Even after they lost in the showcase outdoor game against the host US, a 4-3 decision that was sealed in the shootout, there was never any real question about the ability of the Canadian team to win the 2018 WJC. That is, there was no real question after the tournament got underway.
Before the event began, we – and many others – were calling for the host nation to defend their title, with Canada finishing a respectable third. There were questions from all sorts of pundits about the choices made by the Canadian braintrust about who to bring to the tournament. That offensive talents like Cody Glass and Nick Suzuki were left with their CHL teams while more offensively limited players such as Alex Formenton and Maxime Comtois were brought to Buffalo raised more than a few eyebrows. There was even some concern about Canada being potentially thin on the blueline as they entered the WJC with health questions surrounding returning defender Dante Fabbro.
As it turned out, all of the aforementioned national anxiety was for naught. Fabbro, after being held back Early in the tournament was stellar the rest of the way. In two early games, he was limited to 3:34 and 5:18 of time on ice respectively. He played solid second pairing minutes the rest of the way. Although Kale Clague and Victor Mete both actually missed one game each due to injuries, every member of the defense corps stood up and played their role in limiting all opponents to 10 non-shootout goals combined across seven games.
Canada would start most shifts with the puck, and never surrender them. Beginning with faceoffs, where four of the top nine among all teams wore the red and white, Canada had the puck. Sam Steel, Brett Howden, Michael McLeod and Robert Thomas all won at least 60% of their draws. From there, the puck was spread out, with everyone joining in the fun. After Dillon Dube, who led the team with 30 shots on goal, no one else had more than Drake Batherson’s 19. Each of the 13 forwards scored at least one goal, and each of the seven defensemen, barring Fabbro, added at least one assist.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 5: Canada against Sweden during the gold medal game of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Andrea Cardin/HHOF-IIHF Images)
This truly team-wide effort made it no surprise that, once the smoke had cleared and the Canadians were holding their medals aloft, only one member of the victorious squad was named to the tournament All-Star team. Cale Makar, who tied for the WJC lead in scoring by a defenseman with eight points in seven games was the honored individual, which was ironic as he was clearly on the Canadian third pairing throughout. Most of his production was attributed to the team’s lights-out power play unit. He was dominant on the man advantage, to be sure, but there is a good argument to be made that he was not the most effective blueliner on his team. For my money, that sobriquet belongs to Conor Timmins, whose fake shot/pass from the point was redirected by Tyler Steenbergen late in the Gold Medal game to break a 1-1 tie and shortly thereafter, secure the Gold for Canada.
Both Timmins and Makar are Avalanche prospects, the former selected in the second round last and the later selected fourth overall. While Makar is clearly the more dynamic of the two, Timmins has the all-around game that suggests a higher floor and the potential for a longer career in the NHL. He was often the first defenseman out in critical defensive situations. His positioning was very impressive and his panic threshold was off the charts high. His reads were very mature for his age.
While I may have hoped to see more out of Jake Bean and Cal Foote, both highly pedigreed blueliners, each with a mid-first round tag attached to their names (Carolina and Tampa Bay, respectively), the Canadian blueline crew were exemplary. They were all fleet of foot, responsible in their own zone and still more than capable of leading the transition from defense to offense. As much as starting netminder Carter Hart (backup Colton Point only appeared in the Slovakia game) was stellar, with very little between him and WJC All Star goalie Filip Gustavsson of Sweden, he could thank his blueliners for making life easy on him. When the puck did get through to him, he anticipated very well, was seemingly always square to the shooter and gave up very few second opportunities.
Moving on to the forwards, the depth of this unit is best expressed in the fact that the least used forward, the unofficial 13th man, Tyler Steenbergen, was the one who scored the Gold Medal winning goal with less than two minutes left in the final. As mentioned above, each forward scored at least one goal, and everyone had at least two points. Many claimed Ottawa draft pick Drake Batherson as the Canadian break out player, and in some ways he was, with seven goals in seven games, and he was a fourth liner.
Ice time among the forwards was shared pretty democratically, with only captain Dillon Dube ever playing more than 20 minutes in a given game, which he did twice. The first line was generally receiving roughly 17-18 minutes of ice time per game, giving everyone an opportunity to impact the game. Sometimes it was the aforementioned Batherson, showing a preternatural ability to redirect point shots with a deft tip. Maxime Comtois was a grinder extraordinaire, forechecking hard, winning the puck and creating a dangerous offensive chance in the same shift. Dillon Dube was another skillful sandpaper player, constantly driving the net and taking shot after shot. Alex Formenton was a speed demon, very dangerous on the PK. Jonah Gadjovich added great net front presence to a dangerous power play. Brett Howden was a very quiet point per game player, seeing as how four of his seven points came in the quarterfinal against Switzerland and two more against Denmark. The rest of the time, he was used in a shut down capacity and excelled in that role. Boris Katchouk plays with great hockey IQ, a puck fiend with great upper body strength against whom it is nearly impossible to steal the puck. Jordan Kyrou is one of the better skaters not yet in the NHL and his hands are nearly as dashing as his feet. The patterns he can cut through a defense are nearly breathtaking. Michael McLeod is another plus skater, with a strong north-south game and solid board presence. Taylor Raddysh has remarkable hands, with fantastic ability to maneuver in very limited space and manage to get off a dangerous shot in situations where most players would cough up the puck. Sam Steel showed off some of the offensive instincts that allowed him to lead the WHL in scoring last year, regularly showing up in the right place at the right time to make something happen. Tyler Steenbergen was near invisible until he redirected the above-discussed Timmins pass-shot from the point to give Team Canada the last lead in the final game. Finally, Robert Thomas showed off his high end playmaking game, able to squeeze the puck through a tight seam to hit a surprisingly open teammate in the slot over and over again.
When a team wins an aged-based tournament, the future is generally (and rightfully) an afterthought. Flags fly forever and gold never fades. That said, this year’s success will have little to no bearing on the roster that Canada brings to the WJC next year. Only three players, all forwards (Comtois, Formenton, and Thomas) will be eligible to return to the 2019 tournament in Vancouver to try to defend the title on home soil. The Canadian hockey pipeline remains strong, but it will be tested strong next December.