World Junior Championship | The Czech steamroller…

Canada received a resounding slap in the face in its first game of the World Junior Championship on Monday night against the Czech Republic.

But beware of chauvinism, let’s first pay tribute to the adversary before dwelling on the flaws of the losers.

The Czech Republic entered the Maritimes without complex. She finished fourth in the tournament last summer and this time counted on the presence of 17 19-year-old players. Eleven of his forwards are at least 6’1″ tall, including seven who are 6’3″ or taller.

We saw it in the 5-2 victory against Canada: they had not only the size, but also the talent and the aggressiveness to run over their opponents like a steamroller. We knew they were strong, but not so tough. The defense had great difficulty countering these powerful and skillful forwards, and the starting goaltender was not up to the task.

“I wouldn’t call it shock, because we knew there are some really good teams that could surprise us if we weren’t up to it, but we still can’t believe it,” he said. defender Brandt Clarke commented to reporters on site after the game. We didn’t fight to get back into the game. But we are still a threat in this tournament, we know we are a threat. »

Among the pillars of the Czech Republic in defense, defender David Jiricek, sixth overall choice in 2022, already dominant in the American League with 20 points in 19 games, and recalled for two games by Columbus at the start of the season; defender David Spacek, son of former CH defender Jaroslav, almost a point per game with the Sherbrooke Phoenix; Stanislav Svozil, a 2021 Columbus third-round pick, 37 points in just 28 games at Connor Bedard’s Regina club.

On offense, Jiri Kulich, late first-round pick in 2022, 16 points in 24 American League games with farmhouse Buffalo; striker Eduard Sale, only 17 years old, probable choice in the top 10 in 2023. In short, Canada was not playing two of spades.

We must remember this dispute of the Czech Republic in the first period, on a goal that would have given the lead 2-0 to the Canadian team. Then this major penalty to Zachary Dean, of the Gatineau Olympiques, which helped revive the opponent.

The team’s youngest player and potential 2023 NHL first overall pick, Connor Bedard, was by far Canada’s brightest forward, with one goal and 11 shots on net. It was the most used too, almost 21 minutes.

The other gem, Adam Fantilli, likely second choice behind Bedard next summer, had a tougher game despite a few flashes, especially in defensive cover. He played half as much as Bedard.

The two attempted to score with the “Michigan” feint in the first period, but were unsuccessful. Captain Shane Wright scored on a deflected shot and added an assist on Bedard’s breakaway goal.

Canada will have easier games on Wednesday against Germany and Thursday against Austria, but Saturday’s game against Sweden will not be easy.

Good games for Hutson and Engstrom

Two Canadian defense hopefuls, Adam Engström for Sweden and Lane Hutson for the United States, both drafted in 2022, were also at work on Monday. Without being flamboyant, they were very effective within their respective teams.

Engström, a third-round pick, was not in the national team’s plans heading into the season. He opened the tournament on the Swedish team’s first pair, but was not used on the power play.

The young man nevertheless obtained two assists in this 11-0 massacre at the expense of the poor Austrians, who were also deprived of another CH hope, Vinzenz Rohrer, who was ill.

Engström didn’t make a fuss, but we quickly noticed his ability to raise and defensively, it seemed easy in his battles for the puck. It will be necessary to wait for a better opposition to shower him with compliments.

Hutson, drafted late in the second round, was one of only two 18-year-old defensemen on the American roster. He played a flawless match against tougher than expected Latvians. His defensive game is underrated; he did not lose a puck, skillfully relaunched the attack and caused a few chances to score in the second pair. His center of gravity is low, he’s solid on his skates and doesn’t get pushed around so easily despite his 5’9” ​​and 155 lbs.

But we gave the big minutes, including on the power play, to 19-year-old defenders, including Luke Hughes, fourth overall pick in 2021, Ryan Ufko and Sean Behrens, all drafted a year earlier. However, you can see the full potential.

Center Oliver Kapanen, 19, a 2021 CH second-round pick, was voted Finland captain and was playing in the center of the first line, but his team suffered a difficult game and lost in overtime against Switzerland, to everyone’s surprise. Nothing transcendent for Kapanen. Nine forwards have played more despite his status.