WORLD JUNIOR HIGHS, LOWS
Classic final, shootouts and more
Put this one up there with John Carlson’s overtime goal in the 2010 world junior hockey championship. Or, if you want to be cruel, call it the U.S. version of Sidney Crosby’s “golden goal.”
Sure, the 5-4 shootout loss in the championship final of the world juniors wasn’t the ending that Canada had wanted — or expected. But hockey fans couldn’t be disappointed.
The finish to the championship final between Canada and the United States had just about everything that is great about hockey.
For a tournament that had been making news for all the empty seats, it was must-watch TV. If there was a downside — aside from Canada losing, of course — it was that it had to end.
And, perhaps more frustratingly, that it had to end in a shootout.
From the coming-out party of Thomas Chabot and draft-eligible prospect Nico Hischier to the lack of fans at games and Finland firing its coach, here are the takeaways from a very memorable tournament:
LOW ATTENDANCE
Blame the costly ticket prices or the overkill of hosting a tournament in the same two cities two years apart, but attendance was downright disappointing. Blocks of empty seats were visible throughout Air Canada Centre in Toronto and in Montreal’s Bell Centre. And it wasn’t just for non-Canadian games. Canada’s quarter-final against the Czech Republic drew 10,215 fans — half of the arena’s capacity — while 13,456 fans came out to see Canada’s semifinal against Sweden. It wasn’t until the goldmedal game when we finally saw a true sellout. Of course, based on how fans have been gouged in what is increasingly becoming less of a junior-type event, sellouts could describe Hockey Canada.
FINLAND’S FACEPLANT
A year after winning the world juniors on home soil — and also winning the under-18 world championship — Finland came into this year’s tournament with sky-high expectations. But the defending champs had an embarrassing tournament, firing their coach after losing the first three games and becoming the first team to play in the relegation round a year after winning. Part of the reason for the sub-par performance was that the team was missing NHLers Jesse Puljujarvi, Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine, who had gone 1-2-3 in scoring last year. But the bigger reason had to do with experience. The team was one of the youngest with as many as five draft-eligible players on the roster.
KIDS WILL BE KIDS
From Puljujarvi and Laine to Auston Matthews and Alexander Nylander, it was the 17-year-old draft-eligible prospects who made the most noise at last year’s world juniors. As one scout said, we were spoiled. With top-ranked prospects Nolan Patrick and Timothy Liljegren absent from the tournament due to injuries, the normalcy returned this year. That didn’t mean that the draft-eligible players were invisible. Switzerland’s Hischier, who is considered a top-five pick, improved his draft stock with four goals and seven points in five games, including a two-goal effort in a close 3-2 loss in the quarter-final to the U.S. Finland’s Eeli Tolvanen had two goals and six points in the tournament and Sweden’s Lias Andersson scored three goals in seven games.
SENS-SATIONAL
You’d be hard-pressed not to notice Chabot’s play at the world juniors. After all, he was on the ice for nearly 60 more minutes than the next-highest player in terms of ice time. With four goals and a team-leading 10 points, the Ottawa Senators prospect finished first among defencemen in scoring and tied for fourth overall. So it was hardly a surprise that Chabot, who was not used in the overtime shootout versus the U.S., was named tournament MVP, as well as the best defenceman. “I’m proud of everything I accomplished here,” Chabot said after picking up a goal and an assist — and logging nearly 44 minutes of ice time — in the goldmedal final. “I put everything I could on the ice, night after night.”
THE MINI-OVIE
Heading into the tournament, Dylan Strome was supposed to be the main attraction. Not just for Canada, but as a No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, the entire world juniors. Someone forgot to tell Russia’s Kirill Kaprizov. While Strome tied for fourth in scoring with 10 points, it was the 5-foot-9 Kaprizov who looked like a miniature version of Alex Ovechkin with nine goals and 12 points. In the process, the Minnesota Wild prospect, who has 15 goals in 37 games in the KHL, was named the tournament’s best forward. Sweden’s Alexander Nylander (five goals and 12 points), Americans Clayton Keller (three goals and 11 points) and Charlie McAvoy (two goals and four assists) and Russian goalie Ilya Samsonov were also named to the all-star team.
‘T.J.’ TERRY
Move over T.J. Oshie — there’s a new shootout hero. Troy Terry scored four goals and amassed seven points for the U.S., but it was his prowess in the shootout that made him a legend. In the semifinal against Russia, U.S. head coach Bob Motzko tapped Terry on the shoulder three times. And Terry converted on all three attempts, beating Russian goalie Samsonov through the legs each time. A day later, with the championship final against Canada tied after 20 minutes of overtime, Terry once again played shootout hero following three rounds of failed attempts. Once again, he went with what he knew best. “I didn’t plan on going five-hole,” he said. “I guess it just took over me.”