2022 IIHF World Junior Hockey Tournament Preview: Team Canada

The 2022 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship is back, kicking off Tuesday in Edmonton and running through Aug. 20. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from Dec. 26, 2021 to Jan. 5 2022 in Edmonton and Red Deer, but was cancelled because of COVID concerns. The tournament will now take place solely in Edmonton and all statistics and records from the first tournament will be reset. In addition, Latvia will replace Russia, who has been disqualified because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Led by head coach Dave Cameron, Canada is favoured to win the tournament and first hits the ice on Wednesday to face the Latvians. Make sure to check out complete WJC single-game and tournament odds.

Forwards

Canada’s depth is usually its biggest asset and that’s no different for this team. The loss of Shane Wright from the December roster isn’t nearly as impactful as it should be because of just how strong Canada is at centre. The likes of captain Mason McTavish, CHL Player of the Year Logan Stankoven, Ridly Greig and Elliot Desnoyers will all feature in the middle, while Connor Bedard could be another option. Bedard showed flashes of brilliance in two tournament games in December, including a four-goal performance against Austria. Another big addition is Kent Johnson, who has NHL experience and was a key member of Canada’s Olympic and World Championship teams earlier this year. Overall, Canada’s forward group is highly skilled and physically tough to play against.

Defencemen

Owen Power is the biggest loss on the blue line, but like the forwards, the defence corps features skilled players who are nasty to play against. Interestingly, seven of the eight defencemen are left shots, which doesn’t give a lot of flexible in terms of matchups, but there’s enough skill in the lineup to prevent that from being a major issue. Puckmovers Olen Zellweger and Lukas Cormier should be able to keep the flow going and generate offence from the point, while Jack Thompson adds a heavy shot. Consistency throughout the lineup is the key to Canada’s blueline.

Goaltending

There’s no clear-cut starter in net between Sebastian Cossa, Dylan Garand and Brett Brochu, although early signs point to Cossa and Garland splitting time. The 6-foot-6 Cossa has size, NHL talent and recently led the Edmonton Oil Kings to the WHL title this past season. Also from the WHL, Garand stands 6-foot-1 and is coming off a strong year with Kamloops. Brochu is the smallest of the three at 5-foot-11, but he proved himself more than capable of holding his own while leading the London Knights to a division title in the OHL last season.