They may have breezed through the preliminary round, but Team Canada had a disappointing early exit from the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championship. There were only 47 seconds left in the third period when Finland tied it up and pushed the game to overtime. It was there that Canada lost 2-1 in the knockout stage.
It was a bit of a shock to see Canada booted out so early. They hold the highest number of medals (31) and gold medals (17) in the tournament’s history.
This year, they’ll be in grouped together with long-time rivals the United States and Russia, both of whom made it to the semifinals last year with Russia grabbing bronze and USA taking home silver.
Canada didn’t meet either of those adversaries during last year’s tournament, but this year they’ll be facing USA right out of the gate when the tournament starts on Boxing Day.
Team Canada preliminary roster
#
Player
Position
League
Current team (NHL)
#
Player
Position
League
Current team (NHL)
8
Liam Foudy
F
OHL
London Knights (CBJ)
9
Joe Veleno
F
AHL
Grand Rapids Griffins (DET)
10
Raphael Lavoie
F
QMJHL
Halifax Mooseheads (EDM)
11
Alexis Lafreniere
F
QMJHL
Rimouski Océanic (2020 Draft)
12
Benoit-Olivier Groulx
F
QMJHL
Halifac Mooseheads (ANA)
16
Akil Thomas
F
OHL
Niagara IceDogs (LAK)
17
Connor McMichael
F
OHL
London Knights (WSH)
18
Ty Dellandrea
F
OHL
Flint Firebirds (DAL)
19
Quinton Byfield
F
OHL
Sudbury Wolves (2020 Draft)
20
Dawson Mercer
F
QMJHL
Drummondville Voltigeurs (2020 Draft)
22
Dylan Cozens
F
WHL
Lethbridge Hurricanes (BUF)
25
Aidan Dudas
F
OHL
Owen Sound Attack (LAK)
27
Barrett Hayton
F
NHL
Arizona Coyotes
29
Nolan Foote
F
WHL
Kelowna Rockets (TBL)
2
Kevin Bahl
D
OHL
Ottawa 67’s (ARI)
3
Calen Addison
D
WHL
Lethbridge Hurricanes (PIT)
4
Bowen Byram
D
WHL
Vacouver Giants (COL)
5
Jacob Bernard-Docker
D
NCAA
Univ. of North Dakota (OTT)
6
Jamie Drysdale
D
OHL
Erie Otters (2020 Draft)
14
Jared McIsaac
D
QMJHL
Halifax Mooseheads (DET)
24
Ty Smith
D
WHL
Spokane Chiefs (NJD)
1
Nico Daws
G
OHL
Guelph Storm (2020 Draft)
30
Joel Hofer
G
WHL
Portland Winterhawks (STL)
31
Olivier Rodrigue
G
QMJHL
Moncton Wildcats (EDM)
Strengths
This team looks to have every area covered, from down the middle, to the blue line, and all they way to the netminders. But their talented group of forwards has to be their biggest strength. The roster includes 10 first-round selections and the predicted top two 2020 NHL Draft picks — Alexis Lafrenière and Quinton Byfield.
Lafreniere is leading the QMJHL with 70 points in 32 games while Byfield is third on the OHL leaderboard with 57 (22G, 35A) in 30 games. Byfield also took home the silver medal during this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, tallying a point per game during the tournament.
Not to mention Dylan Cozens, who currently has 46 points (20G, 26A) with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and is skilled enough to play both centre and wing. The depth of the forward corps is crazy impressive.
Weaknesses
This team is stacked and are in it to win it, so there aren’t a lot of weaknesses to choose from. The only concern is that it looks like it will be a game-time decision on who the starting goaltender will be. It’s the most important position and will remain a question mark right up until the round-robin games have concluded.
All three goaltenders have impressive records, so the choice shouldn’t make or break the team. Though there are three netminders on the roster, the coin toss will probably be between Joel Hofer, who’s leading WHL goaltenders with his 20-4-2 record, 1.81 goals-against average, .937 save percentage, and four shutouts so far this season, and Nico Daws, who has a 13-3-4 record in the OHL, a 2.06 GAA and .939 save percentage.
During Sunday’s practice, the team was down to just one goalie — and it was neither of these guys. It was up to Oliver Rodrigue to man the net after Hofer was stung by a shot to the glove and Daws left early with an undisclosed injury. What was a small question mark for the team a few days ago, is becoming the biggest one.
X-Factor
Lafrenière is one of five returning players from last year’s roster, but the only returning forward. At 18 years old, he’ll be looked upon to not only provide excellent offence, but also leadership to the team. He’s currently leading the QMJHL in points (70) and assists (47). During his rookie season, he scored 42 goals, the most goals scored by a rookie since some kid named Sidney Crosby in 2004. He’s predicted to be the top prospect eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft, ranked number one by Elite Prospects, Hockey Prospect, McKeens Hockey, and Future Considerations.
Last year, Lafrenière was the youngest on Team Canada’s roster and scored his only goal in Canada’s 5-1 win over the Czech Republic. He’ll be hoping to take the team a little further into the competition so he can make more of an impact this year.
TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors are expected to confirm today that Vince Carter’s No. 15 will be the first number to be retired by the NBA franchise.
Carter will attend an MLSE Foundation event this afternoon at the renovated Vince Carter Court at a park in the city’s northwest end.
Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri will also be on hand along with some current players and city officials.
Reports this week said that Canada’s lone NBA team would honour Carter on Nov. 2 when Toronto plays the Sacramento Kings at Scotiabank Arena.
Carter, an eight-time all-star, played parts of seven seasons with the Raptors. He was named NBA rookie of the year in 1999 and won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2000.
He was the Raptors’ first superstar and is credited for raising the profile of the team and igniting enthusiasm for basketball across Canada.
Carter guided the Raptors to the Eastern Conference semifinal in 2001. Toronto had a chance to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 but Carter’s shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced out.
He asked for a trade in 2004 and was dealt to New Jersey in a mid-season deal that saw the Raptors receive little in return. The Nets, who are now based in Brooklyn, plan to retire Carter’s number in January.
Carter played 22 seasons in the NBA before retiring after the 2019-20 season. He’ll be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame next month.
The Raptors are celebrating their 30th anniversary this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 58th home run, going deep for the fifth straight game to help the New York Yankees wrap up their second AL East title in three years with a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.
Giancarlo Stanton had four RBIs that included his 27th homer, Alex Verdugo also homered and Gerrit Cole outpitched Corbin Burnes in a possible postseason preview. Judge and Stanton homered in the same game for the 14th time this year, tying Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961 for the most in Yankees history.
New York assured itself a first-round bye and home-field advantage in a best-of-five AL Division Series starting Oct. 5.
Baltimore, which clinched a postseason berth by winning Tuesday night’s opener of the three-game series, will be in a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.
Stanton homered in the second to put the Yankees ahead and hit a three-run double in a six-run sixth.
Judge hit a two-run homer in the seventh against Bryan Baker and has 144 RBIs, the most in the major leagues since Ryan Howard’s 146 in 2008. Judge matched his career best by homering in five consecutive games.
Making his last start before the playoffs, Cole (8-5) allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out five and walked one, lowering his ERA to 3.41. He struck out Anthony Santander with a 98.1 mph fastball that ended the eighth after plate umpire David Rackley called a ball on the previous pitch, a knuckle-curve that appeared to be just above the strike zone. Cole glared as the umpire as the pitcher walked back to the dugout.
Cole was given a standing ovation when he walked to the dugout with two outs in the seventh and tipped his cap to the crowd of 42,022.
Burnes (15-9) allowed two hits in five innings, one walk and nine strikeouts — including eight on cutters. Burnes came out after 69 pitches and is likely to start the Orioles’ postseason opener on Tuesday. He had a 1.20 ERA in five September starts.
Stanton lofted a slider at the bottom of the strike zone into the left-field seats after missing badly at a slider on the prior pitch.
Austin Wells, in a 4-for-42 slide, forced in a run when he walked with the bases loaded against Cionel Pérez. Stanton drove the next pitch on one hop to the wall in right-center for a 5-1 lead. Stanton has 72 RBIs after hitting 6 for 18 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in his last five games.
Anthony Rizzo added a two-run single against Baker.
Emmanuel Rivera hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly for the Orioles.
UP NEXT
Orioles: LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59) starts a series opener at Minnesota on Friday, when LHP Pablo López (15-9, 4.11) will be on the mound for the Twins.
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-9, 3.98), 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA since the All-Star break. starts Friday’s series opener against Pirates RHP Jared Jones (6-8, 4.14).
OTTAWA – Noah Ostlund scored the overtime winner for the Buffalo Sabres in a 3-2 pre-season win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
Buffalo’s lineup had a combined total of just over 100 NHL games of experience as most of its regular roster is in Munich, Germany for the upcoming Global Series Challenge.
Felix Sandstrom made 14 saves for the Sabres (4-0-0). Josh Dunne and Isak Rosen had the Buffalo goals.
Adam Gaudette and Noah Gregor scored for Ottawa. Linus Ullmark made his first start in a Senators (3-1-0) uniform and didn’t disappoint, stopping 28 of 29 shots through 30 minutes of play.
Dustin Tokarski made 10 saves over a period and a half.
Ottawa opened the scoring at 7:55 after Carter Yakemchuk made a great defensive play to create a turnover. Gregor was then sent down the wing and he beat Sandstrom on the glove side.
Buffalo tied the game at the 10-minute mark. Vsevolod Komarov made a cross-crease pass to Dunne who stepped into the faceoff circle and beat Ullmark.
Buffalo had a 24-5 edge in shots after the first period.
Gaudette gave Ottawa the lead midway through the third with a power-play goal that was set up by Yakemchuk. Rosen tied it with 40.7 seconds remaining.
The Senators were expected to make a number of cuts after the game to reduce the size of their roster.
NOTES: The Sabres were given a special exemption from the league before the game. Teams usually have to dress a minimum of eight NHL veterans, but Buffalo didn’t have any in its lineup.
UP NEXT: The Senators will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday in Sudbury, while the Sabres will head to Columbus on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
