TSN SportsCentre Reporter Mark Masters reports on the 2022 World Juniors. Team Canada practised in Edmonton on Thursday afternoon ahead of Friday afternoon’s semifinal game versus Czechia.
Ridly Greig missed practice after sustaining an injury during Team Canada’s 6-3 quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Wednesday night. There was no definitive update on the centre’s status, but most teammates seemed resigned to playing without Greig in the medal round.
“He brought so much and left it all on the table for our team,” said defenceman Donovan Sebrango. “It’s definitely a sad moment when we lose him.”
Greig faced off against the top line on other teams. The Ottawa Senators prospect also logged important minutes on the power play and penalty kill.
“He’s been probably our most consistent player right from the start of the tournament,” said head coach Dave Cameron. “Played in all situations.”
How do you replace him?
“It’s pretty much impossible,” captain Mason McTavish said. “It will be really hard.”
On Thursday, McTavish skated in Greig’s usual spot between Joshua Roy and William Dufour. Nathan Gaucher, who started the quarterfinal as the 13th forward, moved up to take McTavish’s spot between Will Cuylle and Connor Bedard.
“We all know Bedard’s a great player,” said Gaucher. “I’ll try to complement him and create space and pass him the puck so he can shoot.”
Riley Kidney projects to draw in as the 13th forward. The Montreal Canadiens prospect played four minutes and 26 seconds in the opening game, but has been a healthy scratch since then.
Cameron has faith in the team’s depth.
“They didn’t win a trip here,” Cameron said. “They’re not here because they won a trip to Edmonton. They’re not here because we drew their names out of hats. They’re here because they’re real good players.”
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Despite being a plus player in every game so far, McTavish isn’t happy with how he’s been playing in his own end.
“It’s been OK,” he said. “I kind of expect more from myself, honestly, in the defensive zone. I don’t think I’ve been that great. I’ll definitely look to improve that.”
The McTavish line has gotten hemmed in its own zone a few times in recent games, which led Cameron to move Cuylle up to that unit against the Swiss. He felt the big left winger would provide a presence on the wall and stop the cycle quicker.
What does McTavish want to improve moving forward?
“Just details and staying focused and not kind of drifting away,” he said. “Just really dialing it in, because it happens so fast. Players make mistakes, it happens, but it’s trying to limit those mistakes.”
Roy and Dufour have excelled alongside Greig in the matchup role.
“They’ve played the right way,” said Cameron. “They went head to head with Finland’s top line and had a real good game. Their background is goal scoring and generally if your background is goal scoring there is a tendency to cheat. We asked everybody in this tournament to turn their skill over to the team and there’s two prime examples.”
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Gaucher didn’t expect to be invited to join this Team Canada squad.
“I got chills when I got the call,” he said.
The Quebec Remparts centre had been focused on the 2023 World Juniors, but now projects to play an important role in Edmonton. He’s only averaged nine minutes and 31 seconds of ice time per game, but will see more playing time with Greig out.
“The high pace here is incredible,” the 18-year-old from Chambly, Que., said. “I’ve been able to learn from great players here, a great coaching staff and getting more ice time you get better. So, I think I’ll be better in the semifinals.”
What stands out to Bedard?
“His size [6-foot-3, 207 pounds] and his tenacity,” the Regina Pats phenom said. “He’s always going to go get the puck. He’s a first-round pick for a reason. I’m excited to build chemistry with him and Cuylle.”
Gaucher is the only player selected in the 2022 National Hockey League draft to make Team Canada. He went 22nd overall to the Anaheim Ducks and it was actually McTavish who called his name in Montreal.
“It was pretty cool announcing the pick,” said McTavish. “I wasn’t sure I was going to do that. I was a little caught off guard and nervous for sure.”
Gaucher and McTavish, the third overall pick in 2021, didn’t really get a chance to talk, though.
“It was brief,” McTavish recalled. “They take the picks right into media for a while which I didn’t even know because mine was virtual. So, it was cool to see that. He’s a great player and plays hard and has a lot of skill too.”
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Canada’s final practice of the World Juniors featured work on defensive-zone coverage and break outs.
“I don’t think we executed quick enough,” Cameron said of the performance against Switzerland. “We were bringing pucks back rather than going north, which is what led to our success against the other teams … We have to play north. We can’t be bringing pucks back. We can’t be fancy. We have to stay connected where we have five guys all in the same zone at the same time. When we don’t do that it becomes a little bit more unpredictable and more of a challenge.”
With the United States getting knocked out on Wednesday, Canada is the last undefeated team in Edmonton. And, if you factor in a pre-tournament win over Sweden, Cameron’s crew has beaten all the remaining teams in the tournament.
“It’s about us,” the coach said. “We have to make sure we play our system and we don’t beat ourselves and we’ll see what happens if we do that.”
How does Cameron define Canada’s game?
“Fast,” he said. “Be a real good forecheck team. Be connected. Stay out of the penalty box.”
When is Canada at its best?
“When we’re getting pucks behind their D and possessing the puck in the O-zone,” Bedard said. “We got a big team and skilled team so if we can keep it in the O-zone and cycle low to high and stuff like that, that’s when we’re at our best.”
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Bedard was held off the scoresheet for the first time at this World Juniors during Wednesday’s win over Switzerland. He was credited with just one shot on net.
“Pretty good,” Bedard said of his game. “Obviously, a couple chances there should go in, but hopefully they do later in the tournament. I thought our line had some good and bad shifts like every game.”
He felt like he was able to generate some chemistry with Cuylle.
“He’s super big and he can go get pucks,” Bedard noted. “He’s tough to get out of the front of the net and super skilled, too. He brings a lot.”
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After posting one goal and three assists in four preliminary-round games, Logan Stankoven led the way for Canada in the quarterfinals. The Kamloops Blazers centre scored twice and added an assist en route to being named Canada’s top player.
“It’s harder than I thought, that’s for sure,” Stankoven admitted when asked about scoring at this level. “It’s kind of my first real taste and the goals haven’t come easy. I’ve had the chances, but not as many as I would’ve liked. I was able to create a few more chances and the puck was going in the net. It was a good feeling.”
What was different?
“I thought I had more jump and more confidence in my game,” Stankoven said. “I feel like when I’m hanging onto pucks more and not getting rid of the puck right away – that’s when I’m at my best.”
“A classic Stanks game,” said goalie Dylan Garand, who plays with Stankoven in Kamloops. “I’ve seen lots of those games.”
“He was just a little fireball,” observed Everett defenceman Ronan Seeley. “It’s what you see in the [Western Hockey League] and it came out of him and it couldn’t come out at a better time.”
Stankoven is the reigning Canadian Hockey League player of the year. He produced 104 points in 59 games last season.
Stankoven excels despite standing just 5-foot-8.
“His heart’s definitely bigger than his height,” said Cuylle. “He plays really hard and with lots of passion.”
Stankoven’s size may actually be an advantage on faceoffs. He’s winning 68.8 per cent of his draws to lead the tournament.
“I’m lower to the ice so a lower centre of gravity,” he said. “I try to get low on the faceoffs. Credit to my wingers, too.”
“He’s really strong for his size,” noted McTavish. “He’s low to the ground, which helps. I’m sure he does a lot of research before the games about the other guys.”
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Garand stopped 23 of 26 shots in the win over Switzerland.
“I felt OK,” he said. “It was a bit of a struggle at times. A tough third goal. It was a miscommunication there. After that I did a good job of sticking with it and playing my game and working hard. I felt really good about my third period.”
Garand admits the Swiss caught him, and many of his teammates, off guard.
“They played really well,” he said. “We definitely didn’t want to take these guys lightly, but they played really strong and caught us by surprise a little bit … They played really quick, especially in the offensive zone. They would move the puck around and hemmed us in there a couple times.”
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Czechia goalie Tomas Suchanek (.921) will enter the semifinal showdown with a better save percentage than Garand (.918).
“What I like the most is he didn’t play the first two games and then he stepped in and was ready to go,” said Czechia goalie coach Ondrej Pavelec. “It wasn’t easy against Canada. They were coming hard and had a lot of shots. We expect that tomorrow as well. It’s a challenge for him and I think he’s ready for it.”
Suchanek’s rise up the depth chart started against Canada in the preliminary round when he stopped 52 of 57 shots.
“A lot of shots and it was really fun,” he recalled. “A lot of people came and I hope that will be [the case] again.”
Suchanek plays for the Tri-City Americans in the WHL and models his game after Montreal’s Carey Price.
My game is really close to his game with how I’m moving in the net,” he said. “And he played in Tri-City, too. I have him on my mask.”
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
