2022 World Juniors Day 3 recap: USA forfeits, Bedard shines as Canada rolls
In a day marred by the abrupt cancellation of the USA-Switzerland game and subsequent forfeit amid positive test results for two USA players, there was just one game played on Tuesday night in Alberta. The Canadians took care of business against Austria and 16-year-old phenom Connor Bedard created some highlights in an otherwise strange day for the tournament as a whole.
The U.S. team is currently in mandatory isolation and did not play in its previously-scheduled game Tuesday against Switzerland. As a result, the Swiss will get a 1-0 win by U.S. forfeit and have collected three points in the standings. The Americans are currently undergoing a second round of testing and awaiting the results. They will also test against on Wednesday morning to see if they can play against Sweden Wednesday night as scheduled. If they cannot, it is likely the U.S. will have to forfeit that game as well.
All players on Team USA are vaccinated and, according to team sources, the players that tested positive – a goaltender and a forward – are asymptomatic. I will continue following along and will provide updates as they become available.
But there was one game to talk about, so let’s get to it…
Canada 11 – Austria 2
The only other game of the day took place in Edmonton and it was indeed the Bedard Show as he became the first 16-year-old to score a hat trick for Team Canada at the World Juniors since Wayne Gretzky scored three on Christmas Day 1977. Bedard added another goal for good measure, while playing underneath the No. 99 banner that hangs at Rogers Place.
Things Connor Bedard can’t do: Legally get into an R rated movie.
Things Connor Bedard can do: Score hat tricks at the #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/SuLHmubrfh
The Canadians peppered the Austrian net with 64 shots and never took their foot off the gas, scoring five in the first period, one in the second and five in the third. With a day off between games, they looked well-rested and dialed in. Brett Brochu made 20 saves to earn his first World Junior victory.
Kent Johnson (CBJ) started off the scoring for Canada 5:08 into the game after connecting on a perfect feed from Cole Perfetti (WPG). Lukas Cormier (VGK) and Logan Stankoven (DAL) each fired pretty shots past Leon Sommer, who did his best to fight off the onslaught.
But then it was Bedard who took over, scoring twice in 1:11 for the final two goals of the first period. He then added Canada’s only goal of the second on a beautiful move to the inside, around Austrian defenders and right down Broadway for a wide-open look he made no mistake with.
In the third period, Canada got goals from Perfetti, Bedard, two from Mason McTavish (ANA) and one more from Mavrik Bourque (DAL) to pad the stats and make sure the scoreboard’s double digits were working.
Canada improved to 2-0-0-0 and is tied with Finland atop Group A. Those two teams will meet in what should be the game that will decide the top seed heading into the crossover quarterfinals on New Year’s Eve. That may be the only time Canada faces a real test in the preliminary round.
ICYMI: It was a night of firsts as @hockeycanada's Connor Bedard became the youngest player to score 4 goals in a #WorldJuniors game, while Logan Stankoven picked up his first World Juniors goal.
Game story: https://t.co/buJbiLAswH pic.twitter.com/Jhu8sIzUJE
Top Performers of the Day
Connor Bedard, RW, Canada (2023): What more can you say? The 2023 draft-eligible tied a Canadian record for most goals in a single game with four. He had a chance at a fifth late, but opted to pass to Elliot Desnoyers who hit the post. Bedard got one other look for the record-breaking goal, but his stick broke instead. No matter how you slice it, Bedard is a special player.
He’s not a very tall player, but he’s strong. There’s some explosiveness in his game, his hands are excellent and his shot is off-the-charts. The creativity he plays with make him that much more dangerous. He is going to be a thrill to watch for years to come.
“It’s really cool to hear my name next to one of, if not the greatest player of all time,” said Bedard about matching Gretzky’s 16-year-old feat before demurring. “It’s just one game. I don’t think I’ll score 2,800 points in the NHL.”
Cole Perfetti, LW, Canada (WPG): One of Canada’s most cerebral players, Perfetti finished the game with three points including a goal and two assists. His ability to find teammates in space and make the exact right play at the right time as often as he does should serve him well at the next level. Another guy who doesn’t have great size, his hockey sense is elite. Through two games, I think there’s a case to be made that he is Canada’s best forward.
Mason McTavish, C, Canada (ANA): With two goals and an assist, it was another strong outing from McTavish where he was able to show his aggressiveness and his offensive touch. I mean this as an absolute compliment, but he plays the game with an incredible amount of arrogance. He just finds ways to move his opponents off the puck and then has the finish to make these highly-skilled plays. His growth as a player over the last two years has been really remarkable.
Mason McTavish scored back-to-back beauties just 47 seconds apart 😮 (Here's the first one)#WorldJuniors @HockeyCanada @AnaheimDucks @PetesOHLhockey pic.twitter.com/gUaE5bYCAJ
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 29, 2021Elliot Desnoyers, C/W, Canada (PHI): With three assists, Desnoyers made a positive impact on the game. He played a lot alongside Bedard, but put himself in good positions to make plays and support his young teammate. Desnoyers plays with a good mix of energy and skill, which made him particularly noticeablel. Additionally, Desnoyers won 15 of 19 faceoffs.
Leon Sommer, G, Austria: OK, so he let in 11 goals, but he also made 53 saves in the game. That’s a lot of work. Sommer was little more than a sacrificial lamb for his team, but what impressed me most is that from the beginning of the game to the end, he battled. He did everything he could to try and stop Canada amid this incredible onslaught. These games are never particularly fun for the opposition when the talent level is so lopsided, but Sommer hung in there and tried to put together as good a performance as he could against impossible odds.
News and notes from around the World Junior
Canada shorthanded vs. Austria: One note from today’s game that didn’t really fit into the game recap was that Canada was down two players going into today’s game. Xavier Bourgault (EDM) was injured in the win over Czechia and sat out. Head coach Dave Cameron said Bourgault is progressing well and said he was keeping his fingers crossed Bourgault could skate Wednesday.
Meanwhile, forward Justin Sourdif was suspended one game by the IIHF for an illegal check to the head of Czech defenseman Jiri Tichacek.
With two forwards unavailable, Canada dressed eight defensemen and 12 forwards. Blueliner Ryan O’Rourke (MIN) drew into the lineup, while Logan Stankoven (DAL) joined the forward group and even scored a goal.
Swiss first-ever win against USA comes in an unfortunate way: Switzerland had never beaten the United States in the World Junior Championship, but earned a 1-0 win today because of USA’s forfeit. The Americans had a record of nine wins, no losses and one tie. It’s a weird way to get your first, but this game does go down in the record books as a Swiss win, though there may be an asterisk next to it. This was supposed to be the first time Switzerland played the U.S. since Nico Hischier put a huge scare into the Americans during the 2017 quarterfinals before falling just short, 3-2.
Why U.S. game wasn’t postponed: According to multiple sources, there were a number of scenarios that were in play before the IIHF ultimately decided to cancel the USA-Switzerland game. One such scenario was a postponement of the game and a restructuring of the schedule to have the U.S. play Switzerland Wednesday, then Sweden Thursday and then Russia on Friday. With the idea of a potential back-to-back-to-back, that idea was eventually scrapped.
As TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported, there is a chance the U.S. will still be allowed to play Wednesday against Sweden even if there are multiple additional positive cases on the team after the next two rounds of testing. It will depend on how the positives are clustered, but the medical council will be the one to make the final call. A determination about the USA-Sweden game is expected to be made sometime in the early evening on Wednesday.