, Berkly Catton) are released and added. There will be moments of low-event hockey with this group, but when Canada settles on its final roster, and dresses their full team before the official start of the tournament on boxing day versus Czechia, I fully expect them to play a fast and skilled game overall.
Things will come into focus further after their game in London on Saturday, but this year’s team has an abundance of depth at every position.
