OTAWA –
Teenage sensation Gavin McKenna scored late in the first period and Carter George made 31 saves for the shutout as Canada cruised to a 4-0 victory over Finland in the host country’s first game at the world junior hockey championship on Thursday.
Easton Cowan, Luca Pinelli and Matthew Schaefer, into an empty net, scored the other goals for the Canadians, who are looking to build on a record 20 gold medals after finishing a disastrous fifth place at last year’s tournament in Sweden.
Petteri Rimpinen stopped 37 shots to take the loss.
Canada and Finland are in Group A along with the United States, Germany and Latvia. The Americans defeated the Germans 10-4 on Thursday morning.
Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Kazakhstan make up Group B.
Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals about 12 months ago in an event where the hockey powerhouse was surprisingly unable to raise its game on the big stage despite the fervent support of more than 3,000 traveling fans.
The U-20 program’s think tank went back to the drawing board for the 2025 showcase, intent on building a different type of roster at home. The word “competitive” has been in fashion since the group first gathered in the nation’s capital earlier this month for selection camp.
While it was far from perfect, there was a lot to like in a professional curtain-raising performance.
McKenna opened the scoring with 51.4 seconds left in an opening period in which Canada had a decided territorial advantage.
The newly turned 17-year-old from Whitehorse, the youngest player on Canada’s roster and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, waited for Rimpinen and edged his own rebound before being mobbed by his teammates inside. of a raucous Canadian stadium. Tire center.
Cowan doubled the lead at 5:22 of the second off a turnover when the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect from Mount Brydges, Ont., fired a shot past Rimpinen after Ethan Gauthier and Caden Price were denied opportunities. earlier as Canada increased its forward control and physical play.
George didn’t have much to do on the other end up to that point, but the Thunder Bay, Ont., product had to be precise on some Finnish shots, including one by Emil Pieniniemi from close range late in the period.
The Los Angeles Kings prospect then held his own with a penalty early in the third with a great save against Benjamin Rautiainen.
Pinelli put the game out of reach with 4:46 left after some excellent work by Price. George then stopped all seven shots on a late Finnish power play with their goalie on the bench. Schaefer added the empty-netter goal in the final minute to seal it.
Captain Canada
Canadian captain Brayden Yager, who was selected 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023 NHL draft before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets last summer, received a lot of messages after receiving the ‘C’ last week.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, along with Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey and center Mark Scheifele were among those who reached out.
However, Yager’s family was the most important.
“They were very proud,” said the 19-year-old forward from Saskatoon. “Dad raised his fist and was very excited.”
Name that melody
McKenna’s first game revealed Canada’s goal song for the 2025 tournament: the ’80s hit “Live Is Life” by Australian pop group Opus.
Looking forward
Canada’s returnees from last year’s team are trying not to think about the past.
Yager, Cowan and Oliver Bonk were part of the group that lost to Czechia in the quarterfinals, while Tanner Molendyk made the team before suffering an injury in the pre-tournament match.
“We have a really special group,” Yager said. “We have the team to do something really special.”
Next
Canada plays Latvia on Friday, while Finland faces Germany.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 26, 2024.
