Sports

Bedard etches name into world junior hockey history books with scoring output

Published

2 years ago

January 7, 2023

Canadian phenom Connor Bedard strung together the best scoring performance at a world junior hockey championship in 30 years, leading his country to its 20th gold medal on Thursday.

The 17-year-old had a tournament-best 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists), which was the fourth-highest total at a single world junior championship.

The Canadian Press takes a look at the five greatest scoring performances at the world juniors.

Peter Forsberg, Sweden

Forsberg still lays claim to the greatest scoring performance at a world juniors dating back to the 1993 showcase. He had 31 points (seven goals, 24 assists) in seven outings but was unable to lead the hosts past Canada in the gold-medal game. He wound up scoring the shootout winner in the gold-medal game of the 1994 Olympics to avenge his loss to Canada from the world juniors. It was the first of two Olympic golds for him, the other coming in 2006. Forsberg went on to have a 13-year NHL career that spanned between 1994-95 and 2010-11. He won two Stanley Cups, a Hart Memorial Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and a Calder Memorial Trophy. Forsberg finished with 885 points (249 goals, 636 assists) in 708 career games.

Markus Naslund, Sweden

Naslund was the leading goal-scorer of the 1993 tournament with 13 goals, while adding 11 assists to sit right behind his fellow Swede. Drafted 10 picks after Forsberg in 1991 (16th overall), Naslund played 15 seasons in the NHL between 1993-94 and 2008-09, with 11-plus of them coming with the Vancouver Canucks. Naslund had 869 points (395 goals, 474 assists) in 1,117 games in a career that also included time with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.

Raimo Helminen, Finland

Helminen broke out with a then-record 24-point performance at the 1984 world juniors, including 11 goals. Finland claimed silver, falling to the Soviet Union in Sweden. Helminen also competed for the Finns at the 1984 Olympics. He went on to become a second-round pick that same year to the New York Rangers. He played in the NHL from 1985-86 to 1986-87 and 1988-89 before going on to play the final 18 seasons of his career in Europe. He had 59 points (13 goals, 46 assists) in 117 career games in the NHL.

Connor Bedard, Canada

Bedard led all players at the 2023 event by a landslide while picking up his second gold medal in five months with Canada. He set national records for most points and assists in a single tournament, tied the national mark in career world junior goals (14) and passed Jaromir Jagr for most points at a tournament by a player aged 18 or younger. The North Vancouver, B.C., native now heads back to the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League to continue stamping himself as the favourite to be the top pick of the 2023 NHL draft.

Robert Reichel, Czech Republic

Reichel led all performers at the 1990 showcase with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists), as the Czech Republic (then known as Czechoslovakia) earned bronze in Finland. A fourth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the 1989 NHL draft, Reichel went on to play 11 seasons between 1990-91 and 2003-04. He spent five-plus seasons with the Flames before playing for the New York Islanders, the Arizona Coyotes and Toronto Maple Leafs. He finished with 630 points (252 goals, 378 assists) in 830 career games.

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Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

3 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

9 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

13 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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