World youth hockey preview: Canada is the favorite on local ice with a score to settle

For Kaiden Guhle, there seems to be some unfinished business.

Guhle patrolled Canada’s blue line a year ago at the youth hockey world championships, when the United States skated for the gold medal after a 2-0 win at Edmonton.

“I don’t think there are any unfinished business for me,” he said. “I think there are unfinished business for the team.

“I mean, play at home. There is always a lot of pressure when you play for Team Canada. You are expected to win. So I think the boys know. The boys are hungry for a gold medal this year. So I think it’s very important to be ready for Boxing Day. “

The tournament is back in Alberta, with Edmonton hosting Canada, Finland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. The United States, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia and Switzerland will play in Red Deer.

“Canada is clearly the deepest and most talented team in the event, and they will walk through the round robin with some eye-catching scores until the New Year’s Eve clash with the pesky Finns, and then the tournament really begins,” said Mark Seidel, head of scout. for the Independent Office of Scouting Central North America.

Guhle, a prospect for the Montreal Canadiens, will serve as captain and is one of only three players to return from last year’s team, along with goalkeeper Dylan Garand and forward Cole Perfetti.

Shane Wright and Perfetti should lead the offense, while Guhle and Owen Power will anchor the defense on a roster designed to be “fast, slick and heavy,” said Alan Millar, director of player personnel for Hockey Canada.

“When I speak of skill, that is offense. We will be able to score when we believe offensive. But when you look at the makeup of our back end, then we look at the forwards like Jake Neighbors, Mason McTavish, Ridly Greig, Will Cuylle will be up front, I think we’ll be tough to face. We will also be a heavy team. I like the combination of all those things. “

If the Omicron variant doesn’t get in the way, it will also be a chance to play in front of fans, albeit at half capacity, after last year’s COVID-free but atmosphere-free bubble.

“Sometimes you just lie in bed and think about it, and it gives you chills to think how electric Rogers Place is going to be,” says Guhle. “It will be special, for sure. He’s definitely going to be on for the first inning in all the games to come. “

The tournament kicks off with four games on Boxing Day, including Canada against the Czechs at 7pm ET.

GROUP A

Canada

Last year: Silver

Medal count: Most with 18 gold, 20 silver, five bronze

Very thin: Canadians are undoubtedly the favorites, playing at home. They have last year’s No. 1 NHL pick in Owen Power on defense, and next year’s presumptive No. 1 pick in Shane Wright on the front row C. They also have the projected No. 1 pick for 2023 in Connor Bedard, the thirteenth forward. .. Bedard, Wright and G Brett Brochu are the only Canadians not recruited. Brochu has been the MVP of the London Knights this season … Canada only has left-handed shooters on defense.

Finland

Last year: Bronze

Medal count: Five gold, four silver, seven bronze

Very thin: Last year’s victory over Russia for bronze was the Finns’ first medal other than gold since 2006. They won in 1987, 1998, 2014, 2016 and 2019 … Could have 11 returnees … Finns have 14 recruits per NHL players … It’s Team Maple Leafs, with prospect Topi Niemela anchoring the power play and Roni Hirvonen probably on the front line … Two others to watch are draft-eligible: LW Joakim Kemell , a projected top 15 pick, and C Brad Lambert, who scored four points in seven games at the World Youth Cup last year.

Germany

Last year: Sixth place

Medal count: None

Very thin: In the first group three years in a row … Driven by the Senators they chose Tim Stütlze last year, but only two in this year’s team have selected … G Florian Bugl returns. After some time in COVID protocols, he won two games last year to help Germany reach the playoffs … On defense, Maximilian Glötzl and Maksymilian Szuber return to anchor the blue line. Glötzl has a tremendous slap … Another returnee, Florian Elias, will be the captain.

Czech Republic

Last year: Seventh place

Medal count: Two golds, five golds, seven bronzes (including 0-5-1 as Czechoslovakia)

Very thin: Seventh two years in a row … The Czechs have trouble scoring. Just 10 goals in five games last year, including a 7-0 win over Austria … Ten players selected … Intriguing draft picks include six-foot-three defender David Jirícek, a puck player with good intelligence in the defensive zone, and the center Jiri Kulich, who has added points in the Czech top league … Stanislav Svozil, 18, is the teammate of Canada’s Connor Bedard at Regina Pats.

Austria

Last year: Tenth place

Medal count: None

Very thin: Austria remained in the top group despite finishing last because there was no tournament for the bottom tier to produce a champion for the promotion … They have yet to win a top tier U-20 game in 21 attempts, the longest streak long in history. They scored just once in four games last year … There are no NHL draft picks on the list, but they have some prospects: C Marco Kasper, four goals for Rögle in the Swedish league; RW Vinzenz Rohrer, 22 points for Ottawa’s 67; and F Luca Auer, 17 goals in 27 matches in the Austrian Second Division.

B GROUP

U.S

Last year: Gold

Medal count: Five gold, two silver, six bronze

Very thin: They lead all countries with five medals (two gold, one silver, two bronze) in the last six tournaments … The list is weaker than last year, but it is still quite good with the second teams, fourth and fifth of the last NHL. Draft … Overall, 21 of their players have been drafted, including Leafs prospect Matt Knies, a power forward, and they have another Hughes brother in Luke (drafted fourth by New Jersey) … Jake Sanderson ( fifth, for Ottawa), Tyler Kleven and Brock Faber are among the five returnees … Matty Beniers (second, Seattle) could be this year’s Trevor Zegras with his creativity … C Logan Cooley, from the development program Draft Eligible US player could challenge Shane Wright for No. 1 in the next draft … Blackhawks prospect Drew Commesso should start at the net.

Russia

Last year: Fourth place

Medal count: 13 gold, 13 silver, 11 bronze (including 8-3-2 as Soviet Union and gold as Commonwealth of Independent States)

Very thin: G Yaroslav Askarov is back, one of 12 NHL recruits on the roster … Draft-eligible RW Danila Yurov could play C Fyodor Svechkov. They were dynamic in their last U-18 championship together … Other returnees include C Vasili Ponomaryov and F Marat Khusnutidnov … F Matvei Michkov to challenge Bedard for No. 1 in the 2023 NHL draft … Oleg Bratash has taken over from Igor Larionov as coach.

Sweden

Last year: Fifth place

Medal count: Two gold, 11 silver, six bronze

Very thin: Sweden reached the final once and won two medals since 2014 … They were hit the hardest by COVID-19 last year, with head coach Tomas Monten, three staff members and some key players forced out. .. One of them, front-line LW William Eklund, will have their chance this year. Played nine games for the San Jose Sharks … The Swedes have 21 NHL players … Jesper Wallstedt, 20th pick by Minnesota, is probably the starting goalkeeper … Theodor Niederbach and Daniel Ljungman are listed as the top two centers .

Slovakia

Last year: Eighth place

Medal count: Two bronze

Very thin: Eighth two years in a row … Everyone’s favorite dark horse is powered by three top-tier prospects. Simon Nemec, at six-foot-one and 192-pound, could anchor the blue line. RW Juraj Slafkovsky is a power forward with soft hands and weighs eight feet and weighs 225 pounds. Center Filip Mesár is creative and has played well in the Slovak top league … Returnees include D Marko Stacha, LW Roman Faith and C Maros Jedlicka … Only three Slovaks have been selected, including forward Martin Chromiak (128 °, Los Angeles).

Swiss

Last year: Ninth place

Medal count: A bronze

Very thin: They scored just five goals in four games last year and will have a hard time fending off relegation … Just two NHL recruits … D Lian Bichsel is their best draft-eligible player, a six-foot-five left-handed shooter who shows himself well with Leksand in Sweden’s first league … The Swiss have always been more concerned with team play than producing stars. Still, Belarus looks forward to promotion next season.