Canada to battle Sweden at World Juniors in first NYE game with fans since 2019
Canada held a meeting at the team hotel last Saturday. Sweden skated at Scotiabank Arena.
With fans packing the arena in Halifax, the barn has been buzzing every night at the World Juniors.
“There’s nowhere else you’d rather play,” Michigan Wolverines freshman Adam Fantilli said. “I mean, playing in Canada is one thing, but playing for Canada in Canada is the best there is. The fans are amazing. They keep the atmosphere rocking. We love it.”
“We knew it was going to be pretty crazy,” Regina Pats phenom Connor Bedard said, “but I didn’t really know the magnitude of how it was going to be. It’s been great. I can’t stress it enough how good they’ve been. .”
And it’s expected to get even hotter when the calendar year and preliminary round of the World Juniors wrap up on Saturday night. Canada needs a win to secure a top two seed. Sweden aims to take first place in the pool.
“New Year’s Eve is always a special day,” said Canadian captain Shane Wright. “Always loved watching this game growing up, so definitely special to play in it… We know we took a couple of steps forward the last few games and hope to carry that momentum into tonight.”
This will be Canada’s first New Year’s game in front of fans since December 31, 2019 in Ostrava where Canada beat the host Czechs 7-2.
“I want to play hockey this day,” defenseman Olen Zellweger said. “It’s exciting and looking forward to the crowd tonight.”
Canada lost its last two New Year’s games in front of home fans, falling 2-1 to the Russians at the 2019 event in Vancouver and dropping a 3-1 decision to the United States in Toronto at the 2017 tournament. Canada’s last New Year’s Eve win in front of home fans came at the 2015 event when they beat the Americans 5-3 in Montreal.
Canada beat Finland on New Year’s Eve at the 2021 event in Edmonton, but it came in an empty arena due to covid.
The first tournament of 2022 in Edmonton was called off before the tournament made it to New Year’s Eve.
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Canada will need every edge they can get against the unbeaten Swedes, who have conceded just two goals.
“We’re going to have to do a good job of getting to the inside and trying to wear them down,” head coach Dennis Williams said. “We’ve got to hang onto the pucks. Every time we turn a puck over, they’re going to transition quickly. We want to tighten up our D-zone a little bit more … They do an incredible job down low. They like to find a lot of pucks in the trapeze and get you to turn and be able to activate those D. We’re going to call on our defense and our centers to stay connected down low.”
Sweden’s top scorer is defender Ludvig Jansson, who has two goals and three assists.
“Their D is their strength,” noted assistant coach Alan Letang, who handles the pre-scout for Canada. “They’ve done a great job this tournament of escaping pressure, going to the blue line and creating scoring chances. They’re all very mobile. They’re all very capable of jumping into the game.”
The Swedes emphasize the execution.
“We have to be steady with our passes and receptions so we can have some kind of offensive play and not let them be in our D-zone,” says head coach Magnus Hävelid.
“We’ve been better and better every game,” Linköping forward Fabian Wagner said. “We play pretty simple. Chip and go and play with a hard-pressed forecheck.”
This will be the first meeting between Canada and Sweden at the World Juniors since the 2018 Gold Games in Buffalo.
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Canada will make a change on the Blue Line. Nolan Allan will line up alongside Brandt Clarke on the second pair while Tyson Hinds shifts down to the third pair with Kevin Korchinski.
“Tys is getting more up in the play,” Clarke said. “When Ally’s out there, he gets those big hits and really stops them at the blue line. They’ve got to chip it off him or they’re going to get run over so it gives me a lot of room to break it out.”
Korchinski and Hinds are both lefties. It is expected that Korchinski will play right. The coaching staff believes the Chicago Blackhawks prospect will be able to adjust well, as he is such a talented skater.
“They’re all comfortable playing with each other,” Letang said. “They’re all comfortable moving to the right or left side, which is key.”
Jack Matier, a righty, will remain the seventh defenseman. Clarke is the only other righty on the blue line.
“The biggest thing for our D is going to be our gaps,” Letang said. “They have four lines coming at you and their D joins so it’s a fourth guy every time. If we don’t have our F2 or F3 reload up top, they’re going to get odd-man rushes and our D has to collapse inside the dots and push everything to the outside. If we can get a good groove and reload, our big D can stay up, hold that line, force them to put the pucks deep or create the turnovers and then we drive where we want to go.”
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With two goals and two assists, Wagner is second in goals in Sweden.
“I have very good confidence,” the Winnipeg Jets prospect said. “I played three really good games here.”
The best part of his game?
“I’ve been in the right position every time and I skate a lot,” the 18-year-old said.
The message from the Jets?
“Just focus on myself and keep playing like I’m doing right now,” he said. “It’s a dream to play in the World Juniors, but it will be really fun to play against Canada.”
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For the first time at the World Juniors, Canada will wear their black uniforms.
“They’re, honestly, my personal favorites,” Wright said. “I’m looking forward to playing in them. They just look sharp. They’re a little different than what Canada is used to. You’re used to the red and white, but I like the different look with the darker feel.”
The last two times Canada won the gold medal game at the World Juniors (Ostrava 2020 and Edmonton 2022) they wore black.
“My favorite shirt,” Zellweger said. “I’m excited to wear them. They always have a good feel. We started wearing them later in the tournament in the summer and they’re pretty nice.”
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Projected lineup for Team Canada for Saturday’s game:
F
Othmann-Wright-Bedard
Roy – Stankoven – Guenther
Ostapchuk – Gaucher – Dean
Fantilli – Bankier – Dach
Schaefer
D
Del Mastro – Zellweger
Allan – Clarke
Hinds – Korchinski
Matters
G
Milic starts
Gaudreau