Raddysh rifles way into record book
Forward ties Canadian single-game record during 10-2 trouncing of Latvian minnows
TERRY KOSHAN TORONTO — Dylan Strome was pondering the odds Thursday morning when the thought came to him.
“Kind of weird how it all works out,” said Strome, the captain of Canada at the 2017 world junior championship.
“Hundreds of thousands of kids (in the sport across the country) and two end up on the same world junior team.”
Not just any two. An ankle injury suffered by Mitchell Stephens kept him out of Canada’s game against Latvia at the Air Canada Centre Thursday night.
That put Michael McLeod, who started the tournament as Canada’s 13th forward, on a line with Strome. McLeod and Strome grew up together in the Lorne Park area of Mississauga, Ont., were teammates in minor hockey and often had their battles in games of road hockey.
Naturally, Strome set up McLeod for a goal in the second period, one that ended a quick strike of four Canada goals in a span of two minutes, 43 seconds.
It was a record-tying night for Canada forward Taylor Raddysh, Strome’s teammate with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters.
In Canada’s 10-2 victory in front of another less-than-capacity crowd, Raddysh scored four goals, equalling the mark set by Mario Lemieux in 1983 and tied by Simon Gagne in 1999 and Brayden Schenn in 2010.
Mathew Barzal scored two goals, while Anthony Cirelli, Nicolas Roy and Julien Gauthier also scored for Canada.
Renars Krastenbergs scored a short-handed goal for Latvia, beating Carter Hart on the glove side late in the second period when the score was 8-0. Martins Dzierkals, a Toronto Maple Leafs pick, scored on a breakaway in the third period.
Canada and the United States meet Saturday afternoon to determine first place in Group B. Both teams are 3-0 through the preliminary round.
In the history of the world juniors, Canada has a record of 34-8-3 against the U.S. Figure on it being a tight game between a pair of teams that have become intense rivals at the under-20 level. Certainly, it should be the closest of Canada’s four games in the preliminary round.
The Latvians actually had some pep early in the game. They had seven shots to Canada’s three early on. And though there might have been a bit of squeamishness on the Canadian bench, it dissipated fast.
Barzal, a player whose speed is suited perfectly for today’s NHL, burst past Latvian captain Kristaps Zile and scored a short-handed goal midway through the first period. A New York Islanders prospect, Barzal went high on goalie Mareks Mitens with a backhand deke.
From there, Canada exhaled and starting beating up on its much-lesser opponent.
Power-play goals by Roy and Raddysh came before the end of the period.
In the second, Raddysh scored on a power play and then at equal strength three minutes later to complete the hat trick. Once fans realized it was Raddysh who defected a shot into the net, a couple dozen hats hit the ice.
Raddysh’s second goal was the first in under three minutes. Barzal, Cirelli and then McLeod followed.
Just over two minutes into the third period, Raddysh, one of five Tampa Bay Lightning prospects on Canada’s roster, tipped a shot into the net for his fourth of the game. Before leaving for Canada’s selection camp earlier in December, Raddysh, a native of Caledon, Ont., had 23 goals in 28 games for the Otters.
McLeod did not have a problem being the 13th forward when the tournament got underway. Coach Dominique Ducharme sat him down for a meeting when the team was made and stressed that McLeod likely would get a shot at some point. And if not, he had to be sharp on every shift.
“I knew if I was going to make the team, I knew I was probably going to start off in that role and I was completely OK with it,” said McLeod, the captain of the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads.
“I wasn’t sure how the whole thing was going to unfold, but things change. It’s just amazing to be on this team.”
As for Stephens, he is day to day.
“I wasn’t sure how the whole thing was going to unfold, but things change. It’s just amazing to be on this team.” — Michael McLeod