From rock-bottom to gold: How Canada won the 2020 World Juniors

Jackie Spiegel

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From rock-bottom to gold: How Canada won the 2020 World Juniors image

When the Canadians touched down in the Czech Republic for the 2020 IIHF World Championship, questions were plentiful. Did head coach Dale Hunter construct the right roster to win? Who would be their No. 1 in net? Could Canada and its five returning players rebound from last year's sixth-place finish? Would projected No. 1 2020 draft pick Alexis Lafreniere shine on the big stage?

Eleven days later, Lafreniere was named MVP, Joel Hofer was the tournament's best goaltender and Canada was once again golden.

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Reaching the pinnacle of world juniors hockey was no easy task. Canada was situated in Group B, aka "The Group of Death" with powerhouses Team USA, Russia, Czech Republic and up-and-coming squad Germany. Winning the pool was paramount to avoiding a quarterfinal match-up with Group A's two top contenders, Sweden and Finland. 

In the end, Canada finished atop the group, vanquished the demons from last year's heartbreaking quarterfinal overtime loss to the Finns and defeated its long-time rival Russia on the way to the country's third gold and fourth medal overall when the Czech Republic hosts the tournament.

It surely was a magical run for Team Canada. Let's take a look at their road to the gold medal.

Preliminary round: def. United States, 6-4

As is tradition, the tournament began on Boxing Day and tournament officials scheduled a top-flight, no-holds-barred match to kick things off. Canada and the United States faced off in a wild back-and-forth affair. 

Trailing 2-0, the Canadians mounted a comeback but saw their own two-goal lead vanish in the third period. Then with just over three minutes remaining, American defenseman K'Andre Miller made the mistake of trying to pass the puck across the ice in his own end with Lafreniere bearing down. The Rimouski Oceanic forward knocked down the puck and potted the game-winner giving Canada a crucial three points.

Preliminary round: lost to Russia, 6-0

It was the worst-ever loss in IIHF World Juniors history for Canada, and to add insult to, well, injury, the team lost Lafreniere in the second period to an apparent leg injury.

The lone bright spot in the game was Hofer's emergence in net as he entered the game after Russia made it 4-0 — he quickly became Canada's No. 1 netminder. 

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Preliminary round: def. Germany, 4-1

No Lafreniere. No Joe Veleno, who was serving his one-game suspension for headbutting Russia's Danil Mysul. No problem.

With only 11 forwards, Canada easily defeated Germany 4-1 to move to the top of Group B at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship. Hofer got his first start of the tournament and was steady in net, posting an 18-save performance. Nolan Foote, Liam Foudy, Calen Addison and Ty Dellandrea netted goals for the Canadians.

Preliminary round: def. Czech Republic, 7-2 

With the ability to control their own destiny, Canada needed a win to clinch the top spot in Group B and avoid a re-match with the Finns in the quarterfinals.

With Lafreniere watching from the stands once again, the Canadian offense fired on all cylinders. By the end of the first period, Canada was up 4-0 — all via the power play — as Veleno, Foote, Barrett Hayton and Connor McMichael found the back of the net. The Czechs did net two quick ones — literally, two goals in 14 seconds — but the Canadians got a lucky bounce and a few more shots that tickled the twine to solidify the win and a celebratory New Year's Eve.

Quarterfinals: def. Slovakia, 6-1

Memories of last year's loss to the Finns in the quarters surely had to be hanging over this team. Things started off on the wrong Foote, as the forward was tossed for a high hit, they easily could have folded with a five-minute penalty kill. However, Canada blocked shots and Hofer came up big — which became the norm — and then 18-year-old Lafreniere, who was back in the lineup, set up Hayton for the first goal of the game soon after the kill. In the second period, he sniped the puck for a power-play in the second period to put the game away and set up another showdown with the Finns.

Semifinals: def. Finland, 5-0

In 2019, Finland skated away victorious in this medal-round meeting. For the five Canadians returning — Veleno, Lafreniere, Hayton, Jared McIsaac and Ty Smith — this was the revenge game they were looking for and they left satisfied.

The Lafreniere-Hayton connection continued to dazzle as the Saint-Eustache, Que., native collected two goals with the captain Hayton getting assists on each. McMichael, Jamie Drysdale — who played in the top-six with Bowen Byram out sick — and Ty Dellandrea also scored before the first period ended to make it a four-goal game. Hofer once again impressed, this time in a 32-save shutout. 

However, the big story that came out of this game was the potential loss of Hayton. The Arizona Coyotes forward went hard into the boards and came up holding his left shoulder — learning later it was a Grade I shoulder separation — and his status for the gold-medal game was in serious doubt.

Gold-medal game: def. Russia, 4-3

This one had it all — even before puck drop.

Would the captain play? How would Russia react to his anthem helmet snub and the trash-talking they supposedly did after the last game? Were the Canadians far enough removed from the thrashing they received in the preliminary round?

By the end of 60 minutes of drag-out, white knuckle hockey, there was: a late-game two-goal comeback that was capped off by a goal from Hayton, an unreal backhander from the seat of Akil Thomas' pants, a TSN camera that may have — fittingly — saved a penalty that would have been on the Canadians and an 18th championship for Hockey Canada at the world juniors.

Jackie Spiegel