2023 World Junior Championship Preview: Team Canada

Credit: (Photo by Steven Ellis/The Hocke

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Expectations are always high for Canada at the World Junior Championship – unfair sometimes, even. For so long, they’ve been the team to beat, and with a player base as strong as Canada’s, anything less feels like a failure.

After winning gold in the unique-but-please-never-happen-again summer tournament in Edmonton, Canada hosts the tournament once again, this time in Halifax and Moncton. They have some key returning players, some high-end 2023 draft prospects and a couple of NHLers on loan to build one of Canada’s strongest teams in recent years.

It’s been a rough few months for Hockey Canada, but under new coach Dennis Williams, the 22 young men are hoping to cut through the noise and win it all in the annual holiday spectacle. Here’s a breakdown of Canada’s roster and what expectations are for them this year:

Goaltenders

There’s always a huge question mark in the crease, but the reality is the goaltending needs to be good enough. That’s going to be easy this year, even though there isn’t a clear runaway favorite. Benjamin Gaudreau‘s stats are ugly with the Sarnia Sting this year, but the Sting are an up-and-down team that has dealt with some injuries in 2022-23. Gaudreau has a history with Hockey Canada and has been a workhorse in the OHL from nearly the get-go in his career. Hockey Canada likes to go with who they’re familiar with, but Gaudreau’s leash can’t be a long one.

And that’s because Thomas Milic is on an absolute heater of a season with an 11-2-1 record with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He also has a history with Canada, but as Gaudreau’s backup at the U-18s. If we’re going by pure performance, Milic deserves the net 100 percent. But big goalies reign supreme at events like this, and Gaudreau has a few extra inches over him.

Canada just needs one goalie to stand out in the preliminary round, and whoever starts that Dec. 31 game against Finland – assuming it goes well – will likely own the crease when it matters.

Defensemen

Other than Olen Zellweger, who stands at 5-foot-10, it’s clear Canada valued size on the back end. Six of the team’s seven defensemen are 6-foot-1 or bigger, with Ethan Del Mastro (6-foot-4) and Jack Matier (6-foot-5) being the biggest. But Zellweger might be the player to watch for how dominant he was at the last tournament, leading all defensemen with 11 points. He also led all WHL blueliners in points with 78 and won the league’s top defender trophy, further showing how much of a steal the Anaheim Ducks got in the second round in 2021. Clearly, his lack of size hasn’t slowed him down, and the Everett Silvertips blueliner should man the top pairing and first power-play unit.

Brandt Clarke is a massive addition to the roster, given it wasn’t a foregone conclusion. Clarke, who was shockingly left off the 2022 team, started the season with the Los Angeles Kings but couldn’t stick as a full-timer and was ultimately loaned to the WJC. Clarke’s pro experience should go a long way for Canada, and he’ll also be able to generate significant offense from the blueline as an offensive-focused defenseman. He’s especially good when setting up Shane Wright and Brennan Othmann, with the trio having an incredible connection back in the Don Mills Flyers days.

Chicago Blackhawks will make up nearly half the team’s blueline this year thanks to Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan and Ethan Del Mastro. Del Mastro, a returning player, will be paired up with either Zellweger or Clarke as a physical, shutdown alternative. Korchinski, selected seventh overall by Chicago in 2022, will be making his Team Canada debut, while Allan continues his progression up the ladder after playing at the U-17 and U-18 level. All three should be solid.

After an incredible first half, Ottawa 67s star Jack Matier is about to turn some heads. The 19-year-old was more defense-first during his early days, but he has a point-per-game through 26 OHL games and has really developed a more well-rounded style. The Nashville Predators prospect will likely start deeper in the lineup, but if there’s anyone that has the potential to rise up in the depth chart, it’s him.

Forwards

Canada is perhaps the only team that could realistically leave off a country’s top scorer and not be concerned (sorry, USA fans, but leaving off Ty Voit made no sense). That’s the case for Jordan Dumais, who, despite putting up 54 points in his first 25 QMJHL games this year, was cut from camp

And yet, Canada still has the deepest offensive cabinet to choose from. It starts with Shane Wright, who’s looking for a huge effort after a shaky start to the season with the Seattle Kraken. He’ll likely be lined up aside former Don Mills linemate Brennan Othmann and Dylan Guenther, who has spent the season to date in the NHL with Arizona. That line was absolutely electric at the U-18 World Championship in 2021 and should be even more dangerous, given two of the three have already spent time in the NHL. Othmann had a fantastic showing at last year’s tournament as well and should be the guy tasked with making opponents uncomfortable all tournament long.

Dallas Stars prospect Logan Stankoven was as dominant as they came in the faceoff circle during the summer and the 5-foot-8 wunderkind will play a big role again this year. One of the most dominant prospects in hockey right now, Stankoven is an incredible offensive threat with tremendous creativity, an unrelenting motor and the ability to find teammates from any angle. He’s gifted with the puck and would have gone much higher in the draft if it wasn’t for his more petite frame. If he ends up being the No. 2 center, that’s unfair.

Of course, there are the two 2023 NHL Draft stars in Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, but more on them later. One player Canada will be leaning on is Joshua Roy, who, after playing on the summer team, had an up-and-down start to the season. Yes, he’s on pace for 100 points, but he had 118 last year. Still, the Montreal Canadiens forward has done everything but disappoint since getting taken in the fifth round in 2021 thanks to his fantastic shot, ability to get into scoring position and solid physical play for a midsized winger. The only other returning forwards are Nathan Gaucher, an Anaheim Ducks prospect who projects to be more of a depth option again this year, something he excelled at in Edmonton, and Zack Ostapchuk, an Ottawa prospect that can be a bit of a Swiss Army knife.

Canada’s forward group will have some decent size to it, with Kirby Dach’s younger brother Colton Dach leading the way at 6-foot-4. While some solid offensive weapons were left off, having Dach, Gaucher (6-foot-3) and Reid Schaefer (6-foot-3) further down the lineup will make them hard to play against. Shaefer will be an interesting one, because after scoring at a goal-per-game pace early in the season, he entered camp with just two goals in his past 10 games. He seems like the logical choice as the 13th forward right now, which often works out well given the threat of injuries in the lineup. If he can slot in somewhere as a fill-in, he could cause some damage with great linemates around him.

NHL Draft watch

Having two of the top prospects for the 2023 draft is a rarity at the WJC, especially in Canada’s case considering they don’t typically bring many underaged prospects. But Bedard and Fantilli are not your average pre-draft talents, and they’re both set for big roles. Bedard was easily one of the best players at the summer tournament, and his status as the next draft phenom makes him hard to ignore when he has the puck. There aren’t many downsides to his game – he’s an incredible skater, has a pro-level wrist shot, is responsible defensively and sees the game at an elite level.

And then there’s Fantilli, who, in many drafts, would be in stronger consideration for the first overall pick. The University of Michigan forward has had one of the best freshman seasons we’ve seen in many years, and he was one of Canada’s leading play-drivers at the U-18 World Championship. He’s a strong, physical kid at 6-foot-2 and 187 pounds, using his muscle to beat opponents and drive to the net. Add in a wicked wrist shot and he’s got everything you’d hope for in a ready-made NHL prospect.

Bedard is a sure thing to make it into the top six, while Fantilli definitely should be. But this isn’t an all-star game, and Coach Williams will be focusing on finding the best chemistry. It’ll be interesting to see if Fantilli is used as a center or a winger in this tournament.

Projection

Every time Canada’s roster gets released, it’s easy to over-analyze. It’s also easy to ignore the pack and just declare them champions before the tournament even begins. It’s going to be a tough tournament, but with two of the best draft prospects, a trio of NHLers and a host of other top-end junior talent, this truly feels like one of the deeper Canadian teams in recent years. None of the camp cuts were noticeably outrageous and depth won’t be an issue. This Canadian team looks destined for gold, but Sweden, USA and Finland will have something to say about that.

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