Canada World Juniors captain Barrett Hayton etched his name in tournament history Sunday when he delivered a game-tying goal against Russia — and he reportedly did it while playing through a Grade 1 shoulder separation.
Hayton suffered the injury during the team's semifinal game in a nasty collision with Finnish defenseman Lassi Thomson. He did not return to that contest, causing worry that Hayton would not play in the gold medal game. By Sunday morning, though, the Arizona Coyotes prospect had been labeled a game-time decision, with the injury's nature still unknown.
WORLD JUNIORS: Full recap of Canada's gold medal-winning game
TSN's Frank Seravalli reported after Canada had won the gold medal that Hayton likely would have missed multiple weeks of games had he suffered the shoulder separation during the NHL regular season. Because the gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship was on the line, however, Team Canada did everything it could to get Hayton on the ice by the 1 p.m. ET puck drop. Seravalli reported the Coyotes and Hayton's family had to sign off on giving him clearance to play, and Hayton had to go through extensive strength and mobility testing Sunday morning to determine whether he could take the ice.
Hayton told reporters he learned he would play just 15 minutes before puck drop Sunday. According to Seravalli, he could barely lift the puck off his stick during warmups. By the third period, however, the injured captain came through once more for his team when he fired a wrist shot to tie the game 3-3.
THE CAPTAIN COMES THROUGH! Barrett Hayton ties it for 🇨🇦! pic.twitter.com/xuM8cfReEX
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2020
"He wasn't going to be denied," Team Canada general manager Mark Hunter told reporters. “We were going to have to use handcuffs to handcuff him to the dressing room, that’s how much he wanted to play.”
The tally helped Hayton and his teammates get back into the game roughly three minutes after Russia had built a two-goal lead. Forward Akil Thomas took advantage of the opportunity and sealed Canada's win with his first goal of the tournament shortly afterward.
"I was definitely sore," Hayton told TSN after the celebration, "but right now, I don't feel a thing."
Hayton (six goals, six assists) finished the tournament second in overall scoring, trailing only Sweden's Samuel Fagemo (13 points).