Canada began its back-to-back gold medal defense with a solid 5-2 win over Finland to open up the group stage of the World Junior Championships. The Canadians got off to a bit of a jittery start but found their game quickly in the first period. Once they got going, they never stopped and thanks to a ton of depth scoring got off to the right start in this tournament. They found a way to get goals in all three periods and never let Finland truly get back into the contest.
The forechecking was a big key to the overall success of Canada as their relentless pursuit of the puck was a struggle for Finland to fight off all game long. Despite the win, head coach Alan Letang will certainly not be happy with his team’s lack of discipline. Canada took six penalties in this one and two of them led to the only two goals Finland scored. Canada must fix that up to avoid major upsets throughout the tournament. Overall, it was a good start for one of the favorites. Here’s a few things that stood out to me.
The ADB Line Strikes Again
The line of Owen Allard-Nate Danielson–Owen Beck once again was Canada’s best, as the trio combined for two goals, three points, and eight shots on goal. They were a matchup nightmare the entire 60 minutes for Finland. Danielson, in particular, was a force to be reckoned with. The ninth overall pick in last year’s draft by the Detroit Red Wings got the game’s first goal in the first period and added an assist on Allard’s goal in the second period. He showed several flashes of what made him a top-10 pick.
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As for Allard, he was all over the ice and showed the scrappy play that makes such a tough matchup each night. The Soo Greyhound forward has now scored in back-to-back games after today’s performance. He added a goal in the last pre-tournament game vs the United States a few days ago and took that momentum into the contest against Finland. For Beck, despite not scoring, he did a good job of using the forecheck to keep the puck in the offensive zone several times, so his linemates could get on the board. The chances will keep coming for this line, and Letang should certainly continue to rely more and more on them as this tournament moves along.
Rousseau Was Sharp From the Start
Despite giving up two goals, it should be noted that Canada’s starting goaltender was on his game from the opening puck drop. Mathis Rousseau needed to be sharp today, and he was. As the game went on, Finland found more and more ways to create chances to score. The two-time undrafted netminder shut down Finland for most of the game and gave Canada the confidence they needed to get the win. No moment was bigger than the phenomenal diving glove save he made late in the first period as he robbed New Jersey Devils prospect Lenni Hämeenaho of a sure goal that would’ve given Finland the early lead.
Just moments after that heroic save, Danielson scored for Canada to give them the lead. The team and Rousseau never looked back from that as the Montreal, Quebec native stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced. Who would backstop the defending champions was a question mark coming into this tournament. This was especially true after their final pre-tournament game vs the United States. However, those questions could have potentially been answered after Rousseau’s play today. It’s early, but a good start nonetheless from the goalie looking to level up his draft stock and confidence from his country.
Celebrini Impactful Right Away
The biggest storyline for Canada coming into this year’s tournament was how Macklin Celebrini would perform. It’s safe to say that he passed his first test and made an immediate impact. The projected first overall pick in next year’s draft not only got his first career goal in the World Juniors, but it turned out to be his first career game-winning goal as well. It took a bit of time to review it, but the puck squeezed under the Finnish goalie and into the net to give Canada a 3-1 lead.
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Despite playing on Canada’s fourth line, Celebrini took his opportunity and ran with it. He continued to show the skill and speed that will certainly have NHL scouts drooling over what he could do in professional hockey. Canada itself should be very excited about what the young kid can do for the rest of this tournament. There’s a lot of pressure on the 19-year-old, but so far, he has thrived in it. Counting the goal he scored in the team’s last pre-tournament match, Celebrini now has goals in each of his past two games. He’ll look to continue his success as the tournament rolls along.
Canada will look to continue to build upon a good start to the group stage tomorrow afternoon when they battle Latvia. That game will be at 1:30 PM EST and should be a really good opportunity for the defending champions to flex their muscle and build their confidence in all phases of their game.
