Canada spreading the scoring around

Drama abounds both on and off the ice as world juniors enter elimination phase

BUFFALO, N.Y. After a week of hockey, the preliminary round of the world junior hockey championship is in the books.

We’ve seen a dominant display from the Canadians, who are getting scoring from just about everyone. And we’ve seen spectacular performances from draft-eligible prospects such as Rasmus Dahlin and Brady Tkachuk. What we haven’t seen is many fans in the seats.

With the quarter-finals beginning Tuesday, here are the major storylines so far at the annual under-20 tournament:

CANADA CAN SCORE

There is no Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby on this year’s Team Canada, but you wouldn’t know it based on the blowout wins over Slovakia and Denmark.

Canada led the preliminary round with 21 goals in four games. The most impressive part was that they have done it mostly by committee. While Sam Steel leads Team Canada with three goals, the team has received offence from every line and nearly every forward.

Funny enough, Tyler Steenbergen is the only forward still searching for a goal. It’s a bit surprising considering the Swift Current Broncos winger entered the tournament as Canada’s leading scorer in junior, with 35 goals and 61 points in 27 WHL games. Maybe he’s saving it up for the medal round.

PLAYING LIKE A NO. 1

He’s been compared to Erik Karlsson and been called the best defensive prospect ever, but if there were any concerns that Rasmus Dahlin was being unfairly hyped as the next Nicklas Lidstrom, the talented Swedish defenceman has put them to rest. With a tournament-leading six assists in four games, he’s produced as advertised. Dahlin has been a minute-muncher for Sweden, and is noticeable every time he steps on the ice.

“He’s a good skater, he can move the puck, he can shoot and he can work the blue-line,” Swedish head coach Tomas Monten said.

It is another way of saying Dahlin has done it all.

EMPTY SEATS

Aside from the outdoor game played at New Era Field, where a world junior hockey championship record 44,592 fans withstood a blizzard to watch Canada lose in a shootout to the U.S., tournament attendance has been a disappointment.

At best, KeyBank Center has been half-full. At worst, the only people in the stands are scouts and family and friends of the players, with less than 10,000 fans attending the games featuring Canada or the United States.

Prices are obviously a big reason for the lack of turnout, with organizers charging NHL prices for a junior product. Overexposure has also played a part, considering this is the third time in four years the tournament has been held in the area.

Maybe the turnout will pick up for the medal round. But if there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s this: put junior hockey in junior-sized rinks with junior hockey fans buying tickets.

CANUCKS’ FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

Two years after selecting Brock Boeser with the 23rd-overall pick, the Vancouver Canucks appear to have found the 20-year-old sniper someone to play with.

Elias Pettersson, who was Vancouver’s fifth-overall pick in 2017, headed into the tournament as one of the top scorers in the top-flight Swedish Hockey League with 35 points in 26 games.

The 19-year-old has continued that offensive production at the world juniors, where he is tied for the team lead in scoring with six points in four games.

“I think he started off OK,” Monten said. “He feels a lot of excitement coming here, maybe some pressure as well. I think he’s a player that can (score big goals). He also can create space for his teammates.”

STOCK RISING

Heading into the tournament, Tkachuk was considered a topfive pick. But with two goals and six points in four games, not including a big shootout goal against Canada, has the agitating and skilled forward pushed his way into a top-three spot?

Tkachuk won’t get chosen ahead of Dahlin, who is far and away the consensus No. 1 overall pick. He could, however, be closing the gap on Russia’s Andrei Svechnikov (five assists in four games) and the Czech Republic’s Filip Zadina (three goals and one assist).

All three players have performed well on the world stage. But in terms of swagger, Tkachuk has them beat. He was a beast in a 4-3 overtime shootout win against Canada, where he scored the tying goal and then beat goalie Carter Hart with a slick move in the shootout, celebrating the pivotal goal with a WWE-inspired celebration. And he showed up again in a big way against Finland, picking up a trio of assists in a 5-4 win on Sunday.

FABBRO FALTERS

Dante Fabbro, who hobbled into the tournament with a bone contusion, is still hurting. Though he logged more than 18 minutes in the opening game against Finland, his ice time has been up and down depending on the opponent. The native of New Westminster, B.C., played about five minutes in a 6-0 win against Slovakia, then 14:54 against the U.S., and was on the ice for just 3:34 in an 8-0 blowout against Denmark.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme said the top-pairing defenceman was being rested for the quarter-finals. If this continues, look for Cale Makar to get more opportunity. The team’s seventh defenceman, who played 9:27 against the U.S., leads the team’s blue-liners with two goals.

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, BUFFALO

While the Buffalo Sabres are mired in another losing season, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel — and Casey Mittelstadt is shining it.

The eighth-overall pick in 2017 has been Team U.S.A.’s top player with four goals and nine points in four games. And the promising sign for Buffalo fans is that Mittelstadt is not padding his stats against bottom-feeders. His best game was in the win against Canada in the outdoor game, where he picked up the primary assist on all three goals to force overtime. Two days later, Mittelstadt was at it again, notching a goal and two assists in a 5-4 victory against Finland.

“I’ve said it since Day 1, he’s one of the most highly talented kids I’ve ever seen play the game,” U.S. teammate Ryan Poehling said. “For him to come out there on this type of ice, with that much snow, and to do that, it’s pretty cool to see, especially in his hometown of Buffalo.”

SHRINK THE SEEDS?

Is it time to reduce the number of participating countries from 10 to eight, or perhaps six? I don’t personally think so, although there are rumblings that some of the weaker nations have no business being here after Denmark was outscored 26-2 in four games.

Having 9-0, 8-0 and 6-0 blowouts — there were five games with a five-goal or more differential — does not make for compelling hockey.

At the same time, the best part of tournaments like this is when David comes out of nowhere and topples Goliath, like Slovakia’s 3-2 win against the U.S.