OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Akil Thomas was a fan in Buffalo two years ago when lightly-used Tyler Steenbergen scored the world junior-winning goal for Canada.
“I was in the stands with friends joking around,” the 19-year-old Niagara IceDogs forward recalled, “that I’m going to score that goal one day. He didn’t play much and he ended up scoring the (deciding) goal. I was inspired by him.
“It’s funny how life works sometimes.”
On Sunday, he became the new Steenbergen, a fourth-line energy guy whose hustle earned him the gold-medal tally with 3:58 left to cap one of the greatest comebacks in tournament history, 4-3 over Russia before 8,693 at Ostravar Arena.
It was his first, and only goal, in seven contests.
“I usually throw up before games,” Thomas said. “Today, I didn’t. I wasn’t nervous. I felt like my time was coming. Time was ticking and I kind of had a feeling Dale (coach Dale Hunter) would call my name. Luckily, he did. Dale mentioned after the game he thought I was going to score. That’s why he put me out there.
“I think it was just destiny.”
Add in a savvy veteran coach’s gut instinct. The Thomas marker lifted Canada to its first gold – and medal of any kind — on European ice since 2008. It was Canada’s 18th title in world junior history.
Team Canada players reach for the trophy after defeating Russia 4-3 in the gold medal game at the World Junior Hockey Championships, Sunday, January 5, 2020 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Ryan Remiorz /
THE CANADIAN PRESS
“I was just looking for some firepower and I’ve seen him score lots of goals,” Hunter said. “He plays in our league (the OHL) and I scouted him in minor midget. He has great hands. “We’ve seen him improving. He was doing the little things (like blocking shots).
“I had a hunch.”
He played a lot of right cards along the way.
Alexis Lafreniere, the tournament MVP, missed two games with a knee injury after the Russian blowout loss. Connor McMichael moved up in his place and produced. Jamie Drysdale was the seventh defenceman until Bowen Byram fell ill and missed the semifinal – and he scored, too.
“Akil didn’t get many opportunities, but everyone knows what a good player he is,” McMichael said. “Dale trusts him and threw him out there and he showed why.”
Down two midway through the third, there wasn’t much room to breathe.
But McMichael had a puck re-direct off his skate and in.
“At that point, we were just trying to throw everything at the net,” the Capitals first-rounder said about his fifth goal in seven games, “and it worked.”
Then, Canadian captain Barrett Hayton, a game-time decision with a shoulder injury suffered Saturday against Finland, wired home the tying goal 10 seconds into a power-play to draw even.
Somehow, he mustered the strength to whip it past netminder Amir Miftakhov. Just a week ago, he was apologizing to the Russians for leaving his helmet on during their anthem.
“I put my all into that shot,” the Arizona Coyotes centre said. “I didn’t want to miss this game for anything. There was definitely some pain. You’re so much in the moment, you don’t really feel those injuries. The medical staff did an unbelievable job.
“I owe it to them to give me this opportunity.”
His teammates even didn’t know if he would be able to play. They were certain he was going to try.
“He’s a warrior,” Hunter said. “That’s why he’s our captain. He wanted to play and he zipped that puck. That was a heck of a shot. He led the way.”
Comeback gold will never get old.
Nine years ago in Buffalo, Valeri Bragin’s Russian team dug out of a three-goal hole to shock the Canadians in the final.
This time, the same coach watched a multiple-goal lead go down the drain eight days after they pounded the Canadians 6-0.
“That’s our team,” Hunter said. “We never gave up. It’s been up and down. There were injuries and suspensions. Our depth showed in Canada. They just kept pushing ahead.”
In that blowout loss, they fell behind immediately. This time, they killed off four Russian power plays in the first period as Finnish refs Lassi Heikkinen and Kristian Vikman were roundly booed off the ice at intermission by the largely pro-Canada crowd.
“That was so big for us,” Canadian forward Liam Foudy said. “That gave us a real boost.”
They had some great fortune, too.
Back on the penalty kill late after Thomas’ goal, a puck that appeared to be heading in the stands for a delay of game infraction against Canada bounced off a TSN camera. The rules state that the camera is considered part of the glass, so no call.
““I got scared for a minute and I saw it hit something,” Canadian forward Joe Veleno said. “That camera is probably the MVP of this game, for sure.”
Hunter chalked it up to the little anomalies of the fast-paced sport.
“That’s hockey,” he shrugged. “It’s a game of inches.”
But was there some divine intervention at play, too?
“Yep,” he said with a grin. “It’s the hockey gods.”
It’s pretty nice when they’re on your side.
SWEDEN 3, FINLAND 2: Maple Leafs property Rasmus Sandin scored his third goal in two days to help the Swedes secure their first bronze medal in 10 years earlier in the day. The 19-year-old Marlies defenceman led all blue-liners in scoring with three goals and 10 points in seven games with a plus-3 rating. He was also the Tre Kronor’s busiest player, averaging 17:45 of ice time per game. Lightning prospect Hugo Alnefelt made 32 saves and out-duelled Finland’s Justus Annunen with 32 saves.
Canada’s players celebrate after winning the U20 Ice Hockey Worlds gold medal match between Canada and Russia in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
IIHF WORLD JUNIORS
Canada 4, Russia 3
First period
No scoring.
Penalties – McIsaac, Can (tripping) 4:05, Alexandrov, Rus (slashing) 10:43, Veleno, Can (interference) 12:16, Smith, Can (holding) 15:04, Bahl, Can (slashing) 17:09.
Penalties – Pylenkov, Rus (closing hand on puck) 0:35, Hayton, Can (holding the stick) 7:55, Voronkov, Rus (holding), Zhuravylov, Rus (slashing) 10:39, Zamula, Rus (roughing).
Penalties – Voronkov, Rus (cross-checking) 11:11, Bahl, Can (hooking) 17:18, Dorofeyev, Rus (slashing) 18:34, Denisenko, Rus (playing with broken stick) 19:22.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
