American NHLers bask in junior team’s glory after gold-medal win over Canada

Teased by a trainer after Russia was eliminated from the world junior hockey championship, Ottawa Senators forward Alex Galchenyuk ended up getting the last laugh.

Galchenyuk, who was born in Milwaukee to Belarusian parents, was a member of the United States team that beat Sweden 3-1 in the final of the 2013 world junior event. But one of the Senators’ trainers, perhaps unaware of his pedigree, decided to give Galchenyuk the gears after Russia was eliminated 5-0 by Canada in Monday’s semifinal.

“A few days ago when Team Russia lost, one of the trainers camp up to me and wanted to make fun of me,” Galchenyuk said Wednesday. “I told him, ‘Do your research because I played for Team U.S.A.”’

Galchenyuk’s country came through again Tuesday night, with a 2-0 win over Canada in the 2021 final at Edmonton’s

Rogers Place.

“He was pretty quiet today,” Galchenyuk said. “We had a good laugh about it. I’m happy for Team U.S.A.”

While he was able to enjoy the United States’ victory after the fact, the 9:30 p.m. ET start time meant he couldn’t watch the final live.

“I was sleeping,” he said. Defenceman Jake Sanderson, drafted fifth overall by the Senators in 2020, was part of the team that won the fourth gold medal for the U.S. since 2010.

“It’s probably the fastest gold-medal game I can remember in a long time,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith said. “That’s a lot of good hockey players out there. One hockey game, anyone can win.

“Kudos to the United States for what they did, and what they did throughout the tournament. Canada represented very well, as well.”