Adamo Marinelli
Dec. 24, 2022
Canada is looking to defend their World Junior Gold Medal in 2023 and they have a balanced roster, chock full of talent and depth at every position to do it.
Canada’s roster features eight players that returned from last year’s team, which won their 19th gold medal in country history, three players who have spent time playing in the NHL at the beginning of this season, nine first-round picks and three players who are eligible to be taken in the 2023 draft. Canada is also led by an experienced head coach Dennis Williams, a tactical mastermind, and a natural leader. He has experienced success on the World Juniors stage in previous games winning gold with Canada as an assistant coach in 2022. Canada has arguably the best team on paper, even ahead of the United States who consistently succeed at international tournaments, but that does not mean Canada is guaranteed the gold medal.
No team has won back-to-back championships since 2009 when Canada won its fifth straight gold medal. Since 2010, Canada and the US have won four gold medals, Finland has won three, and Russia and Sweden have each won once.
Pre-tournament matches
Canada 6 - Switzerland 0
Canada 6 - Slovakia 1
Canada 5 - Finland 3
Canada is coming into this tournament with a lot of momentum, having won all three of their pre-tournament games, two in dominant fashion, outsourcing Switzerland and Slovakia 12-1 in their first two games. Canada was able to move the puck effortlessly, create numerous shots on goal, score at ease, and played excellent defense. They controlled play in the neutral zone and often broke up any opposing attacking opportunity before it could start.
Finland is much better than Canada’s previous two opponents, but Canada controlled the majority of the game against Finland. Canada’s powerplay, which has always been a strong point of their game, struck three times against Finland, courtesy of all-star phenom forward Connor Bedard who scored two of Canada’s goals on the man advantage. Canada controlled the flow of the game and was able to generate scoring chances at will, outshooting Finland 45-22. Canada’s defense was once again very good, limiting the quantity and quality of Finland’s scoring chances. Canada’s goaltending was phenomenal again, including making some key saves early when Canada was trailing 1-0 and 2-1.
Canada’s roster has a nice mix of returning superstars with veteran experience and many speedy, skilled, and energetic youngsters. Their roster has a nice mix of size, physicality, speed, and dynamic skill and is full of several offensive superstars like Connor Bedard, Shane Wright, Adam Fantili, and Dylan Guenther among others. They should be able to generate a lot of scoring chances with their speed and creative playmaking and they should be able to score a lot of goals, both at even strength and on their lethal powerplay. On the other side of the puck, a defense that is difficult to penetrate combined with a strong, physical forecheck will make it difficult for opposing offenses to get anything against them. Their strong goalie duo of Thomas Milic and Benjamin Gaudreau is not the best duo in the tournament - like in previous years - however, they are able to make huge saves when they need to keep Canada in games and to help sustain leads.
Canada opens the tournament on December 26th against Czechia and they will likely line up like this:
Forwards:
Brennan Othmann (NYR) - Shane Wright (SEA) - Connor Bedard (2023)
Adam Fantilli (2023) - Logan Stankoven (DAL) - Dylan Guenther (ARI)
Zach Dean (VGK) - Nathan Gaucher (ANA) - Joshua Roy (MTL)
Reid Schaefer (EDM) - Caedan Bankier (MIN) - Zack Ostapchuk (OTT)
Colton Dach (CHI)
Defenders:
Ethan Del Mastro (CHI) - Olen Zellweger (ANA)
Nolan Allan (CHI) - Brandt Clarke (LAK)
Kevin Korchinski (CHI) - Jack Matier (NSH)
Tyson Hinds (ANA)
Goaltenders:
Thomas Milic (undrafted)
Ben Gaudreau (SJS)
They will then play against Germany on December 28, Austria on December 29, and Sweden on New Year’s Eve.
Canada is set to do well on paper and has the talent to bring home gold with the mix of size, physicality, and skill on their roster. Their roster was built with size in mind, they are the biggest team entering the tournament on paper, with an average height and weight of 6’1”, 189 lbs and that size and physicality will be especially helpful on the defensive side of the puck, but their bigger players can still skate, move the puck, pass and shoot well, which will help their success offensively.
However, nothing is guaranteed. Anything can happen on any given day so how Canada will deal with adversity if they trail early in a game will be another thing to keep an eye on, however, they dealt with it well against Finland, winning 5-3 after trailing 1-0 and 2-1.
Good luck, Canada.
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