Five Things To Look For With Team Canada At the 2022 World Junior Championship

Every player for Team Canada is a bit rusty and that goes for the goaltenders too. Sebastian Cossa wasn’t particularly sharp, the goal he gave up by not hugging the post happens when you haven’t played. Don’t read too much into the prelims. They were a dress rehearsal since there are no other prelims scheduled because of the virus.

1. Connor Bedard (2023 draft-eligible) will have to fight for his ice time the same way Cale Makar did. Team Canada always seems to devalue some of their best talents out of the gate because they’re young, or don’t play a certain way, or whatever bad excuse you want to fill in. Of course, he scored a goal and of course some will say he was left wide open but still he had to bury the puck and he did as quickly as any player in the tournament could. Bedard will work his way into the lineup, I have no doubts. It will be fun to save the sheet with him listed as the 13th forward just for fun.

2. Mason McTavish (Ducks prospect) is the best center in the tournament. He’s already scored an amazing goal and his all-around game has a ripple effect on the lineup, in a good way. The way he deked Yaroslav Askarov was a thing of beauty. Getting a goalie to bite down that hard shows how good his hands are. You’ll be hearing from him all tournament long.

3. Cossa (Red Wings) is the #1 but Dylan Garand (Rangers prospect) can play. He stopped 14 of 15 yesterday and didn’t show as much rust as Cossa. Canada has had goaltending issues before. Deciding on the #1 can sometimes be tough for them. They judge harshly in this tournament. Lucky for them they have two solid guys. Both have tremendous ability and that’s why the Rangers signed him to his ELC recently.

4. Kaiden Guhle (Canadiens prospect) is a tremendous defenseman. He’s all-around good and I knew after speaking with him a few weeks ago that he had the leadership ability to be the captain. He loves ping-pong and since the players are in a modified bubble, they will be playing a lot of ping-pong and X-box and he will keep them loose but focused off the ice.

5. If Canada doesn’t win gold, the exclusion of Kings top draft pick and star defenseman, Brandt Clarke will be talked about. Clarke is an exceptional offense talent and Canada doesn’t have a player like him on the blueline. It seems like the makeup of Clarke is what kept him off the roster more so than what he can do on the ice.

This tournament will start on Sunday and I for one can’t wait. Drop the puck.