2023 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP – TEAM PREVIEW – CANADA

Team Canada Preview

According to the record books, Canada will go down in history as having won the gold medal at the 2022 World Juniors.

However, it's fair to assume that the feelings of triumph and the emotional rewards for the players might not have been entirely what they normally are for the teens who win this prestigious junior hockey tournament.

Last year's event had barely gotten airborne in December before it was quickly and abruptly grounded due to COVID-19 outbreaks on multiple teams. Even though it eventually resumed, the August schedule and ongoing scandals with Hockey Canada put a damper on the affair, with weaker crowds and subdued enthusiasm overall.

On one hand, World Juniors gold is still World Juniors gold. But on the other, you know that this Canadian roster — especially the returning players — will be fired up to experience the real thing.

As usual, this Canadian team will be absolutely loaded at forward and on defense, with a wealth of talent that spans a variety of playing styles. They will be equally dangerous with speed and skill in transition as they will with strength grit in the cycle, and just as able to create offense as they're able to stymie it for their opponents. Yet also as we are used to seeing at the World Juniors, there are question marks in net that could realistically evolve into problems if the group of skaters outside the crease stumbles.

This squad will have the unique advantage of boasting not one, but three players who have already suited up for NHL games: Shane Wright, Brandt Clarke and Dylan Guenther. Interestingly, none of them are returnees from last summer's gold-winning roster, for differing reasons. Could those absences create a little extra enthusiasm for the professionally experienced trio?

Canada's biggest strength will undeniably be down the middle. If they so choose, they could run Wright and 2023 top prospects Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli as centers on different lines, an eye-popping level of talent at that position that couldn't be matched by any of the other nations. They'll also have at their disposal returnee Nathan Gaucher, who doesn't have the same flash, but excels as a shutdown pivot. Add in players like Logan Stankoven, Zack Ostapchuk, Colton Dach and Caedan Bankier, who play center on their respective junior teams and could also do so here, and it's a great problem to have for head coach Dennis Williams and his staff.

Beyond Clarke, the blueline will be highlighted by a pair of returnees who were regulars last time, in Olen Zellweger and Ethan Del Mastro, as well as 1st-round picks Kevin Korchinski and Nolan Allan. Expect big things out of Zellweger, who previously led the tournament in defenseman scoring and finished third in points overall, thanks primarily to his masterful work quarterbacking the Canadian powerplay. Jack Matier and Tyson Hinds round out a blueline that certainly won't be lacking for size and will be sure to challenge the scorers on other teams.

Between the pipes Canada will turn to the same duo from their 2021 IIHF U18 championship in Ben Gaudreau and Thomas Milic, who got the job done without necessarily having to steal the show. However, whoever takes primary control of the crease here is still very much up in the air. Gaudreau, a 2021 San Jose 3rd-rounder, has the higher long-term upside of the two, but has been struggling this year in Sarnia, with a troubling .862 save percentage. Milic has been passed over in two straight drafts, though he does have better numbers on the season, and steadily helped guide his Seattle Thunderbirds to the 2022 WHL finals.

10 Players to Watch

Shane Wright, (SEA) C

Wright passed up on attending this past summer's World Juniors restart because he wanted to focus his attention on making the Seattle Kraken, only to then find himself headed to the Maritimes for this tournament because he hasn't been able to crack the Kraken roster on a consistent basis thus far. That's bad news for all of Canada's opponents, however, as Wright will certainly be playing with a chip on his shoulder, a fire in his belly and something to prove to his NHL club. An elite shooter, he buried four goals in a five-game AHL stint with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and then potted his first NHL marker in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on December 6. If his last full international tournament is any indication (nine goals and five assists in just five games at the 2021 IIHF U18s), he should challenge for the event's top scorer.

Brandt Clarke, (LAK) D

Speaking of players with chips on their shoulders, this will be Clarke's first time appearing at the World Juniors after not even receiving a camp invites for either iteration of the 2022 tournament. That said, he has more than proven himself as a player since then, logging nine appearances with the Los Angeles Kings and then five more with their AHL affiliate. He's one of just two right-hand shots on the back end for Canada, which will likely be a contributing factor for the amount of ice time he receives, and you can expect it to be a lot. With so many good defense-first defenders on the team and likely lining up alongside him, Clarke should be given the regular green light to unleash his dynamic offensive abilities.

Dylan Guenther, (ARI) RW

Edmontonians would have undoubtedly loved to have seen the hometown hero and local Oil Kings product Guenther win gold in his familiar barn, but the combination of rehabbing a knee injury suffered in the 2022 WHL finals and the impending Arizona Coyotes training camp gave him different priorities over the summer. Nevertheless, now he'll get to make up for lost time. That knee seems perfectly fine now, as evidenced by the 21 NHL games and 11 NHL points that he has accumulated since October, both of which more than double Wright and Clarke combined in both categories. He'll be relied upon heavily here for that professional experience, getting plenty of trust and important minutes from his coaches in all situations.

Logan Stankoven, (DAL) C

The reigning CHL Player of the Year, Stankoven rarely has trouble filling the net, and he will be expected to be one of Canada's go-to offensive weapons, especially as a returning player. Possibly even more important than the point production that he will bring is his unparalleled and indomitably high motor, which both keeps enemies on their toes at all times and sets a loud and clear example that his teammates feel impassioned to follow. Even though he already has both U18 and World Juniors gold medals on his mantle, anyone who knows Stankoven well will tell you that the burning desire to win again will undoubtedly be obvious, and that should make him an easy fan favourite for the raucous home crowds.

Olen Zellweger, (ANA) D

Zellweger has a history of standout performances while donning the sweaters of his home nation. He's also the reigning WHL Top Defenseman, and probably could have been holding his own in the NHL right now if the Anaheim Ducks hadn't gone the safe route with his long-term development. His hockey sense, vision, skating and puck skills are all top notch, which allows the assertive defender to drive play and dissect opposing fortifications, both at even strength and with the man advantage. His short size doesn't hurt him defensively either, as his smarts and quickness allow him to flow in position with the play and then create the time and space necessary to break pucks out of his zone once they land on his stick.

Connor Bedard, (2023) C

Make no mistake: the 17-year-old Bedard is going to be the player to watch in this year's World Juniors. The projected 1^st overall pick in the 2023 draft has been ruthlessly torching the WHL for the past two seasons, packing arenas full of excited onlookers everywhere he goes, and will be primed to outdo his eight-point performance from the August tournament. The spotlight on him will be bright, but he has a knack for playing his best hockey when pressures are high and he is the focal point of the action. WHL defenders are at a collective loss for how to stop his bonkers drag-and-release wrist shot, and that's after three seasons in the league, so any opposing blueliners who haven't played against him yet are in for a terrifying awakening.

Adam Fantilli, (2023) C

Bedard entered the 2023 draft race as the front runner and will almost certainly end it that way, but Fantilli sure is making things interesting in between. The versatile power forward is the most dominant draft-eligible prospect in the NCAA since Jack Eichel, and there might even be an NHL team or two that prefers him over Bedard because of the enticing overall package. He is difficult to defend because he is dangerous from medium range as a shooter or a passer, and he has the tenacity, strength and puck skill to drive the net with possession and score from in tight. This will easily be the biggest and highest stage of his career thus far, and fans and scouts alike will be watching him intently to see just what he can do.

Joshua Roy, (MTL) RW

What Roy might lack in flash and highlight-reel skill he more than makes up for with consistency. Everywhere he goes the production just seems to follow him, whether that's the QMJHL-leading 119 points that he scored in 66 games during the 2021-22 season and the 23 more that he followed in 11 playoff contests, or the eight points in seven games for Canada this past summer in Edmonton. There is a certain magic to his touch on the puck that looks natural to him, and his shot accuracy when given too much time and space is top notch. The former 1^st overall pick in his league slid all the way down to the 5^th round in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, and a lot of teams are probably kicking themselves now for not believing in Roy more strongly back then.

Brennan Othmann, (NYR) LW

Othmann's history and friendship with former minor midget and IIHF U18 teammates Wright and Clarke are well publicized by now, and this tournament might be the last time that the trio get to play together, creating both a feel-good storyline and a little extra urgency for the players. While Wright and Clarke already have NHL experience under their belt, the hard-nosed power winger Othmann is a top prospect in his own right, with a 50-goal OHL season under his belt to prove it, and he is the only one of three who currently knows what it's like to win World Juniors gold. Putting him back on a line with Wright might not be a creative decision, but the proof is in the pudding that it works.

Ethan Del Mastro, (CHI) D

Being a shutdown defender isn't a glamorous job, killing a lot of penalties and defending leads late in games, but someone has to do it, and that includes at the World Juniors. That will be Del Mastro's primary job in this tournament, and luckily for the Canadian coaches, he's pretty darn good at it. He'll also bring composure and leadership to the table, not just as a returnee and longtime staple for Canada at international events, but also as the captain of the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads since the fall of 2021. Don't be surprised if he fins ways to chip in offensively too, as his puck movement and understanding of that side of the ice are far from a weakness for him.

Sleeper - Nathan Gaucher, (ANA) C

Despite the glut of exciting, high-profile options that Canada could play down the middle in this tournament, you can pretty safely pencil Gaucher into the team's 4C slot. He's a prototypical Bottom 6 defensive center: he's big, he's physical, he's defensively stout, and he's great in the faceoff circle, with the added perk of him being right-hand shot. While none of that sounds exciting, what makes Gaucher special is that he's one of the best prospects in the sport in that role, which is why Anaheim selected him 22^nd overall in 2022, and he's one of the key reasons why the Quebec Remparts are one of the best teams in all of junior hockey. Expect Gaucher to kill a lot of penalties and log a lot of ice time when Canada is defending leads late in games.