JUNIOR JUGGERNAUT
Canada crushes Slovaks
The next time somebody says that Team Canada is without a star player at this year’s world juniors, make mention of Jordan Kyrou’s goal from Wednesday night’s 6-0 win against Slovakia.
It was pure magic, the kind of trick you might see in a David Blaine magic special.
One second, Kyrou was cutting to his left to avoid a defender. Then he stopped suddenly and cut back to his right, threading the puck through a pair of skates as though they were a set of pylons in a practice drill. It didn’t seem real. It was as if, as in magic, closer inspection would reveal that the puck was attached to the stick with fishing wire. That’s how silly the Torontonian, a second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues, made the poor Slovak defender look.
To cap it off, Kyrou wristed the puck past helpless Slovakian goaltender David Hrenak, who like everyone else in the building seemed mesmerized by the deking exhibition.
“I don’t even know how he did it,” forward Jonah Gadjovich said. “He makes one move and you think you know what he’s going to do next, but you really have no idea. A lot of disbelief and ‘What just happened?’”
“I thought it was pretty spectacular,” defenceman Cale Makar said. “I don’t even know what happened there.”
It was just another example of how much hidden talent there is on this team. What might have started out as a no-name roster of second-round picks and midrange prospects is quickly turning into a dangerous offensive collection of snipers.
Gadjovich had two goals while Sam Steel, Taylor Raddysh and fourth-liner Maxime Comtois all scored in the one-sided win to remain in first place in Group A. Up next for Canada is an outdoor game Friday against the host U.S. team.
Based on the amount of offensive options at head coach Dominique Ducharme’s disposal, the U.S. should have its hands full deciding which of Canada’s four lines — all have scored already — deserves the most attention.
“I think we’re four lines deep,” Kyrou said. “Every line can contribute and score all game long. Every line’s a threat.”
By now, that shouldn’t be surprising. We’re only two games into the tournament, but Canada isn’t beating teams with defence and dump-and-chase hockey. This is a fun team to watch.
There isn’t a Connor McDavid to bring in the casual sports fan, but there are plenty of Mitch Marners — the type of players who can make magic happen every time they’re on the ice.
Kyrou, who still leads the Ontario Hockey League with 58 points in 30 games despite having last played on Dec. 9, leads Canada with four points in two games. His linemate Steel, who was the Western Hockey League’s MVP last year, has two goals and one assist.
Raddysh and Gadjovich also have two goals and one assist, while three other forwards have one goal each.
What is encouraging is how Canada is scoring. Kyrou’s goal was flashy, but three others came from driving to the net and tapping in rebounds or redirections. Comtois’s goal was a blend of both, as the towering forward hunted down a Slovak defender and stripped him of the puck before roofing a backhand over into the top corner.
“I think we’ve gotten better every period and we’re doing well at building our game and just getting better,” Gadjovich said. “Now that we’re settled in, guys are more comfortable in making plays and, I guess, adjusting to their linemates.”
A day after Carter Hart held the fort against Finland, backup Colton Point stopped all 20 shots he faced. It might not have been a heavily taxing game for Point, but his role did become more important in the first period when Canada was suddenly down a couple of defencemen.
The team was already without Kale Clague for Wednesday’s game after he hurt his foot in the game against Finland. Dante Fabbro, who has been battling a suspected foot injury, saw just a little more than five minutes of ice time.
As for Clague and Fabbro, Ducharme said both are day-today but should be ready to play in Friday’s outdoor game. Of course, with an offence like this one, they probably could get by without a defenceman or two.