According to EliteProspects.com, this is the youngest Team Canada ever at the World Juniors with an average age of 18.61 years.
“Everyone here deserves to be here,” Hockey Canada management group leader Mark Hunter said. “That’s what we looked at, who can play the best, and we evaluated from summertime to here. We put (age) aside, we picked who has the most talent and who can help the team win.”
The World Juniors have long been viewed as a 19-year-old event and Canada’s deep talent pool usually makes it tough for under-agers to crack the roster, but this year, Canada actually has four first-year, draft-eligible players. On the eve of the tournament, Hunter offered TSN a scouting report on his youngest players starting with returnee Alexis Lafrenière.
Lafrenière was benched during last year’s World Juniors and ended up only playing a depth role in Vancouver. This year, the Rimouski left winger is on the top line and top power play unit.
“He’s grown up,” Hunter observed of the reigning CHL player of the year. “He plays a real good two-way game now, he understands what needs to be done to win hockey games, how to win games … he sees he’s got to play both ends of the ice.”
Lafreniere on Canada’s outlook: We’re going to keep building and getting better
Following Canada’s final pre-competition game against Finland, Alexis Lafreniere spoke about how good he felt on his line, explained how much of a weapon Nolan Foote’s shot and offensive game is and discussed how his team feels overall with the tournament right around the corner.
Quinton Byfield is challenging Lafreniere atop this year’s draft class and will also start in a top-six role. A natural centre, the six-foot-four Byfield has been skating on the left wing on a line with Arizona’s Barrett Hayton and Lethbridge’s Dylan Cozens.
“He’s looked good,” said Hunter. “He’s a young man that’s really taken all this stuff in and we hope for good things for him in this tournament, but only time’s going to tell.”
“It’s hard to believe he’s that young,” Hayton said. “Obviously, he looks like a man out there the way he shields the puck, protects the puck and the way he can take over a game is impressive. His hockey sense is something that’s not really talked out, but he has a great feel for the game.”
Jamie Drysdale is a rare 17-year-old to make Canada on defence (only the seventh since 1991) and while he started each pre-tournament game as the seventh defenceman, the Erie Otter looked at ease at this level and has potential to carve out a bigger role.
“His skating does wonders for him,” Hunter noted. “I think he plays like a Victor Mete, who just skates and does things and keeps pucks out of our zone. His gaps are excellent so he’s really done a great job to present himself here and just continue to get better and better.”
‘He’s a genius’: Drysdale poised to crack Canada’s D at age 17
If the Islanders don’t loan Noah Dobson to Team Canada, then Jamie Drysdale will officially make the cut becoming just the seventh 17-year-old to crack Canada’s blue line since 1991 joining Aaron Ekblad, Ryan Ellis, Jay Boumeester, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden and Scott Niedermayer. “He’s a genius out there,” gushed assistant coach André Tourigny. “Seriously, he’s so smart … everything you teach him he does it right away.”
Drummondville forward Dawson Mercer wasn’t invited to the World Junior Showcase in the summer, but used to a strong performance in the QMJHL Russia series games to catapult himself into the conversation. On the bubble until the final cut, Mercer scored in Canada’s first pre-tournament game against the Swiss.
“I like his intelligence,” Hunter said. “He makes intelligent plays. I feel like he plays two ways, which we wanted and he’s continued to get better since Day 1 of camp and hopefully he can continue to do that and win some big games for us.”
While the NHL is getting younger and younger, Hunter doesn’t necessarily believe this is the start of a new trend for Hockey Canada at the World Juniors.
“It just depends on the years,” he said. “You know what, every year is different so we’ll see next year what age it is. We have a lot of 18-year-olds playing this year and there’s going to be a lot … playing as 19-year-olds in Edmonton (next year) so that can happen, we’ll have to see. The bottom line is we picked these players based on who’s the best, did a lot of evaluation on them and that’s the conclusion we came up with.”
Canada brings youngest ever team to WJC: ‘We put who has the most talent’ on the team
According to EliteProspects.com, at an average age of 18.6 years old, this is not only the youngest Team Canada ever, but the first to average under 19 in the 44-year history of the official tournament. “Everyone’s here that deserves to be here,” said management group leader Mark Hunter, “and that’s what we looked at, who can play the best.” The group features four draft-eligible players, who are capable of stealing the spotlight.
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Before turning in each night, Team Canada’s players turn in their phones to the team staff.
“The players understand they need to get to sleep, but do their friends? Do their families?” asked Hockey Canada director of men’s national teams Shawn Bullock. “Does everyone back home understand there is that major time change? We started explaining that in the summer, why we do those things and how important it’s going to be over here to get that quality of sleep, no disruptions with phones buzzing or anything of that nature.”
Defenceman Kevin Bahl is grateful for the policy, especially since his NHL rights were traded in a deal that broke around 11 pm in Vienna where Team Canada was training.
“If I had my phone I would’ve been up to 3 am so it’s good,” he said, “in my eyes at least.”
But, not everyone is a fan.
“My girlfriend doesn’t like it too much,” said goalie Nico Daws with a laugh. “But, no, it’s good. Sleep’s very important. Anything to get an upper hand in this tournament and it definitely helps.”
“It’s critical for these guys to get their rest so they can perform at an elite level,” Bullock concluded. “This tournament happens real fast and at an elite level and we need to be fresh.”
‘My girlfriend doesn’t like it’: Canadian players give up their phones at night
While overseas at the World Juniors, Team Canada players must turn in their phones before turning in for the night. “The players understand they need to get to sleep,” noted Hockey Canada director of men’s national teams Shawn Bullock, “but do their friends? Do their families?” Kevin Bahl appreciated the move estimating he would’ve been up to 3 AM on the night he was traded if he had his cell.
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Canada’s goaltending situation is coming into focus. Dale Hunter has confirmed that Moncton’s Olivier Rodrigue, who was scratched in both pre-tournament games, will start as the third goalie.
The coach wasn’t ready to name a starter after Monday’s game, but Daws appears to have a leg up. He didn’t allow a goal in regulation or overtime in his two exhibition appearances and owns a .939 save percentage with Guelph this season.
“I felt really good, really confident,” said Daws after the win over Finland. “They have a good team over there, the Finns move the puck well and I thought I did a good job in the half I played. My mindset’s pretty strong, still the same as when I came, play my game and have fun with it and I’m having a lot of fun out there and the results are showing.”
After splitting a shutout with Daws in the first pre-tournament game, Portland’s Joel Hofer allowed three goals against the Finns, two in regulation and one in overtime.
“I’ve laid it all out on the line,” he said. “You can’t save them all so it’s not the end of the world. I’ll learn from it and move on.”
Daws had never played for Team Canada before this camp and a Boxing Day showdown against the Americans would undoubtedly be the biggest moment in his career.
“You try not to think about it too much,” Daws said. “I mean, obviously the whole country is watching and more and there’s a lot of stress in those games and a lot of pressure but, once again, I’m just here to have fun and play hockey.”
Daws on performance against Finland: ‘I felt really good, really confident’
Goalie Nico Daws was perfect in his last tune-up game before the tournament begins on December 26th, stopping every shot he faced in the 30 minutes he played. The decision on who starts in net for Canada has not been finalized yet, but Daws likes his mindset right now, feeling really good and confident.
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Cole Caufield scored 14 goals in six games at the under-18 World Championship earlier this year, tying Alexander Ovechkin for the tournament record. Does that MVP performance give him confidence heading into his first World Juniors?
“That’s in the past now, I think there’s a lot of things I need to prove in this tournament too,” the Montreal Canadiens first-rounder said. “I just want to prove that I’m one of the guys that can lead the team in different ways than just scoring.”
But scoring is what Caufield does the best and he appears to be riding a wave of momentum heading into the World Juniors having potted four goals in a final tune-up game against the Germans on Monday.
“When a goal scorer’s scoring that’s a good thing,” USA coach Scott Sandelin said. “He loves to do that and it was a good game for him to have for confidence. It’s going to get tougher, but he finds ways. He has that smile on his face and hopefully we can keep that on there with him scoring in the tournament for us.”
Caufield always finds a way despite standing just 5-foot-7, 163 pounds. He has produced 12 goals in 18 games as a freshman with the University of Wisconsin this season. Last year, he set a new single-season USA National Development Program record with 72 goals.
“He just finds those soft areas,” Sandelin observed, “just knowing where pucks are going and being in the right spot or getting there at the right time is a real key to his success around the net.”
“The pucks find him,” noted goalie Spencer Knight, “and he finishes up close, he can finish from back far, he can take one-timers off the rush, he also can make passes too.”
Caufield has a swagger about him. Asked about Daws, he says he doesn’t know anything about the goalie, who burst onto the scene this season after getting passed over in the NHL draft. And Caufield doesn’t plan on doing any extra scouting.
“It’s all about instincts,” he insisted. “I mean, if the goalie can’t see it, he’s not going to be able to stop it.”
Caufield says the Boxing Day showdown with Canada will be the biggest game he’s ever played in.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” he said.
What stands out about the rivalry with Canada?
“Just the history of everything, just the US-Canada bloodbath, even in the summer when played them it was kind of getting chippy, it’s never not intense.”
Caufield: ‘There’s a lot of things I need to prove’; anticipates Boxing Day ‘bloodbath’
Cole Caufield made a big statement ahead of the World Juniors scoring four goals in Team USA’s final tune-up game. But the American sniper is far from satisfied. ‘There’s a lot of things I need to prove in this tournament,’ the Canadiens first rounder said. ‘I just want to prove that I’m one of the guys that can lead the team in different ways than just scoring.’
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Sandelin lists Caufield and Nick Robertson as the best performers in his team’s shootout work so far. It was Robertson, Toronto’s top pick in June’s draft, who won the internal competition at Tuesday’s practice.
“Unbelievable,” Caufield said of Robertson. “He pulls off some crazy moves. I think it just comes natural to him. He’s done some things in practice and the pre-tournament games that have just been eye-opening to me. He’s so skilled and so smart, it’s incredible.”
“I like shootouts,” Robertson said. “I have go-to moves and luckily it worked out.”
How many go-to moves does he have?
“More than one, that’s for sure,” Robertson said with a grin. “You got to read the goalie and hopefully it works.”
Sandelin says Team USA has worked on shootouts “two or three times” and will do it at least once more.
Leafs prospect Robertson dazzles in USA shootout drill; ‘It just comes natural to him’
Nick Robertson will play a ‘key role’ for Team USA at the World Juniors, according to coach coach Scott Sandelin, who likely call upon the diminutive Leafs prospect should there be a shootout. ‘He’s done some things in practice and the pre-tournament games that have just been eye-opening to me,’ said teammate Cole Caufield. ‘He’s so skilled and so smart, it’s incredible.’
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Team Canada is scheduled to hold a practice at 2:30 pm (8:30 am ET) on Christmas Day.
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
