If Canada’s World Junior team wants gold, the big boys need to show up
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – This team was supposed to be a breath of fresh air.
After two consecutive quarterfinal exits at the hands of Czechia, most expected the group in Minnesota to roll over the competition. But after a shaky opener against the Czechs and another near collapse to Latvia on Saturday, Canada’s lineup has left plenty to be desired at this point.
Canada simply hasn’t looked like the powerhouse many expected them to be – the one that absolutely mollywhopped Denmark, and outplayed Sweden in the first pre-tournament game.
Through two games, Montreal Canadiens draft pick Michael Hage has been Canada’s best player, bar none. He has struggled in the faceoff dot, but he’s been excellent at driving the play and creating havoc in the offensive zone. His overtime winner on Saturday was just icing on the cake.
Sam O’Reilly has been good – easily Canada’s top bottom-six player. Zayne Parekh has had his moments, both good and bad. Brady Martin has been chaotic in all the right ways, especially against Czechia. Ethan MacKenzie – an undrafted defender – is tied with Hage and Gavin McKenna for the team scoring lead with three points.
Beyond that? This team is still trying to figure out who they are.
Canada brought six players with NHL experience. Most notably, Michael Misa has just one assist, Braeden Cootes has been quiet and Jett Luchanko has been invisible. This tournament has proven time and time again that it can be difficult for someone to go from the NHL back to a junior tournament. In Misa’s case, he hasn’t looked anywhere as dominant as he did in the OHL last year.
Martone, meanwhile, has been excellent in college. With just one assist through two games, he’s been unexpectedly quiet. Martone was outstanding against Denmark in the final pre-tournament game. And while the competition clearly was inferior, Martone was easily one of the most notable players that night. So to see him be more of a perimeter player, unable to use his body to win battles, it’s been surprising.
Gavin McKenna is the guy most are keeping a close eye on. After a mostly positive pre-tournament slate (highlighted by a combined seven points in Game 1 and 3), he’s been mostly muted at 5-on-5 in Minnesota. McKenna has looked solid on the power play – had his shooters converted, he’d probably have 3-4 points by now. But for someone with such high expectations, McKenna hasn’t been good enough. Simple as that.
Canada has avoided disaster with a pair of wins. But the lost point against Latvia could matter if Finland ends up going on a deep run in the round robin. As long as Canada goes flat out, foot on the floor the rest of the way, they’ll be fine.
But so far, they haven’t shown the ability to take over yet. And that’s precisely what got them into trouble in Ottawa. Canada typically has one of the most skilled teams at any tournament. Nobody will argue otherwise about the 2026 roster. But having good players doesn’t always equate to a good team – and right now, the cracks are showing.
If there’s one glaring issue with this team, it’s that nobody wants to shoot. When they lost to Latvia a year ago, they took 57 shots on goal. This year, just 38 in the victory. Their power play has come up clutch, but it still feels like the team lacks a true shooter. Slovakia’s Tomas Chrenko had a hat-trick against Germany – he just shoots, no matter what. Canada doesn’t have that right now, especially on the point.
Canada won’t skate on Sunday, so it’ll be interesting to see if they make any line changes ahead of the game against Denmark. On one hand, the second line – Hage, McKenna and Martin – have been solid. The first line might need some work, though. It could be worth swapping out Liam Greentree for Carter Bear to see if that gives the team a bit of a jolt.
Denmark is a good opponent to experiment against, so here’s what I’d do. I’d push Beaudoin down into the 13th forward position, put Luchanko as the No. 3 center, take out Greentree, and get Bear on the fourth line with Cole Reschny and Braeden Cootes. Defensively, get Keaton Verhoeff into the lineup. I know his pre-tournament was a mixed bag, but he could be exactly what the team needs to take the next step forward. I doubt they’d take out Cameron Reid – he has struggled the most – but I do wonder if they’d be willing to sit Carson Carels for a game.
Canada scored seven goals against Czechia – a team many expect to challenge for gold. Sure, some defensive zone mistakes didn’t help, but Canada still outplayed a legit contender. For the most part, they were better than Latvia, too. But that controversial 1-0 goal, coming on a major power play that most would agree shouldn’t have been a penalty, was all Canada mustered in regulation. Latvia’s not an easy opponent, but Canada didn’t score a single goal at 5-on-5.
It’s hard to feel truly confident after a performance like that, even if Canada was the better team, statistically.
This might all feel a bit gloomy for a team sitting alone at No. 1 in the group. But if Canada has learned anything since winning gold in 2023, it’s that they can’t get complacent. Every team will get better on a daily basis, and Canadian coach Dale Hunter can’t forget that.
If Canada is going to win, the team’s biggest stars need to earn the designation – just like Connor Bedard, Logan Stankoven and Brandt Clarke did in 2023.
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