GROUP A: Canada

2013 finish: Fourth place, fell 6-5 to Russia in the bronze medal game

2013 round-robin record: 4-0-0-0, 21 GF/ 8 GA

Yahoo! Canada Sports has asked North American-based players, some of whom are playing in the world junior championship, and team scouts to break down their national teams.

Hockey Canada’s patience is running out at the world junior championship. They have gone four consecutive years without capturing gold following winning the prized medal five years in a row. Partially because of this lack of success, they shook up their tryout process this year by only handing out 25 invites, which is roughly 15 less than recent years. In doing so, they hope this will lead to the team generating chemistry quicker.

“This way they have more time to build chemistry and it gives (head coach) Brent (Sutter) more time to put lines together,” says Hockey Canada U20 head scout Ryan Jankowski. “And this way they can focus more on preparing for the tournament than just making the team. We are very confident in the players we picked, too. We brought players that thrive in all situations of the game so we know we can put together a complete team.”

Canada may not have as much offensive talent as last year when they had Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Strome, but they do have a quality mix of players up front. They have elite scorers led by 2014 draft sensation Sam Reinhart, 16-year-old superstar Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning first-round pick Jonathan Drouin while having a handful of top-notch two-way players such as Vancouver Canucks first-round pick Bo Horvat, Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick Scott Laughton and Ottawa Senators first-round pick Curtis Lazar.

“We brought in players to make a complete team,” says Jankowski. “We need guys that can take the puck and rush it, but we also need guys that can kill penalties and play shutdown roles. I think we brought in a good mix to fill our needs.”

McDavid is ultimately Canada’s offensive wildcard. He clearly has the talent to play in the top six or on the third line, but he also could fit in on the fourth line, as Colorado Avalanche sniper Nathan MacKinnon did last year under Steve Spott, or even as the 13th forward. So far in exhibition action, he has been playing on the wing with Reinhart and Horvat.



“There’s a lot of ways Brent can use McDavid,” says Jankowski. “It is up to him, but he could use him as a scoring third-line centre or possibly the 13th forward like Canada did with John Tavares when he was his age. He’s played very well at the U18 and in the OHL, so he’s showed he’s someone with a lot of upside that can be used in different situations.”

Like Drouin in the offense, New York Islanders prospect Griffin Reinhart is the only returning player on the back end. The 6-foot-4, 202-pounder’s main role, following his three-game suspension, will be in the defensive end as a shutdown specialist. But since Canada doesn’t necessarily have an offensive defenceman as talented as they have had in past players with the likes of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly (2013) and Nashville Predators’ Ryan Ellis (2011, 2010), he may have some pressure on his shoulders to chip in offensively, too.

“I think there are a lot of offensive defencemen this year who can play both ends of the rink,” says Reinhart, who plays on the Edmonton Oil Kings’ blueline. “You saw that in the game on Saturday [against the CIS Toronto Selects], everyone did a good job of jumping up. For me, I know I take lot of pride in my defensive role and I'm going to try to be a shutdown defenceman, but I'm always working on my offensive game. If I can jump up, I will.”

The Minnesota Wild’s decision to loan Matt Dumba to Canada boosted their back end significantly. The former Red Deer Rebel, who was cut by Team Canada the past two tryouts, brings NHL experience, offensive skill and an edge to the blueline.

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