OTTAWA — Canada is supposed to be dominant at the world juniors, right?
In Ottawa, the answer so far has been “wrong”.
It’s not a simple answer but what’s clear is that they are in real danger of failing to grab a podium spot at this tournament.
After one of the biggest upset losses in tournament history against Latvia, Canada was uninspiring against Germany, winning 3-0, though that score is flattering to Canada. It was tight, with Canada holding a 1-0 lead late in the third period. Canada is 18-0-0 all-time against Germany at the world juniors, outscoring them 111 to 26. On Sunday, it was way too close.
“I don’t know, it’s a quick turnaround,” said Berkly Catton about the team’s poor play to begin the game. “Maybe from that other (loss), that was pretty hard, that hurt. But we got to be ready.”
Canada prioritized fit and compete over talent in their roster construction. But the team has had poor special teams, undisciplined play and some questionable coaching decisions.
Through three games Canada has nine goals. That just isn’t good enough, and the amount of talent they left off the team has been burning them. The man who constructed the team, Peter Anholt, said after Canada’s loss to Latvia: “Let’s not panic.
“The world hasn’t fallen in. It’s hard, but we’ll learn from it.”
It’s time to hit the big red panic button. Canada can’t score against the minnows of the tournament. Canada has talented scorers, but many of them are watching on TV, having not made the team. Michael Misa leads the Ontario Hockey League in points and has a higher points-per-game percentage than Luca Pinelli and Carson Rehkopf, who are on the roster.
Meanwhile, on defence, stud defenceman Matthew Schaefer is out for the tournament with a broken collarbone, and the backend does not provide enough scoring. Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk were both left off the team, who each have more points individually than Andrew Gibson and Beau Akey have combined in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke, who has 50 points in 29 games in the Ontario Hockey League, didn’t make the roster either.
Canada has generated tons of shots, but they’ve struggled to get shots from the inside. Look at the second period against Germany on Sunday. Of their 10 shots, they had none in the blue paint.
Their inability to get to the inside has been the story of their tournament offensively. It doesn’t help that even with players of the ilk of Easton Cowan, Gavin McKenna and Calum Ritchie the team has been inept on the power play, scoring only once in seven attempts before playing Germany.
It was baffling that coach Dave Cameron initially did not play the trio of Cowan, Oliver Bonk and Sam Dickinson together on the power play: They’ve combined for 15 goals with the man advantage for the London Knights this season.
It took until the third game of the tournament for Cameron to re-unite the trio, with “Bumper” Bonk, as his teammates call him, rifling a shot to score in his hometown, with his dad, former Ottawa Senator Radek Bonk, in attendance.
Guess where he shot it from?
It was Cowan who fed him the silky pass.
“It’s a bit easier to read off the guys that you’ve been playing with all year,” said Bonk.
However, it hasn’t just been the power play that’s been an issue. Canada has been running to the box way too often. They’ve taken a total of 30 penalty minutes in three games, for a whopping average of 10 penalty minutes per game.
Cameron believes it’s been tough for his North American players to adjust to the international standard of refereeing.
“Different rules, tighter calls,” said Cameron.
Some calls have been mystifying, fair enough, like Dickinson’s penalty for an accidental trip away from the puck that was somehow under review for a five-minute major by the officials.
“I’m not gonna lose sleep over something like that,” said Dickinson about the penalty he took.
However, Bonk and Ethan Gauthier took undisciplined slashing and cross-checking penalties against Germany. Canada won’t be given the luxury of surviving through the tournament if they continue in this vein.
Canada’s best line has been Catton, McKenna and Luca Pinelli but Cameron has not been playing them as much as he could. Against Latvia, McKenna led the team in shots with eight but played the least of any forward that night. Against Germany, their line generated 10 shots on goal, the most of any trio, yet barely played more than the fourth line.
McKenna almost pulled off a glorious between the legs shot on the first shift of the game. Nevertheless, he and his linemates were not rewarded with more ice time, as Catton played the most minutes of the trio with only 13:52, while McKenna played 12:07.
Play your best players. Simple as that.
Canada now looks more like an underdog than the force to be reckoned with coming into the tournament. With Finland’s 4-3 overtime win over the U.S., Canada could finish in third spot in its group with a loss to the Americans. Having struggled to beat Germany and lost to Latvia, there is little to suggest they should feel confident against the U.S. on New Years’ Eve.
One glimmer of hope is that goaltender Carter George was rock solid against Germany, stopping all 25 shots. He made all the saves you’d expect plus a sprawling save on a penalty kill in the first period. He has shutouts in both his starts. After the game, he said that is likely the first time he’s ever earned back-to-back shutouts in his career. Not a bad way to start off your first-ever world juniors.
“I feel pretty confident in the net, just trying to stay in the moment the whole time and play with calmness,” said George.
His coach and teammates were singing his praises after the game, which is appropriate: George sings to himself to calm himself down during games.
Whatever he’s doing, it’s working.
“Unbelievable,” said Cameron to describe George’s play.
George almost managed an unbelievable goalie goal into an empty net but just missed. Later he fed Mathieu Cataford who launched home an empty netter.
If there is a pathway forward for Canada to make a run at a gold medal, it’s there.
“You need different clubs in your bag to win this tournament,” said Cameron about the way Canada can win. “You’ve got to find different ways. And right now, our defence and our goaltending are leading the pack with the clubs we’re using.”
Canada will need to come out swinging to have any shot of winning this tournament.
