Team Canada Preview | 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship | Kirby Dach, Dylan Cozens, Quinton Byfield, Bowen Byram, Jamie Drysdale, Kaiden Guhle, Justin Barron

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | MONTREAL, QC. — Finally, I can discuss an upcoming event without leaving out the date: December 25th, 2020.

That’s the day my passion ignites again. No, I am not referencing Christmas Day, even though that has started to grow on me just a little as well now that little ones are running around. I am obviously talking about the 2021 World Junior Championship (WJC). Simply put, it’s the most wonderful time of the year for a hockey fan!

Let me start by telling you why this event is so special to me.

First, the hockey is spectacular! This is the first, true, best-on-best, international tournament for up and coming prospects. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is great as well. In fact,  many players in the WJC played in that tournament as well. The true difference is the top nations are not split into regions in the WJC. This is the first time the best quality Team Canada (and team USA) competes as a nation.

WJC hockey is fast, aggressive, shifty and full of mistakes, the latter being my personal favorite. These are teenagers playing their hearts out for their countries. No amount of coaching can hold them back just yet from making the first decision that comes to their mind on the ice.

While instinctual decision-making might have served them while during their minor hockey years, at a more advanced level, it could be magic or it may be a turnover. Take a simple play and multiply it by 36 teenagers facing off against each other and you have yourself a heck of a game, let alone tournament. The entertainment factor alone is off the charts.

The second reason I love this tournament is how we consume it, typically with friends and family. This year will be a little different for obvious reasons, but technology can hopefully close the gap a little bit.

In a normal year, I gather with my group of childhood friends. It’s the only time of the year we are all together in the same area for a few consecutive days. The group is a wide range of hockey enthusiasts, from diehards to amateur fans. For a few of us, the first game of the WJC could be the 100th game we have seen that year, give or take a few. For others, it may be their first of the year.

Regardless where you fall in that scale, the conversation is always fascinating. From in-depth conversations on a certain prospects skating style to comparing the speed of the game from previous years, it always turns into a joyful occasion. Some of my fondest memories growing up were with this group of friends as we celebrated various Team Canada successes. From WJC Gold to Olympic Gold, you would have thought we were on the team. In many ways we were.

The third reason is the budding scout in me. Personally I don’t think this is a great tournament to start your viewing of a player. Rather, it is ideal for reviewing player attributes such as re-evaluating tendencies, strengths and weaknesses and measuring  them in this best-on-best scenario.

For example, let’s take Quinton Byfield, selected second overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings and a member of Team Canada. Byfield’s skating has been an incredible asset at every level he has played at thus far, including the OHL. His powerful first stride is a big reason he can create so much space between himself and defenders.

How does his skating measure up now that he is playing with and against the best of his age group? It is completely normal that it may not be as strong, prompting a simple adjustment to his portfolio.

Now that you fully understand why this tournament is so special to me, lets get into my impressions so far.

Forwards

This group of forwards is incredibly deep. It may be the best core Canada has iced since the dream team in 2005 led by Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf and company. Every single player, including the potential scratches, have been first round picks in the NHL Entry Draft.

The group will be led upfront by captain Kirby Dach. The Chicago Blackhawks forward is fresh off his first pro campaign in the NHL, where he posted eight goals, 15 assists for 23 points in 64 regular season games. Dach then raised that bar, and putting up a goal, 5 assists for six points in a nine game bubble playoff run in his home province of Alberta.

I think Dach is in a good position to explode at this tournament, similar to what Bergeron did on the gold medal winning team in 2005. Bergeron also played close to a full season a year before participating in the WJC, due to an NHL lockout. Bergeron averaged more than two points per game, with 13 points in six games in that tournament. As the most NHL ready prospect on the current team, I can see Dach duplicating that run.

Trailing Dach by just hair, is assistant captain Dylan Cozens. The Buffalo Sabres pick is fresh off another stellar season in the WHL. Cozens led his Lethbridge Hurricanes with 85 points, tallying 38 goals and 47 assists. That is a one point improvement from his previous season in 17 less games. Cozens recorded nine points in last year’s WJC and will look to improve on that total.

Cozens and Dach are a perfect pair to make up two-thirds of Canada`s top line. The third spot on that top line can be filled with various options and this line would still click. So far, the front-runner for the spot is Ottawa 67s’ forward Jack Quinn, also a Buffalo Sabres pick.

Quinn is a goal scoring machine, recording 52 goals in 62 games in the 2019-2020 OHL season. The 19-year-old rocketed up the draft board with his high hockey IQ and wickedly accurate shot, while benefitting from a strong core of teammates in Ottawa. Quinn looks to do much of the same with Team Canada, as is scoring prowess could be a nice complement to Dach and Cozens’ elite playmaking abilities.

Defense

The defensive core is not as veteran as the forwards with Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale being the lone returnees in this group. The two defencemen look to make an ideal pair with Byram selected fourth overall in 2019 by Colorado and Drysdale selected sixth overall in 2020 by Anaheim.

The young defence pair share eerily similar offensive prowess and have each led their respective junior teams in scoring from the blueline. Byram recently put up 14 goals, 38 assists for 52 points in 50 games for the WHL Vancouver Giants, while Drysdale recorded 47 points in 49 OHL games nine goals and 38 assists.

Typically, offensive defenseman do not pair well together as they tend to take risks together. In this case however, both are so sound defensively as well that the duo could make for a perfect match. They also both poses excellent skating abilities that will make recoveries from potential mistakes much easier.

Byram`s playing style can be favorably compared to the 2017 WJC MVP, of the Ottawa Senators, Thomas Chabot. Drysdale`s style is similar to that of New Jersey Devil, and Team Canada alumni, Scott Niedermeyer.

The projected third pair is of interest as well although quite the opposite of what the Byram-Drysdale duo offer. Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron taken by Montreal and Colorado respectively in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft are both physical and responsible on the back end. They are a defense-first pairing that could be Canada`s future shutdown pair in upcoming tournaments.

Barron can be compared to a Brent Seabrook while Guhle tends to take some more risks, and can be stylistically compared to Colton Parayko. They have the potential to be Team Canada’s lead pair in 2021.

Goaltenders

In goal, there is no clear-cut number one. There is, however, plenty of potential from this group and considerable Hockey Canada experience. The front-runner for the starter’s crease to me is Taylor Gauthier. He has been part of the program of excellence since the age of 16 and is a name the Team Canada management knows well.

Even though Gauthier is still a bit of a mystery to most scouts, who ranked him the 19th best North American goalie in advance of the 2020 NHL Draft, the Prince George Cougar can crush those rankings quickly with a big tournament. His style, somewhat erratic and unconventional has been compared to Hall of Famer, Dominik Hasek. If there is any truth to that, we could be in for quite a show!

However it may look, the Calgary, Alberta native has posted strong numbers with a goals against average of .917 and a 2.93 save percentage on a weak WHL Prince George team. Although Gauthier has just 16 wins in 50 outings, these can be considered commendable individual results considering the poor team around him. It will be very interesting to see how the undrafted prospect performs on arguably the strongest team he has ever backed.

Canadiens Connection podcast

I joined the Canadiens Connection podcast to provide an overview of Team Canada at the 2021 World Junior Championship. Listen to the discussion in the player below. And be sure to share and subscribe!