2023 World Juniors preview: Canada

Canada’s goal at the 2023 World Juniors is simple.

Repeat.

The hosts will look to survive as back-to-back champions as they seek their 20th World Juniors gold medal when their 2023 campaign kicks off against the Czech Republic on Boxing Day.

However, they must defy recent history to do so; no team has won back-to-back titles since 2009, when Canada’s five-year reign ended.

Just a few months ago, Canada went undefeated in August, winning gold in Edmonton, a feat they achieved for the 14th time. The win was also the seventh time Canada had won gold on home soil.

#World Juniors pic.twitter.com/m5cbD7LI6R

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) August 21, 2022

There are familiar faces in Halifax in red and white; Connor Bedard, Ethan Del Mastro, Nathan Gaucher, Zack Ostapchuk, Brennan Othmann, Joshua Roy, Logan Stankoven and Olen Zellweger all return after being part of Canada’s gold medal team in 2022.

They are joined by 10 tournament debutants, all NHL draftees currently playing in the CHL, while alumni Brandt Clarke (LA), Dylan Guenther (ARI) and Shane Wright (SEA) have been loaned by NHL clubs.

Of the 18 CHL players selected, only 3 do not have the final qualification for the tournament. With that in mind, Canada has the oldest team in the tournament based on average age.

The teams’ top three lines seem unchanged, at least based on how they’ve ranked in pre-tournament wins over Switzerland, Slovakia and Finland.

Wright centers Canada’s top line with Othmann and Bedard on the wings. Stankoven and Guenther seem locked together on the team’s second line, while the all-QMJHL third line of Zach Dean, Gaucher and Roy continues to impress.

Starters Caeden Bankier, Colton Dach and Reid Schaefer are all mixed in around the fourth line alongside Ostapchuk.

Del Mastro and Zellweger appear to be Dennis Williams’ first choice for the D-pair, while Kevin Korchinski and Jack Matier played alongside each other in Canada’s two exhibition games, as did Brandt Clarke and Tyson Hinds.

Canada will play all four of their round robin matches in Halifax. After opening on Boxing Day, the hosts battle Germany on December 28 and Austria a day later before closing out the group stages against Sweden on New Year’s Eve.

With so much talent, as usual, it’s hard to find a select few players to keep an eye on. From Bedard to Zellweger, however, here are five Canadians ready to shine.

Connor Bedard Regina (WHL)

He is the best player in the CHL. He leads all skaters in points (64), is tied for first (27) and second in assists (37).

And he won’t even turn 18 for six months.

Bedard, as expected after a 51-goal, 100-point campaign a year ago, has dazzled in his second WHL season.

After being held useless in the Pats’ season opener, the Vancouver native has since registered a point in every game since, good for a 27-game hitting streak. He has collected 19 multi-pointers and has had five points in a game in three different situations.

At the 2022 World Juniors, Bedard finished tied for eighth in tournament scoring with eight points (four goals), while his +9 rating was third best.

Connor Bedard’s game winning goal. #World Juniors pic.twitter.com/5tgo9x0UX9

– Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 24, 2022

Jack Matier Ottawa (OHL)

Matier is one of five new faces in the Canadian Defense Forces, and his inclusion is more than deserved.

The Nashville Predators prospect has anchored the blue line of the OHL’s best team, which has allowed the fewest goals in the league to date. His 26 points are the seventh-most among OHL defensemen, and while his role on Team Canada may not be as a point-scorer, he can certainly contribute when needed.

Joshua Roy Sherbrooke (QMJHL)

The Habs prospect has averaged 1.65 points so far in Phoenix, where he has scored 18 goals in 26 games.

He had 12 multi-point games and had a season-high five points on November 20, with a hat trick and two assists in a win over Quebec.

Roy, who set Sherbrooke’s franchise record with 119 points a season ago, brings scoring and skills all over the QMJHL line to complement the 200-foot matchup between Dean and the Gauchers.

In the 2022 tournament, Roy scored three goals and collected eight points while averaging 19:44 a night.

What a beauty! #World Juniorspic.twitter.com/HvO5RnxDKt

– Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 22, 2022

Logan Stankoven Kamloops (WHL)

The reigning CHL Player of the Year has picked up where he left off last season with a sensational first half of the season.

The Dallas Stars prospect has scored 44 points (17 goals) in just 21 games for an average of 2.10 points per game and has scored at least one point in every game this season.

Stankovens has had eight games with at least three points this year and has recorded 13 multi-pointers overall.

The Kamloops, BC, native, who will play in Kia’s 2023 Memorial Cup, finished third in team points at the 2022 World Juniors tournament with 10 points.

I’m Zellweger Everett (WHL)

Zellweger will enter the 2023 tournament to be the top defenseman in the 2022 class.

In Edmonton, the Calgary native was named to the tournaments All-Star Team after posting 11 points and a +14 rating. Playing in all situations, Zellwegers 20:31 time on ice led all Canadian skaters.

The defending Bill Hunter Trophy winner as the WHL’s top defenseman has 28 points in 23 games for the Silvertips this season.

Disposable power play. #World Juniors | @OlenZellweger pic.twitter.com/UdyuxJXLms

– Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 20, 2022