Team Canada Game Day Preview: Game One vs Germany
3 years ago
Yes, Canada won their lone pre-tournament game but at the same time, they lost something, or should I say someone, much more important. Kirby Dach suffered a wrist injury on a rather innocent-looking play in the third period of the game and on Thursday it was announced that he will miss the entire 2021 tournament. Before meaningful hockey had even begun, Canada had lost their Captain.
If we’re trying to be positive, this Canadian team is incredibly deep and if any team in this tournament can overcome losing their best player just days before the round-robin starts, it’s Canada. They still have 19 other first-round picks in their lineup.
So who could step up? One player I’m looking at in particular is Quentin Byfield. He was on last year’s team, but only registered one point in seven games and didn’t see the ice once in the gold medal game against Russia. This year, I think he has a chance to be one of their more impactful players. He didn’t have a great camp but he really stood out in the game against Russia on Wednesday. He’s a physical beast and he has the offensive skill to be a major player for Team Canada. The Dach injury gives him a chance to have a bigger role.
The Dach injury did force Head Coach Andre Tourigny to really mix up his lines though. This is how they’re expected to look tonight against Germany:
There were also a handful of positives from their in over Russia. Devon Levi didn’t allow a goal against a Russian team that has a rather potent offense. Goaltending is a concern for me heading into the tournament but Levi definitely has me feeling more confident after that performance.
The fact that the majority of Canada’s players hadn’t played a real game in almost ten months was a concern for me as well especially when you consider the fact that almost all of the european countries have had their players playing in pro leagues for most of the season. Canada didn’t look slow or sluggish though against a strong Team Russia.
The play of both Jamie Drysdale and Bowen Byram also really impressed me. Head Coach Andre Tourigny has two clear number one defenseman at his disposal for this tournament.
Even with the injury to Kirby Dach, I somehow feel more confident about this Canadian team today than I did a week ago.
THE OPPOSITION
On paper, I actually think this Germany team is pretty good. Before they ran into issues with COVID-19, I thought they would make it to the medal round. However, that’s not the case. They still have a handful of players that are stuck quarantining and that means they have just 14 skaters available to them.
They managed to stay competitive yesterday in their tournament opener against Finland. Despite being outshot 50-22, they only ended up losing 5-3. But tonight, they’ll need to dig even deeper on the second night of back-to-backs against a stronger Canadian club and again, Germany will have just 14 skaters.
One player to keep on is Senators draft pick Tim Stutzle, who went third overall in this falls NHL Draft. He had a goal. an assist, and six shots on goal in the teams’ loss yesterday and should be playing in the NHL this coming season. He’s not just one of the best players on Team Germany, but he’s one of the best players in the tournament.
WHAT I’M EXPECTING
Germany has an interesting group, but Canada should absolutely win this game and they should probably win by two or more goals. The first three games of their round-robin are not huge tests but it’s important for them to get off on the right foot. I’ll say Canada wins by at least five today.
OILERS PROSPECTS
Dylan Holloway didn’t necessarily standout in Canada’s pre-tournament game against Russia but I’m still expecting him to be one of Canada’s more impactful forwards throughout this tournament. He was expected to play on more of a shutdown line, but with the injury to Kirby Dach, that is no longer the case. Holloway will be in a prime spot tonight against Germany, playing on a line with Canada’s best player Dylan Cozens and speedy centreman Alex Newhook. This is a great chance to Holloway to make a big impact early for Team Canada.
As for the Oilers’ other prospect in the tournament, Phillip Broberg, Team Sweden opens their tournament at noon today. They didn’t get an exhibition game due to a handful of positive COVID-19 tests so today will be our first chance to see the Oilers defenseman as Sweden takes on the Czech Republic.
AROUND THE WJC
As I mentioned above, Finland started their tournament off with a win over Team Germany. Henri Nikkanen, Aku Raty, Topi Niemala all had two-point games for Finland while Tim Stutzle and Florian Elias each had two points for Germany.
There were two other games on the schedule the first saw Slovakia come out on top in a low scoring affair against Switzerland, winning 1-0. Simon Latkoczy made 28 saves and got the shutout while a goal in the final ten minutes of the third period from Roman Faith stood as the game’s only marker.
The day’s biggest matchup saw Team USA drop it’s tournament opener 5-3 to the Russians. For me, the most surprising part of this game was the fact that these two teams combined for eight goals. Yaroslav Askarov looked borderline unbeatable in the pre-tournament game against Canada and he allowed three goals on 26 shots while Spencer Knight, who is probably the second-best goalie in the tournament behind Askarov, was pulled after allowing four goals on eight shots.
The other two games on tap today will see Sweden open their tournament with a matchup against the Czech Republic and the USA can improve to 2-0 with a win over Austria.
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