For the fifth time in tournament history and the first time since 2017, the United States are champions at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
It was an impressive defensive performance for the U.S. on Tuesday night in Edmonton, Alberta, as they shut out the high-flying Canadians on their turf, 2-0, backed by a stellar 34-save performance in goal by Spencer Knight (Florida Panthers).
Canada entered the gold medal game on Tuesday as the highest-scoring team in the tournament, outscoring their opponents 41-4 through six games. The Canadian roster was stacked with, arguably, the best lineup from top-to-bottom in their last several tournaments, and the group was looking to repeat as World Junior champions from last year in the Czech Republic.
Perhaps what was most impressive with Canada heading into the contest was the team had yet to allow a goal-against in the tournament at even strength.
That impressive streak came to an end at the 13:25 mark of the first period when Alex Turcotte (Los Angeles Kings) got the U.S. on the board while playing at 5-on-5.
After the puck found its way to the point, defenseman Drew Helleson (Colorado Avalanche) threw a shot towards the Canadian goal, where Turcotte was stationed in the slot and got a piece of it to re-direct the puck past goalie Devon Levi (Florida Panthers). It was Turcotte's third goal of the tournament.
The opening period surprisingly belonged to the United States, who outshot the Canadians 13-9 and managed to take away time and space for their star talent to get any good scoring opportunities.
Just 32 seconds into the second period, the U.S. extended its lead to 2-0 after a favorable bounce went in the way of Team USA.
After forward Arthur Kaliyev (Kings) fired the puck around the boards from the point, the puck ended up hitting the back of the net and bouncing back to forward Trevor Zegras (Anaheim Ducks) next to the Canadian net. With Levi going one way anticipating the puck to come around the boards, Zegras ended up tucking the puck past the right leg of the netminder for his seventh goal of the tournament.
Along with an assist on the opening goal for the U.S., Zegras was able to up his point total for the tournament to 18 (7+11), which allowed him to pass Canadian forward Dylan Cozens (Buffalo Sabres) for the overall lead. The two entered the game tied for the tournament lead with 16 points in six games.
From there, the Americans went into defensive mode and continued to limit the Canadians' high-danger scoring chances throughout the evening.
Perhaps Canada's best scoring opportunity of the night came late on a penalty kill when Cozens began a shorthanded rush down the ice. As he cut in to the middle of the ice, that allowed defenseman Bowen Byram (Avalanche) to get in behind the defense and have a prime scoring chance on Knight. However, his backhander rang off the post and stayed out of the net.
In the 40 minutes of regulation, Canada went on to outshoot the Americans 25-8, including a 15-1 shot advantage in the third period as they desperately attempted to get back in the game. However, Knight and the group of U.S. defenders shut the door on the host nation en route to the gold medal win.
After the game, Zegras was named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player over others like Cozens, Byram or Levi from Canada, as well as other like Tim Stuetzle from Germany and Anton Lundell from Finland. The 19-year-old finished as the No. 1 scoring player on Team USA by 10 points, with Kaliyev and Turcotte finishing second with eight points each.
Here are the other honors for the tournament that were announced following the game:
MEDIA ALL-STARS:
Forwards:
- Trevor Zegras - USA
- Dylan Cozens - Canada
- Tim Stuetzle - Germany
Defense:
- Bowen Byram - Canada
- Ville Heinola - Finland
Goalie:
- Devon Levi - Canada
BEST PLAYER AWARDS (voted by IIHF Directorate):
Best Goaltender: Devon Levi - Canada
Best Defenceman: Topi Niemela - Finland
Best Forward: Tim Stutzle - Germany
As for Sabres prospect Ryan Johnson, he finished Tuesday's gold medal game with one shot on goal in 16:14 of total ice-time. Overall in seven games for the tournament, Johnson scored a goal and picked up three assists for four points in seven games. He also put up five shots on goal, a plus-5 rating and six penalty minutes, while averaging 16:04 of total ice-time.
While Johnson was not the Americans' top defender, the 2019 first round pick (31st overall) mainly playing on the bottom pair, he became one of their more reliable blue liners with his cool, calm demeanor with the puck on his stick. The 19-year-old is a good transitional player with his puck movement, while also showing that he's capable of being an offensive contributor when presented an opportunity.
Johnson will now return to the University of Minnesota to continue his 2020-21 season as a sophomore with the Golden Gophers.
As for Buffalo's two prospects playing for Canada, Cozens finished the 2021 World Juniors as one of the premier players in the tournament, but was left quiet on the scoresheet at the end of Tuesday's final. The 19-year-old ended the night with just one shot on goal and a minus-1 rating in 21:27 of ice-time.
Along with his 16 points over seven games of the 2021 tournament, Cozens would register 26 shots on goal, as well as a plus-11 rating, while averaging 17:49 of total ice-time per-game.
The 2019 first round pick (seventh overall) ends his World Juniors career with Canada with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 14 games, as well as a gold and silver medal. He finishes just one point behind Jordan Eberle and Brayden Schenn for second on the all-time scoring list for Canada at the annual tournament.
As for 2020 first round pick (eighth overall) Jack Quinn, the 19-year-old was also held quiet on the scoresheet for Canada on Tuesday night, as he played in just 9:13 of total ice-time. He finishes the 2021 tournament with one goal and four assists for five points, while also registering six shots on goal and a plus-10 rating in 13:07 of average ice-time per-game.
Both Cozens and Quinn will now travel back to Buffalo and are expected to join the Sabres for the remainder of training camp in the coming days.
Here is how the groups for the 2022 World Juniors will look in Red Deer and Edmonton, Alberta:
Group A:
- United States
- Russia
- Sweden
- Slovakia
- Switzerland
Group B:
- Canada
- Finland
- Germany
- Czech Republic
- Austria