Earlier today I listed what I thought were keys to victory for Team Canada before their game vs Sweden.
Here’s what I wrote:
How Canada Wins
1) Start on time. Push the play from the drop of the puck.
2) Team discipline — systematically — and do not take needles penalties.
3) Play the game on straight lines and use their speed, skill and size to wear down Team Sweden.
4) Get timely saves from Thomas Milic.
Team Canada accomplished all of their goals tonight and played their most complete game of the tournament so far. The group that struggled with their identity to start the WJC has found rhythm throughout the lineup.
Next up is Team Slovakia, in the quarterfinals, on Monday.
Observations
1) Canada scored in the first minute of the game. Joshua Roy (150th overall/Montreal 2021), Logan Stankoven (47th overall/Dallas 2021), and Connor Bedard (1st overall 2023!) set the tone.
2) By the time the game was 13 minutes young it was 3-0 Canada and Bedard had three assists. He added another apple in the third period. His four-point night gives him 18 points in four games. Let that sink in for a moment.
3) Adam Fantilli was skating on the fourth line to begin the game. He eventually landed on the third line when Zach Ostapchuk was ejected when he was whistled for a five-minute major kneeing penalty. Before he was elevated, Fantilli served the penalty for Team Canada.
I was very impressed with how Fantilli reacted to his scenario. He didn’t sulk. He bought in. He played fast, handled more pucks in transition, made some plays on the second power play unit and chipped in defensively with good detail and some shot blocks.
Scouts watch closely how players react to roles the coach puts them in. Fantilli showed great character with how he handled himself tonight.
4) Team Sweden scored their only goal of the game on the power play. Their most consistent player has been Ludvig Jansson, who fired a puck under the crossbar from distance, through a screen. The Florida Panthers’ draft pick (125th in 2022) leads the team in scoring (three goals, three assists).
5) Despite allowing the Swedish goal on their penalty kill, Team Canada was excellent overall when they found themselves a man, or two, down. The team deploys a penalty-killing unit that rotates very well and gets in shooting lanes to disrupt passes or block shots.
They are also the biggest penalty-killing unit in the tournament. Imagine trying to fire pucks around players like Nathan Gaucher (6-foot-3, 209 pounds), Caden Bankier (6-foot-2, 190 pounds), Nolan Allan (6-foot-2, 201 pounds), Colton Dach (6-foot-3, 206 pounds), and Ethan Del Mastro (6-foot-3, 210 pounds).
6) Teams can’t kill penalties without solid goaltending. Milic only faced 23 shots in the game but four or five of them came with Canada short one, and then two men in the last six minutes of the second period.
His stop on Vancouver Canucks first-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki, moving from his right to left kept the score 3-1 for Canada. It won’t make the headlines but it allowed Canada to maintain momentum. More importantly it sent a message to his team that he was dialled in and up to the challenge tonight.
7) Circling back to Roy. He’s a complete player. Not only does Roy produce offence (he won the QMJHL scoring title with 119 points last season and has three goals and three assists for Team Canada), he is also used on the penalty kill and in four vs. four situations.
He tracks back the entire 200 feet to assist defensively and he blocks shots. Roy impressed me at the Buffalo Sabres rookie tournament playing for Montreal. This kid has middle-six NHL upside at worse. He might end up skating in Montreal’s top six in time.
8) For as long as I can remember, coaches have always preached pressuring opponents up ice when their team doesn’t have the puck. Being F1 on the forecheck for Team Canada is creating turnovers. They are fast up ice and asserting their physical presence on opponents. Sweden had all kinds of trouble trying to outlet pucks due to the pressure from Canada’s leading forecheckers.
Draft-Eligible Players
Bedard will be selected first overall next June in Nashville. I thought it would be closer than it is. This draft class is loaded with high-end talent but Bedard is on another planet compared to his peers.
Leo Carlsson (Sweden) was deployed at even strength and the first power-play unit tonight. He stationed himself on the weak side flank. He distributed pretty well and occasionally took pucks to the middle of the ice. Sweden run a “high cycle/switch” play on their power play with Carlsson as the trigger man. He’s a very talented player who can also be a threat off the rush and beat opponents one-on-one. He didn’t pay poorly. Team Canada simply played him tight and didn’t allow him to create many high-danger chances.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Sweden) had a tough night. He’s a transitional defender who was used at even strength and the power play. It’s a tall order asking a 17-year-old defenceman to play the minutes he has in this tournament. Tonight, he was overwhelmed with the physicality and speed of Team Canada. He didn’t move pucks quick enough. His outlets were not well executed. He will be better for this experience, and very likely go in the first round of the draft.
I touched on Fantilli earlier in this piece. It’s possible Canada might play three more games this week. Colton Dach left the game with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. It didn’t look good. Team Canada will be calling on Fantilli to contribute in a variety of roles starting Monday against Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
