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WJC Game Day Preview: Canada vs USA
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Tyler Yaremchuk
Dec 29, 2017, 12:00 ESTUpdated: May 17, 2018, 13:53 EDT
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Unpredictability is what makes the World Junior Championships as great as they are and last night, we got one of the greatest round-robin upsets in the tournament’s history. Just 24 hours after getting crushed by Canada, Slovakia turns around and defeats the host Americans in regulation and turns the group on its head.
Now, Canada will face an American squad with their backs against the wall to some extent as the two storied hockey rivals take things outside to New Era Field. There’s expected to be around 40,000 people in attendance, so I’d expect the energy level to be high between these two teams. Every game that features Canada and USA is a good one, but given last nights results and Canada’s itch to avenge last years gold medal defeat, today has all the makings of an instant classic.
The Canadians will look to improve to 3-0 during the round robin when things get going tomorrow at 1 pm outside and to really get into the spirit of things, I’ve decided to write this entire game-day preview from outside of my home… just kidding… I’m not a lunatic.

THE OPPONENT

Oct 9, 2017; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers right wing Kailer Yamamoto (56) skates during the warmup period against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
For the USA, this will serve as a chance to immediately turn things around. They looked so good while shellacking Team Denmark in their opener, a stark contrast to their loss last night where everything appeared to have gone wrong.
Maybe the fact that the outdoor matchup against Canada starts less than 20 hours after the loss is a good thing. There won’t be a lot of time to dwell on the missed opportunity, instead, they’ll have no choice but to look ahead.
Canada, on the other hand, has to be prepared for a very hungry host team. While the loss is an ugly one, this USA team is very skilled with players like Casey Mittelstadt, Kieffer Bellows, Brady Tkachuk, and of course, Kailer Yamamoto.
They can score better than any other team in this tournament in my eyes and I expect them to be in a medal game when this is all said and done. I believe the loss to Slovakia was more of an anomaly than a true indication of how strong this team is.

KEYS TO THE GAME

  • One thing we know about outdoor games, no matter how good the conditions may be, the ice is always bad. Canada will need to keep their game simple if they want to win this afternoon. Take as few risks as possible at either blueline, which may be tough given how much their d-men like to jump into the rush.
  • Respecting the elements will be another huge key. They need to be mindful of glare off the ice, where the sun is sitting and also the wind. This could obviously affect the goalies more than anyone, so Canada’s defense needs to make life as easy as possible for Carter Hart.
  • Discipline. The outdoor elements will take away a lot of Team USA’s skill advantage, but if you make trips to the box, you’ll allow them to slow things down and set up plays. If Canada can stay out of the box and keep this game as much about dumping and chasing as possible, they’ll give themselves a great chance to win this game.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Injuries are starting to plague this blueline early in the tournament. We already know that Dante Fabbro was dealing with a lingering injury heading into the tournament and Kale Clague has been described as a “confident question mark” by Head Coach Dominique Ducharme.
Even if both those players are in the line-up, they won’t be able to handle a huge workload so I’ll be paying extra attention to Cale Makar today.
The former Brooks Bandit was the first ever AJHL player to go top-five in an NHL draft when Colorado took him fourth in 2017 and he’s living up to that draft spot. He skates at an NHL level, can move the puck efficiently and has all the makings of a future #1 d-man when he turns pro.
On this Canada team, I expect him to be leaned on as if he is a #1 today. I think he can handle it and even with the tough conditions the game is being played in, I think Makar has the maturity in his game to keep it simple and really calm things down from the back end.
Expect to see a lot of Cale Makar on your screens today.

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