WJC: 2025 Team Canada Roster Talk

[TheBeastCoast]

Celebrini is Canadian, but he’s been playing in the U.S. since he was 14 or younger. It is a stretch to credit Canada for “producing” him even though he plays for Canada internationally.

lmao you do not want to go down this rabbit hole. The US take a lot more Canadian developed prospects then the other way around.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Glad they won, but the number of interior chances conceded to GERMANY is extremely concerning. Hats off to George, he was their best player tonight. No point in rehashing the scoring and penetration issues, I have repeated those ad nauseum

There's a pill for that!

 

[yessir29292]

There were people saying how great Zelleweger was while having no goals and 6 assists while getting almost all the top PP time. Clarke is abrasive and some people don't like him because of it, nothing more than that. All the talk about Clarke's skating has always been ridiculously overstated

My original point is Parekh and Misa aren’t the saving grace this team needs. There are better players than them on this team who are yet to do anything. Martone and Misa are on the same level in the O, Martone has been unplayable and outplayed by guys who Martone is much better than while playing in the O because he has more talent.

 

[Rygu]

Early look at our 2034 Spengler Cup Team Canada.

 

[BigRangy]

Gotta say I am confident that Cameron is more pleased with this 3-0 win than he would be if they won 10-4 like the US did. Not saying it’s right (and I’m definitely saying that I’d rather watch a 10-4 win than a 3-0 one), but the team he’s put together was meant to win tight games. As long as they can stay disciplined (which is a huge, huge ask at a junior tournament), I like them against every other team here.

Boring hockey is ok for the NHL, but it’s Christmas and we can pick a literal all-star team. Wins are great but I’d rather watch fun hockey.

 

[Leviathan899]

Lack of talent isn’t why Canada lost to Latvia, maybe they would’ve won with Misa and Parkeh but they should’ve won anyway. Their 4th team beats Latvia 99/100.

Maybe there’s a reason Parkeh doesn’t belong on this team, could be a liability at this level. People cried when Brant Clarke didn’t make the team at 18 but then didn’t like him as a 19 year old. Dominating guys fresh out of u16aaa doesn’t mean it’s going to translate to World Juniors.

This is a sober take, I agree. McKenna is an 07 and was the leading CHL scorer when he left for camp, and he hasn’t been dominating or making a big difference, yet. What’s to say Misa wouldn’t be struggling as much? Every player on this team, even Howe and Cataford, are good players in their leagues and produce well. It’s a matter of no execution so far, limited confidence. I truly believe that the online discourse gets to these kids a lot more than it would have in the past. These kids have grown up in the social media era, it’s easy to say well don’t look at it for the 3 weeks you’re with Canada, buts let’s be serious, that isn’t happening. This years chatter was the most toxic and negative I’ve ever seen it for this tournament, and you can just tell it’s affecting these kids mentally. I’m all for fair criticism and analysis, but it’s far gone past that. Borderline harassment and abuse I’d say.

Clarke had 2 goals and 6 assists in 7 games while not getting top minutes or first unit PP time. The idea that his game didn't translate is hilarious

He’s right though, if you were following each game and the discourse around, the same fans who screamed for his inclusion at 18 were riding him hard as a 19 year old. Looking at points alone is a bad metric, especially when it’s not rare for a team to pile up 10 goals or more in a couple prelim games. He was chewed up by the fans that tournament.

 

[Leviathan899]

Celebrini is Canadian, but he’s been playing in the U.S. since he was 14 or younger. It is a stretch to credit Canada for “producing” him even though he plays for Canada internationally.

alrigut fair. Then Canada gets all the credit for Jack Hughes and Quinn hughes, both played nearly all their minor hockey in the gthl. Same with Will Moore on this years NTDP, one of their highest ranked players played minor hockey in the GTHL. You really don’t want to play this game, Canada has been hurt far more than the USA has by stuff like this.

 

[Leviathan899]

Well, the Germany game wasn't exactly what you'd hope for. Some signs of life in the third even if the team still really struggles to generate legitimate chances. Defensively Canada has solid structure for this level and George has looked really good. Would be nice if Canada played a gritty game and forechecked hard since the team left a lot of skill at home and takes undisciplined penalties, but that has not been the case. Despite how lacklustre the team has been they have solid odds of leading the group.

Canada's offence vs USA's defence is the resistible force meeting the moveable object. USA has been pretty sloppy and loose, which should be nice for Canada's offence, but they are very dangerous in transition so the team needs to play smart or get lit up. Should be a very interesting contrast of styles.

Yeah this is how I feel too. Some nice signs of cohesion and pace in the third, they played the style they’re capable of. Need to find a way to tap into that more often. Do you think it’s better for Canada to play a more patient game against the US. Pucks deep, good forecheck but also mindful of the US’s quick counter attack, mainly with their top line? If you play a good NZ game and don’t allow them to fly through there, I like our chances. Their D are susceptible to turning it over under pressure, guys like Ralph, Hensler, Minnetian, Fischer, Kleber are all a bit shaky handling the puck when pressed. Have to stay out of the box and limit the looks Eiserman, Perrault and Leonard get to shoot. I think if you play a hard north south game with a high F3 to mitigate the counter, against the USA, they won’t respond that well to it. Can’t let Hutson and Buium get too loose and start pushing the pace, either.

 

[cyris]

Gotta say I am confident that Cameron is more pleased with this 3-0 win than he would be if they won 10-4 like the US did. Not saying it’s right (and I’m definitely saying that I’d rather watch a 10-4 win than a 3-0 one), but the team he’s put together was meant to win tight games. As long as they can stay disciplined (which is a huge, huge ask at a junior tournament), I like them against every other team here.

Boring hockey is ok for the NHL, but it’s Christmas and we can pick a literal all-star team. Wins are great but I’d rather watch fun hockey.

Yeah coaches love this kinda team for some reason.
They are so worried about preventing goals against they forget you need goals for.

 

[Random Comment]

This is the most uninspiring team Canada has iced since …well decades ago. What a joke. Even if they somehow end up winning, they made this hard on themselves by making bonehead roster and coaching decisions.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

Thought overall the Catton line was the most consistently dangerous (and I use that term relatively) all game. Catton was probably our most effective player overall. I’d probably run that line back vs the U.S.

Wasn’t a fan of Beaudoin overall on the first line, but he should be given a lot of credit for that Price goal for creating some chaos in front of the net. Don’t think that’s enough to get him another look there - I’d try Rehkopf and give him consistent minutes alongside Ritchie - but Beaudoin seems to come up with one or two plays a game that really impress me.

Thought Luchanko was quite good, Nadeau was ok. A little better from Gauthier. Overall the bottom 6 doesn’t have a real identity or do anything really special or impactful. No hard hits, no momentum change from a hard forecheck or just laying someone out. No getting up in people’s faces. Just meh. With a Cameron team I thought that group would have an identity, but they don’t. Disappointing player selection, and disappointing performance (so far).

Overall the players seem to have trouble connecting on passes, things seem out of step, passes a little too ahead or a little too behind the puck receiver. Disjointed.

George has been playing great. The D is solid. No ES goals against in 3 games is legitimately good. Thought Price had a really strong game, along with Molendyk. Gibson seems to always be on the ice and makes some pretty risky plays at times, but is generally pretty good and plays it physical. Don’t know who he reminds me of - maybe Gudbranson from 2011?

Good on Cameron for switching up the PP. 1st unit was more in tune but still not great. 2nd unit hasn’t been good…I’d give Pinelli a look there instead of Nadeau (Pinelli was the OHL leader in PP goals at the time of selection camp for…ahem…Cameron’s top ranked OHL PP).

PK unit calmed down nicely after a jumpy first two kills.

 

[DuklaNation]

The lack of offense is concerning but was predictable.

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

The curse of Cristall is a thing.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

This is the most uninspiring team Canada has iced since …well decades ago. What a joke. Even if they somehow end up winning, they made this hard on themselves by making bonehead roster and coaching decisions.

You guys say this every single year.

 

[alphahelix]

You guys say this every single year.

they are missing a bunch of the leading scorers from the CHL and from the wjc summer camp... would any other country have left a 17 year old that was leading the O in scoring off their team? no. but like 3 of the top 4 guys from summer camp arent here either. i dunno what im talking about bla bla but seriously theres a lot of firepower missing.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Germany game was predictable.

I think this team is defensively sound enough to beat USA and Carter George is certainly capable of stealing one if needed. I'd be lying if I said this teams offence wasn't incredibly concerning though. Seems like they're built to play 2-1 games which is a head scratcher for me considering how much talent was left home.

 

[majormajor]

This is the most uninspiring team Canada has iced since …well decades ago. What a joke. Even if they somehow end up winning, they made this hard on themselves by making bonehead roster and coaching decisions.

they are missing a bunch of the leading scorers from the CHL and from the wjc summer camp... would any other country have left a 17 year old that was leading the O in scoring off their team? no. but like 3 of the top 4 guys from summer camp arent here either. i dunno what im talking about bla bla but seriously theres a lot of firepower missing.

There is a lot missing but it's also still a very skilled team compared to last year. Last year's team was Mateychuk, Celebrini (not nearly as good as he is now), and then a bunch of middling guys. This year has a deeper attack.

 

[cyris]

Germany game was predictable.

I think this team is defensively sound enough to beat USA and Carter George is certainly capable of stealing one if needed. I'd be lying if I said this teams offence wasn't incredibly concerning though. Seems like they're built to play 2-1 games which is a head scratcher for me considering how much talent was left home.

This is it for me. The team was built to win low scoring games. Which may in the end work but it wasn’t a strategy they needed to go with.
They have a depth of offensive talent that no other country can match except on their best years but they just decided to leave it at home to go with this. I guess we will find out if it works over the next week.

 

[Mathieukferland]

This is…. Not the sentiment I would have felt if I were behind the bench. Now, I’m not expecting him to trash his team to the media, but the complete lack of team speed, multi-layered attack in transition, and second and third chance opportunities caused by driving to the net and making life hard for Paruch was almost non-existant for the first 50 minutes.


Some have pointed to a lack of identity, and I would tend to agree. The players that were brought to play "roles" aren’t particularly physical, big, or puck hounds. I think Cataford’s hit in the first minute was the only time I noticed any of the role players get a proper hit on the German defencemen on the forechecks. If that happens again against the states and Buium and Hutson are given free reign to start the attack from behind their goal line, Canada will be in serious trouble

 

[JackSlater]

Yeah this is how I feel too. Some nice signs of cohesion and pace in the third, they played the style they’re capable of. Need to find a way to tap into that more often. Do you think it’s better for Canada to play a more patient game against the US. Pucks deep, good forecheck but also mindful of the US’s quick counter attack, mainly with their top line? If you play a good NZ game and don’t allow them to fly through there, I like our chances. Their D are susceptible to turning it over under pressure, guys like Ralph, Hensler, Minnetian, Fischer, Kleber are all a bit shaky handling the puck when pressed. Have to stay out of the box and limit the looks Eiserman, Perrault and Leonard get to shoot. I think if you play a hard north south game with a high F3 to mitigate the counter, against the USA, they won’t respond that well to it. Can’t let Hutson and Buium get too loose and start pushing the pace, either.

I think a conservative approach will work well vs USA. They have given up a lot of chances in each game. Bad turnovers and players getting beaten defensively. A lot of their offence has been off rushes. Try to cut down on rushes and I think their defence will crack on its own several times a game. Should be interesting. It isn't a do or die game but realistically this is exactly the kind of opponent Cameron is planning for...... I think.

 

[hockey20000]

This is…. Not the sentiment I would have felt if I were behind the bench. Now, I’m not expecting him to trash his team to the media, but the complete lack of team speed, multi-layered attack in transition, and second and third chance opportunities caused by driving to the net and making life hard for Paruch was almost non-existant for the first 50 minutes.


Some have pointed to a lack of identity, and I would tend to agree. The players that were brought to play "roles" aren’t particularly physical, big, or puck hounds. I think Cataford’s hit in the first minute was the only time I noticed any of the role players get a proper hit on the German defencemen on the forechecks. If that happens again against the states and Buium and Hutson are given free reign to start the attack from behind their goal line, Canada will be in serious trouble

the guy has lost his mind lol

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Did the Monstars steal Brayden Yager's talent? Complete non factor offensively, like most of the team.

Predictably, the Canadians look like a disjointed group of grinders with little overall chemistry nor plan to create (partial) open net chances. Carter George looks really good, Berkly Catton has been dangerous at points, Gavin McKenna flashes a lot, albeit not as much as I'd want.

 

[TheDoldrums]

We’re going to have what seems like a huge advantage in goaltending against the Americans. And as boring and uninspired as the team has played, they haven’t given up a 5v5 goal yet while the US has looked shaky defensively. Weirdly this could actually be a better matchup for this team than playing an underdog that falls back into a shell to limit all chances.

 

[NyQuil]

We’re going to have what seems like a huge advantage in goaltending against the Americans. And as boring and uninspired as the team has played, they haven’t given up a 5v5 goal yet while the US has looked shaky defensively. Weirdly this could actually be a better matchup for this team than playing an underdog that falls back into a shell to limit all chances.

NYE Can-USA is on such a different plane than the other games to date that I’m struggling to infer outcomes based on what happened in the games against Latvia, Germany and Finland.

Motivation for both teams is going to be off the charts. I think it’s going to be about who handles the pressure better.

Seeing as Canada is playing at home, the crowd should be behind them but expectations will also be higher.

Whether they can channel the energy effectively or wilt under the microscope will be interesting.

Scoring the first goal could be huge for their confidence, but hopefully they don’t try to turtle with a lead against a US team that already scored 10.

 

[wetcoast]

Celebrini is Canadian, but he’s been playing in the U.S. since he was 14 or younger. It is a stretch to credit Canada for “producing” him even though he plays for Canada internationally.

Not really, Crosby went to the same prep school and Celebrini was on the radar at 14 as being one of the best Canadian players in his age group already.