Follow the match between Canada and the Czech Republic on Monday at 6:30 p.m. on RDS.
What does Junior Team Canada have in store for us as a curtain raiser, with the quest for a 20e gold medal in the history of the Under-20 Hockey Championship begins Monday (6:30 p.m. Quebec time, RDS), in Halifax.
Sunday, Christmas Day, the Canadian players treated themselves to a moderate-intensity training session in front of a handful of journalists, in preparation for the clash against Czechia, quite possibly one of the two best oppositions they will see. in the preliminary phase.
In downtown Nova Scotia’s capital, near the Scotiabank Centre, it was dead calm during the December 25 festivities. Quite a contrast to the wave of Maple Leaf supporters expected starting Monday.
It’s a whole different atmosphere that will animate the Mooseheads amphitheater, in the QMJHL, when the puck is deposited at the center of the ice in Halifax for the first time in two decades, since the 2003 edition won by Russia , thanks to a victory in the final over ECJ.
Some may get old when they learn that Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Jordin Tootoo, Carlo Colaiacovo and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau were part of this silver medalist squad.
Ironically, the hosting of the tournament was awarded jointly to Halifax and Moncton in early 2022, after it would normally have been hosted by two Russian cities, Novosibirsk and Omsk. However, this privilege was withdrawn in February, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Gaudreau opening… who knows what happens next?
For this first real match of the competition, Dennis Williams and his assistants have decided to turn to Ben Gaudreau to guard the net for Canada.
“It will be an incredible feeling for me to put the skate first on the ice in front of this crowd. I was really happy when they told me I was going to be in goal. On the other hand, I must try to approach it like any match. It’s a difficult mandate, but you have to take a step back, and a few good breaths too, “supported Gaudreau, who explained to us with a smirk that since his early childhood, no one calls him Benjamin except of his mother, “when she speaks to me in a tone of reproach. »
Assistant coach Stéphane Julien clarified after Sunday’s session, which lasted about 75 minutes, that the choice to start the preliminary phase with Gaudreau is not a disavowal of Thomas Milic, and that the system of Alternation between the two goalkeepers is possible for the four games of the round robin.
Julien, chief instructor of the Sherbrooke Phoenix, also praised the job done by winger Joshua Roy, one of the three Quebec players in the training, and a player whose style of play he knows intimately.
Even if he sees the choice of 5e round of CH since his GM acquired him from the Saint John Sea Dogs almost two years ago, the 48-year-old hockey man finds a way to be amazed by the performance of the Beauceron forward during the three preparatory parts.
“Honestly, he impresses me. He’s done well in every situation he’s been tasked with, whether it’s five-on-five, shorthanded or more recently on the power play. [NDLR : au détriment du défenseur de 18 ans Kevin Korchinski] “, pointed out Julien, Sunday.
In WJC history, Canada and Czechia have faced each other a total of 23 times, and the Maple Leafs have never lost in regulation, posting a record of 20 wins, two draws and one overtime loss .
In the spring of 2021, in the under-18 category, Gaudreau and Milic shared the net, helping Canada finish on the top step of the podium.
As for the rest of the Canadian roster, it will stick to what was deployed two days ago in the 5-3 win over Finland.
Thus, captain Shane Wright will find Connor Bedard and Brendan Othmann, while Adam Fantilli will pivot a trio completed by Logan Stankoven and Dylan Guenther.
Almost flawless in preseason games, the unit made up of Nathan Gaucher, Roy and Zach Dean will also remain intact, while Colton Dach will start on the 4e unit with Zach Ostapchuk and Caedan Bankier, and that Reid Schaefer will be the 13e attacker.
Olen Zellweger and Ethan Del Mastro will patrol the first defensive pair against the Czech Republic, and Tyson Hinds will complete right-hander Brandt Clarke. Korchinski and Nolan Allen will also be in the top-6, while Jack Matier will be available as 7e back.
Asked whether Fantilli’s room for maneuver was dwindling after three games in which he was seen little – at least in enemy territory – Williams assured that he has no concerns.
“I think the most important thing is to generate scoring opportunities and not to worry too much about it,” he said, referring to the rather quiet pre-tournament schedule experienced by the pivot. ECJ’s second offensive unit.
“The last thing you want to see from our guys is that they hold their stick too tight because of the pressure (to score). Adam is an outstanding teammate, he works very hard, has recovered a lot of pucks and finished his checks so far. »
Williams agreed, however, that another player could get a chance to break into the second power-play unit, if the University of Michigan Wolverines’ star player stagnates in that aspect of the game.
On the Czech side, on 6e overall pick from the last draft, defenseman David Jiříček, will jump into the fray against Canada in a difficult context to say the least. The big, hard-shooting right-hander played for the Monsters in Cleveland, AHL, on Friday and the flight he was supposed to take to the Maritimes on Sunday has been postponed, so he’ll at best get a session with his teammates before to start the tournament.
Logically, Jiříček, who is hovering around the points per game mark in his first campaign in North America (5 goals and 15 assists in 19 games), should form a duo with another Blue Jackets choice, Stanislas Svozil.
It will be Jiříček’s chance to return to action at the World Juniors, precisely 364 days after he saw his tournament end in the Czech opener, the result of a ligament tear in his knee that kept him on the sidelines for almost five months.