It is sometimes difficult to remember that the World Junior Championship is, at its fundamentals, a development tournament and not the be-all and end-all source of national pride for two weeks at the end of each year.
As tantalizing as the prospect of a three-peat for Canada is, it’s much better development for the youngsters and, frankly, much more engaging hockey when teams are evenly matched and each game is competitive.
Friday’s marquee matchup between Sweden and Canada provided the gritty competitiveness that many anticipated between the two powerhouses.
Macklin Celebrini and the Canadian squad dismantled Latvia on Wednesday with a 10-0 victory, but unfortunately, they were unable to duplicate that success against a much more skilled opponent. With a final score of 2-0, this loss to Sweden marked the first time Canada has been shut out since the 2021 tournament.
With one final game remaining in the preliminary round, Canada has the opportunity to redeem themselves, while Sweden has the chance to cement first in Group A in front of home fans.
Here are some takeaways from Friday’s matchup:
Swedes proving it’s their tournament to lose
Undefeated thus far through the tournament and emerging victorious against, arguably, their most challenging opponent in Group A, Sweden has demonstrated that this year’s World Juniors, on home ice, is theirs to lose.
Despite their top scorer Otto Stenberg sitting tied for eighth in the tournament points race, Sweden has remained undefeated by playing a complete game against each of their opponents and getting contributions from up and down the lineup.
Against a Canadian team that has proven it can rack up the points, Sweden completely stifled Canada’s offence, preventing their opponent from getting significant traction in the offensive zone.
Though scoreless through the first period, the ice tilted in favour of the yellow and blue during the second frame, as Sweden was able to clog up the neutral zone and create sustained pressure against Canada.
During the few opportunities Canada had to even the score off the rush, Swedish goaltender Hugo Havelid came up with clutch saves when called upon. Through two games between the pipes for Sweden, Havelid hasn’t allowed a single goal.
Having failed to capture World Junior gold since 2012, this roster led by Stenberg, Theo Lindstein and Havelid seems poised to make a serious run at it in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Canada unable to capitalize on chances
Accustomed to scoring goals at will, it was tough to watch some of Canada’s biggest names this tournament squander chance after chance to get on the board.
With Sweden playing a disciplined game and giving up very little, it would have been important for Canada to capitalize on whatever chances they could get. Despite this, the power play that is operating at 37.5 per cent and second in the tournament in terms of efficiency was completely stymied.
At even strength, when Canada was able to create high-danger scoring chances, they could never convert. Carson Rehkopf had the opportunity early to open the scoring, followed by opportunities for captain Fraser Minten and Matthew Savoie to finally solve the Swedish netminder, but each attempt was turned away.
As the clock wound down and Canada was making their final Hail Mary, they squandered the opportunity to pot one with the empty net after taking a too many men penalty.
Though much of these failed chances can be attributed to the brilliance of Havelid, the rare, uncharacteristic offensive struggles nailed the final hammer in the coffin on Canada’s first loss of the tournament.
Mathis Rousseau emerging as Canada’s MVP
After making the early contender for save of the tournament on Day 1, Canadian netminder Mathis Rousseau is creating his own competition for that title.
The undrafted 19-year-old has commanded control between the pipes and was up to the task against Sweden, despite the 2-0 loss.
Making 22 saves on 24 shots, his best of the contest came during the four-minute penalty kill Canada faced during the first period. Already down a man, Conor Geekie chose to head to the bench for a new stick, effectively creating a two-man advantage for Sweden and opened up a slick backdoor pass right to Liam Ohgren. With what seemed to be an empty net for Ohgren, Rousseau committed highway robbery, stretching out to make the toe save and keep the game scoreless.
He made another highlight-reel save in the second period when he lifted the pad just enough to turn aside a shot from Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. He sopped one more through traffic on Lekkerimaki before Noah Ostlund buried the rebound to put Sweden up by two.
Ranked third in goaltenders across the tournament, Rousseau’s statistics have reflected his strong play on the ice. Posting a .944 save percentage and a 1.33 goals-against average, he’s consistently performed as Canada’s best player.
As they try to rebound from Friday’s loss and enter into the elimination stage strong, expect Canada to keep relying on Rousseau.
UP NEXT: Both teams get a rest day and resume their action on New Year’s Eve as Sweden faces their regional rival in Finland, who earned their first win of the tournament on Friday. Meanwhile, Canada will look to bounce back against Germany, who will be playing the second half of a back-to-back.
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.
