Canadians still tinkering with front line
Perlini the latest moving part on frustrating unit
• Brendan Perlini got a second date. But whether he receives a rose as well as a permanent spot on Canada’s top forward line at the world junior championship will depend on how many goals he can help Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner score.
“Every time you play with new players, you’re always trying to find their tendencies and things like that,” Perlini said. “I think we gelled pretty good and we’ll find out in the next game.”
The tournament has barely begun, but the list of players who have unsuccessfully auditioned for a job on Canada’s No. 1 line is already a long one. First it was Lawson Crouse. Then it was Rourke Chartier. And in a 4-2 loss to the U.S. on Boxing Day, John Quenneville and Anthony Beauvillier both saw time with Strome and Marner.
None have worked out as planned.
So Team Canada’s version of The Bachelors will try and find chemistry with the bigbodied Perlini, who spent the final minutes of a 4-2 loss to the U. S. on Boxing Day with Strome and Marner.
“I guess anytime we get a new linemate, we’ve got to talk about it,” Strome said. “I think he’s fine. I like the way he plays. He’s fast and he can shoot the puck and I think that’s why coaches want to put him on our line, so we can get some more shots on the net.
“Hopefully we can get him some good opportunities and he can put them home.”
That last part is probably the key to all of this. Not to put too much pressure on a couple of 18- year- olds who are playing in their first world junior championship, but the success of the Canadians will depend on how many goals Strome and Marner and whoever is riding shotgun can score in the tournament.
The duo is expected to be the team’s best line. According to Hockey Canada vicepresident of hockey operations Scott Salmond, Marner is expected “to be the best player in the world.”
Strome and Marner know this. And so far, they have looked the part.
Strome scored a power-play goal on a pass from Marner against the U. S. But one goal is obviously not enough. Canada needs the duo to have the kind of tournament that Max Domi and Sam Reinhart had last year, when they filled the net until it was overflowing with goals. For that to happen, they have to find an Anthony Duclair, someone who can hold his own rather than be just a third wheel.
“I’m kind of a shot-first type of guy,” Perlini said. “I just have to focus on shooting and going to the net.”
Shots were an issue in the loss against the U.S., with Canada managing only 21. The frustrating part for the coaching staff was that the team prob- ably could have doubled that amount, but often was guilty of playing pretty and looking for the perfect passing play.
“I think when you only score two goals you have to find ways to generate offence,” head coach Dave Lowry said. “We found last night that we had the puck in a lot of really key positions and we took pucks out of good shooting spots looking for an extra pass. So we have to simplify our game … shoot the puck and go to the net.”
It sounds simple, but it might not be as easy as it seems. Though the Canadians have a ton of skill and creativity up front, Lowry said “a lot of our guys’ strength is their passing ability. They’re not used to being shooters.”
That is where Perlini comes in. He was selected 12th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2014 — the same team that selected Strome with the thirdoverall pick in 2015 — the 6- foot-2 winger has scored 13 goals in 25 games with the Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League this season.
But the key to playing with Strome and Marner involves more than just pulling the trigger.
Marner, who has played with Strome at past age-group world championships, said having a winger who is willing to do the grunt work — digging pucks out of the corners, finishing checks on the forecheck and causing havoc in front of the net — is just as important as shooting the puck. In past tournaments, 6-foot- 4 Graham Knott played that role for them.
“I’d say he’s a little bit more skilled but he’s kind of the same player,” Marner said of Perlini. “A big guy that can get gritty if he wants. And if he’s got the puck, he can make plays too. It’s good having those two dimensions.”
It sounds like they could be a match. If not, there’s more than enough suitors willing to try their hand.