The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship is fast approaching and there are a handful of draft-eligible prospects expected to play big roles in the upcoming tournament.
TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button has Boston University centre Macklin Celebrini and United States National Team Development Program forward Cole Eiserman remaining at No. 1 and No. 2 on his list, and he expects both players to star at the tournament in Sweden.
Celebrini is expected to crack Team Canada’s roster and play a prominent role. As a 17-year-old at Boston University this season, he has nine goals and 22 points in 13 games. At the U18s in April, he had six goals and 15 points in seven games to lead Canada to bronze.
An elite two-way centre, Button is confident Celebrini will make an impact for Canada in December.
“His on-ice maturity is outstanding,” said Button of Celebrini. “He knows where his game is. He doesn’t get waylaid if certain areas of his game aren’t prominent. He can do so many things in the game and he doesn’t get deterred.”
Similarly, Eiserman projects to play a starring role for the Americans who look to improve on last year’s bronze-medal finish. He has 25 goals and 40 points in 19 games with the USNTDP this season.
“The way I would describe Cole is he’s not intimidated by the competition,” said Button. “I think for a 17-year-old player going to play at the World Junior, you can’t be in awe, you can’t be intimidated. He’s sure of his capabilities.”
While Finnish forward Konsta Helenius drops one spot from No. 4 on September’s list to No. 5, he is now the third highest ranked forward on Button’s list, jumping ahead of Russian forward Ivan Demidov, who falls to No. 6. Helenius is also expected to be on the Finnish roster for the World Juniors.
“He’s smooth, he’s smart, he makes the game look easy,” said Button of Helenius. “He’s so smart – elite hockey sense.”
Helenius, 17, has eight goals and 17 points in 23 games playing in the SM-Liiga with Jukurit.
Expected to join Helenius in Sweden is winger Emil Hemming, who is No. 12 on Button’s list. Hemming has four goals and two assists in 22 games playing for TPS in SM-Liiga.
“He’s a mature player that’s already played some games in the SM-Liiga and he’s had some success,” said Button.
The draft-eligible player projected to play the biggest role for his team is Norwegian forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. Ranked No. 18 on the list, the 18-year-old has one goal and four assists in 19 games with Mora IK in Sweden this season but will play heavy minutes for Norway at the World Juniors as the country plays in the tournament for the first time since 2014.
Defenceman David Reinbacher played on a weak Austrian team in last year’s tournament that was eventually relegated but it didn’t hurt his draft stock as he was taken fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in June. Like Reinbacher, Brandsegg-Nygard will be evaluated a little differently than his draft peers playing in the tournament.
“There’s going to be a lot of one-on-one assessment, what he’s doing individually,” said Button. “His skills are really good, but [when] you’re watching him, you want to see him doing things that are helpful to a team. But he’s not going to get the support back. They’re not good enough.”
Debuting at No. 19 and No. 27 respectively on Button’s list in September, forwards Cayden Lindstrom and Liam Greentree aren’t expected to be on the Canadian roster for the World Juniors. However, both have made big leaps on this list with strong play so far this season, jumping to No. 9 and No. 11 respectively.
Lindstrom is one of the biggest players in the draft at 6-foot-5, but his game isn’t all about size. He has 18 goals and 33 points in 24 games with the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers this season. As a rookie, he had 19 goals and 42 points in 61 games.
“I don’t know where you find big, powerful players like that,” said Button. “He’s got a skill set. He’s got a will set. And a physical attributes set.”
Like Lindstrom, Greentree is quickly closing in on his rookie season totals. He has 16 goals and 34 points in 21 games on a Windsor Spitfires team that is one of the worst in the Ontario Hockey League with just six wins so far this season in 24 games.
“He’s not just playing well on that team, he’s their best player,” said Button.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.