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OTTAWA — The round-robin portion of the 2025 WJC will conclude on New Year’s Eve with a huge clash between Team Canada and Team USA.
The result of the game will have significant consequences. If the game is won in regulation time, the winning team will earn the top seed in Group A.
A team losing in regulation could end up as the third seed in Group A and be forced to play either Czechia or Sweden in the quarterfinals – assuming Finland defeats Germany in their final round-robin game and ends up no worse than second in the group.
I’m not even going to try to enter into extended scenarios that could exist with overtimes or shootout victories and losses.
I’m having a difficult time describing the style of play this version of Team Canada is attempting to implement. The group has perplexed me so far in the tournament.
They haven’t played with a ton of physicality. So far, it’s not a team that consistently attacks with speed off the rush. They haven’t had a ton of great scoring chances.
One takeaway from the Germany game is that the power play looks like it’s more in sync than it was in Canada’s first two games. The coaching staff appears, with a few exceptions, comfortable distributing ice time pretty evenly throughout the lineup instead of giving more minutes to some of the top point-producing forwards in the entire CHL.
Outside of Canada’s elite goaltending, I’m not sure what to expect in this game. But there’s no doubt Canada has to be better than it was against Latvia and Germany to beat a very good American team.
Game Notes
• Surprisingly, like Team Canada, the American power play hasn’t been as dominant as expected. Both teams have only managed to scored twice with the man advantage. Canada is two-for-13 on the power-play while the Americans are two-for-11. Winning the special-teams battle is going to be crucial Tuesday and for the rest of the tournament. These teams have too much talent. One of them is bound to explode and start scoring on the power-play.
• The penalty kill has been solid for both teams. USA has killed 11 of 13 penalties (85 per cent ), while Canada has killed 13 of 15 (87 per cent)
• This is a game that will focus heavily on the competing goaltenders. Trey Augustine (USA) and Carter George (Canada ) are two of the top goalie prospects in the world. To this point in the tournament, Augustine has been average by his standards in the American net (3.94 goals-against average, .888 save percentage). George, meanwhile, has easily been the top netminder, not allowing a goal in two starts.
• Canada has struggled to score goals so far. They need to find a way to create more chances around their opponent’s net by setting screens, looking for tips and battling for rebounds. Team USA prefers to handle the puck and make plays in motion. When they work off the cycle in the offensive zone, they are very difficult to defend.
Here’s a look at the shooting maps for both teams. Team USA has been generating way more top scoring opportunities than Canada. They will give the Canadian defenders all they can handle in their zone. On the other side of the ledger, Team USA will be more than satisfied to allow the Canadians to direct pucks on net from long range and the perimeter.
Deployment
Team Canada has been spreading around the ice time fairly evenly. It’s a curious strategy, in my opinion. Gavin McKenna, for example, is the leading scorer in the WHL (19 goals, 41 assists) and averages over 22 minutes of ice time per game playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers. He skated only 12:07 in the game versus Germany. He needs more ice time, and he’s not alone.
Berkly Catton has produced 14 goals and 33 assists in 28 games for the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL. He hasn’t had any puck luck so far in the tournament, but he’s been buzzing and consistently creating chances. He logged just under 14 minutes of ice time versus Germany, compared to the 21 minutes he averages with the Chiefs.
If Canada expects to generate more offence, they have to ride their top scorers more. The strategy, so far, has been far too vanilla and the results speak for themselves. Players like McKenna, Catton, Easton Cowan, Luca Pinelli and Calum Ritchie are used to playing heavy minutes with their club teams. Scorers need more ice time to get a feel for the puck, establish a flow to their game, and ultimately play to their strengths offensively.
Here’s a look at how each team has been deploying some of their top players, and their offensive production after their first three games of the tournament:
USA
Cole Hutson 1G-5A 20:04
James Hagens 2G-4A 19:14
Gabe Perreault 2G-2A 19:19
Cole Eiserman 1G-3A 13:08
Ryan Leonard 1G-2A 19:20
Brodie Ziemer 3G-1A 14:55
Danny Nelson 2G-1A 15:07
Canada
Easton Cowan 1G-2A 17:15
Calum Ritchie 1G-1A 17:03
Oliver Bonk 1G-1A 21:47
Gavin McKenna 1G-0A 14:32
Berkly Catton 0G-1A 15:16
Sam Dickinson 0G-1A 17:31
Jett Luchanko 1G-0A 12:57
Top Lines
• Team USA will rely heavily on their top line, which plays together at Boston College. The “BC” line consists of James Hagens in the middle between wingers Gabe Perreault and Team USA captain Ryan Leonard. Hagens and Perreault are the playmakers while Leonard does a lot of the heavy lifting in the trenches and is more of a goal scorer than distributor.
• Team Canada assembled a line consisting of Gavin McKenna playing along side Luca Pinelli and Berkly Catton for the Germany game and it was buzzing. The players complement each other. McKenna and Catton are always in motion and Pinelli reads how the play is developing before finding pucks and directing them on net. Pinelli is the shooter on the line.
High-Leverage Defenceman
• Team USA’s Zeev Buium is the leading defensive scorer in the NCAA but he’s been quiet so far offensively in the tournament. He’s deployed in all situations and averages over 25:00 TOI. Buium’s best game is yet to come. He’s a very competitive player who plays fast and has a physical edge to his approach.
• Team Canada elevated Sam Dickinson to their top power-play unit in the Germany game. He was leading the CHL in defenceman scoring before the world juniors (15G-31A). Nine of his fifteen goals are on the power-play. He will be tasked to shut down top six American forwards and add a layer of offense for Canada. His ice time spiked to 21:48 against the Germans.
The Toronto Maple Leafs placed captain Auston Matthews on the injured reserve list on Tuesday, a move that allowed the team to recall a player ahead of their matinee against the New York Islanders.
A team spokesman said Matthews, who’s out with an upper-body injury, has not experienced any setbacks. The move was retroactive to Dec. 20, when Matthews last played against the Buffalo Sabres.
“He skated yesterday and had a good skate,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said in a pre-game availability. “I was glad he was out there. It was good to see him out there with us in practice.
“Really, we’ll go from there and see how he is progressing tomorrow and see if he’s out there practising again.”
Matthews has 11 goals and 12 assists over 24 games this season.
The Maple Leafs recalled defenceman Marshall Rifai from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. In addition, blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Pontus Homberg were unavailable for Tuesday’s game due to illness.
Entering play Tuesday, the Maple Leafs (22-13-2) had dropped three of their last four games without Matthews in the lineup.
Matthews won the Rocket Richard Trophy last season after scoring 69 goals. The first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft has 672 points (379-293) in 586 career regular-season games.
The Maple Leafs will play the back end of the home-and-home set against the Islanders on Thursday night.
Live from Wrigley Field in Chicago, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman talk to Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jake Neighbours of the St. Louis Blues ahead of today’s Winter Classic.
The morning after is setting in for Team Canada.
The morning after the most unexpected result in tournament history. By now everyone is aware that Team Latvia defeated Team Canada 3-2 in a shootout on Friday evening. The result speaks for itself. Latvia had never beaten Canada at the WJC. They had been outscored 41-4 in their previous four defeats, including a 10-0 drubbing last year in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The loss leaves Canada in a very precarious position. They will need to win both of their remaining games in pool play in regulation time, against Germany and the USA, to have a chance of winning the group. Winning the group isn’t mandatory for Team Canada, but it would provide an easier quarter-final matchup against a team like Slovakia compared to either Czechia or Sweden.
Here are some of my Team Canada observations through their first two games of the tournament:
Goaltending
Carter George was fantastic in Canada’s 4-0 win over Team Finland. George came up with timely saves in the first two periods but it was his third period that was especially impressive.
Here’s a look at how lopsided the ice was in Finland’s favour in the third period. All of the blue numbers identify a shot on goal for Team Finland in the third period:
Finland had generated only eleven shots through forty minutes on Thursday. They exploded for twenty shots in the third period and had the Canadians on their heels at even strength and when on the power-play.
Jack Ivankovic is hardly to blame for Canada’s loss to Latvia. He made some timely stops early in the game to allow his team time to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the second period and really had no chance on either of Latvia’s power-play goals in the third period. By the time the shootout rolled around, he stopped all but one of the breakaways in the skills competition that lasted eight rounds. His performance was impressive given the fact he’s only seventeen years young and one of the top draft-eligible goaltenders for the 2025 NHL draft.
Skaters
I’m lumping the defenceman and forwards into one category. It feels to me like there’s a disconnect in the group as a whole. It started in the third period versus Finland and carried over to the Latvia game. The Finns and Latvians aren’t as talented as the Canadians on paper, but they put Team Canada on notice that will can overcome skill. As I’ve mentioned in this space several times, as a scout I look for the prospect to provide relentless compete, play fast and think the game fast. He has to read/react and execute on time. Getting outworked is an unacceptable quality that stands out as a concern that needs to be addressed.
With that in mind, it’s been hard for me to identify the hardest-working, most efficient, or most dynamic offensive player for Team Canada through two games. The entire group has experienced some positive and negative results. I would say, however, that Matthew Schaefer — before going down with an injury early in the first period last night — was easily the most consistent Canadian skater. He’s a complete player. Schaefer plays in all situations and competes like a dog on a bone.
The rest of the group has much more to give. They have to execute breaking pucks out of their zone more accurately, manage pucks better in transition, work off the cycle in the offensive zone, and get to the middle of the ice/high-danger areas to generate more offence. All of those things have to happen without cutting corners or falling asleep in the defensive zone.
Here’s a look at some of the key statistical categories for Team Canada through two games:
Canada’s coaching staff referenced zone time, shots on goal, and puck possession as positive takeaways from their game versus Latvia. They mentioned how well Linards Feldbergs played in the net for Latvia, giving the impression they got “goalied” by the netminder. I agree that Feldbergs was excellent, but it’s not like Team Canada generated a ton of opportunities from high-danger areas. The reason their shooting percentage is as brutal as it is through two games is the fact they are directing pucks on net from the perimeter and not generating enough net-front battle to pounce on rebounds or set screens for tips.
Here’s a look at the areas of Latvia’s zone where Team Canada directed shots on net:
For context, let’s keep in mind Latvia isn’t exactly Team USA or Team Sweden when it comes to defending the defensive zone. If the Canadians aren’t willing to get to the inside against Latvia, how much worse is this going to look against the top teams in the tournament?
Power Play (?)
How does Team Canada, with players like Easton Cowan, Calum Ritchie, Bradly Nadeau, Brayden Yager, Berkly Catton and Gavin McKenna not generate more looks on the power-play? The Canadian power-play is 2 for 12 in its first two games. It needs to improve if they are going to contend in this tournament.
It starts with winning face-offs, establishing control, and implementing a system that wears down the opponent. Canada’s power-play unit(s) have been far too static. They aren’t moving the puck quickly or effectively. They aren’t getting pucks to the net and crashing the crease to pounce on rebounds. It has looked disjointed and out of sync.
The coaching staff has to take a long look at how they are deploying the skaters on their power-play, especially since Schaefer is out with injury moving forward. I’m confused as to the reason why the staff hasn’t used the top-scoring defenceman in all of the CHL, Sam Dickinson from the London Knights, on the power-play. Dickinson has contributed 15G-31A for the Knights so far this season. Nine of his fifteen tucks have come on the power-play. In his last ten-game segment, before the WJC, Dickinson averaged nearly 30:00 TOI, was deployed in all situations, counted 4G-13A offensively and was a (+13) defensively.
Conclusion
Canada’s goaltending has been excellent in the first two games of the tournament. They know what they have between the pipes. I can sit here and write a novel about how to generate more scoring chances and play with a consistent identity as a team for the full sixty minutes. It’s very simple. It starts with choosing to outwork your opponent every time your number is called. Canada’s skill will have more of an opportunity to rise to the occasion through hard work and determination. Their overall execution will go to another level as a result of wearing down their opponent. Without a more relentless approach, Canada will struggle the rest of the way in Ottawa.
The sprained ankle Canadian running back Chase Brown sustained against the Denver Broncos on Saturday may not be as serious as initially feared.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Brown’s injury is not considered to be major and he has a chance to play Week 18 on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 24-year-old left the game in the final minutes of the fourth quarter while going down at the one-yard line in an attempt to keep the clock running rather than score a touchdown.
The Bengals eventually scored on a Joe Burrow rush, and the Broncos scored on their ensuing drive, sending the game to overtime.
Brown has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2024, recording 1350 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns. The London, Ont. native was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.
After starting the season 4-8, Cincinnati has won four straight to keep their playoff hopes alive, including its 30-24 win against Denver on Saturday. They need a Week 18 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, along with help from around the league, if they want to return to the post-season.
Manchester City marked Pep Guardiola’s 500th game in charge with a much-needed 2-0 win over Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday, although the team still looked far from the juggernaut that has dominated English soccer for much of the Spaniard’s reign.
Savinho scored his first goal for the club in the first half and then set up Erling Haaland for the second in the 74th as the struggling four-time defending league champion ended a five-game winless run in all competitions.
It was far from a vintage City performance but perhaps it could mark the start of a turnaround for a team that is enduring the worst run of results in Guardiola’s nine years at the helm.
This was only the club’s second win in 14 games in all competitions. And even against a team mired in the relegation zone, City was pegged back for much of the second half until Haaland’s header ended Leicester’s resistance.
Savinho put the team ahead in the 21st minute by pouncing on the rebound after Phil Foden drove forward and tried a low shot from distance that Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk pushed to the side. The ball fell into the path of the onrushing Savinho, who lifted it over the goalkeeper and into the net.
The winger then turned provider by lifting a perfect cross into the box for Haaland to head home the second, shortly after Jamie Vardy had missed a good chance for a Leicester equalizer.
BRISBANE, Australia — On the eve of his return to the court, Novak Djokovic has weighed in on tennis’s high-profile doping cases and criticized what he perceives as double standards in the sport.
The former world No. 1, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam title at next month’s Australian Open, expressed his frustration Sunday at being “kept in the dark” regarding top-ranked Jannik Sinner’s doping case.
Djokovic is the top seed in the Brisbane International this week, making his first appearance at the event since 2009. He will also team up with Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in doubles, with the duo headlining Monday’s action.
Off the court, Djokovic lent his voice Sunday to Kyrgios’s strong criticisms made a day earlier, speaking out at length about the ongoing doping case involving current world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
“I’m not questioning whether (Sinner) took the banned substance intentionally or not,” Djokovic said at a press conference Sunday in Brisbane. “We’ve had plenty of players in the past and currently under suspension for not even testing positive to banned substances.
“Some players with lower rankings waiting for their case to be resolved for over a year. I’ve been really frustrated … to see we’ve been kept in the dark for at least five months (on the Sinner case).”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) charged both Sinner and former women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek with anti-doping breaches earlier in the year.
Sinner tested positive twice for an anabolic steroid in March but avoided a ban after the ITIA ruled he was not at fault. The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed the decision.
Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension in November after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.
The Serbian further criticized the lack of transparency from tennis authorities regarding doping breaches.
“The ATP hasn’t really talked in depth about it. Why have they kept that case away from the public? We see Simona Halep’s case on the WTA Tour, now Iga Swiatek’s case,” Djokovic said.
“It’s not a good image for our sport. I’m just questioning the way the system works and why certain players aren’t treated the same as others. Maybe some ranking reasons are behind it, or some players have more financial backing and stronger legal teams to tackle these cases.”
Despite his frustrations, Djokovic remains focused on the season ahead. After undergoing knee surgery earlier this year, he returned to reach the Wimbledon final but skipped the end-of-year ATP Finals, where Sinner capped a dominant season with his eighth title.
Djokovic is looking to extend his legacy at Melbourne Park, where he has claimed 10 Australian Open titles, and has brought on former rival Andy Murray as his coach for the tournament.
“It’s strange for me to share all these kinds of insights about how I feel on the court, some of the secrets of what I’m going through, what I’m thinking about, how I see my game, with somebody who has been one of my top rivals,” Djokovic said.
“But I’m so glad and very thankful that he has accepted to work with me, and in Australia … he’s very meticulous, dedicated, and professional.”
Andre De Grasse watched Aaron Brown explode out of the blocks and round the corner with blazing speed.
Brown passed the baton to Jerome Blake, who sprinted down Lane 9 before Brendon Rodney kept the pace as he charged toward Canada’s anchor at Stade de France.
“I’ve never seen those three guys ever run like that,” De Grasse said. “They ran the race of their life.”
De Grasse grabbed the final handoff — and the rest was history. While nursing a hamstring injury, the star sprinter powered the underdog Canadian men’s 4×100-metre relay team across the finish line for an unexpected gold medal on Aug. 9 at the Paris Olympics.
“Those guys were in control of the race,” coach Glenroy Gilbert said. “And once you put the stick in Andre’s hands … it’s a no-brainer.
“There’s no better guy with ice water in his veins to take the stick at the end.”
The relay squad of Brown, Blake, Rodney and De Grasse ran away with The Canadian Press team of the year award for 2024 on Saturday.
De Grasse tied swimmer Penny Oleksiak as Canada’s most decorated Olympian with seven medals. The team’s triumph also redeemed disappointing individual showings as all four sprinters failed to reach finals in Paris.
They received 37 of 53 votes from writers, broadcasters and editors across the country.
“Out of nowhere, the Canadian men’s 4×100-metre relay team put together one of the most electrifying and stunning moments of any Olympic Games,” said Todd Saelhof, sports editor at Postmedia Calgary.
The 1996 men’s relay team headlined by Donovan Bailey is the only other track team to earn the honour since the award’s inception in 1966.
Team Rachel Homan finished second with seven votes after winning both the Canadian and world curling championships. The Edmonton Oilers, who lost in the Stanley Cup final, and Olympic silver medal beach volleyball duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson tied for third at three votes.
“This relay team wasn’t even expected to reach the podium,” said CBC Sports senior producer Tony Care. “This gold medal was the biggest moment of the Paris Olympics.”
Not only did none of the sprinters reach individual finals, they also barely squeaked into the relay final with the slowest qualifying time.
Gilbert remembers the situation looking “pretty dire” for the team.
“Despondent and kind of down” is how Brown described the group’s morale.
A review of the heat with biomechanist Dana Way helped the Canadians realize a result was possible without their best legs, as long as their exchanges were on point.
Then, standing outside the call room where teams huddle for a final prayer, Brown rallied his running mates with an impromptu speech that still resonates months after winning gold.
“This is our shot, we can do this,” Brown said of his message. “Really emphasize that we can do it despite the fact that nobody is checking for us, nobody believes we can do it.”
Brown also hammered home that it could be their swan song after years of success as a quartet.
De Grasse, Rodney and Brown won bronze at the Rio 2016 Games before Blake joined to claim silver — upgraded from bronze — at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. They followed up with world championship gold in Eugene, Ore., in 2022.
At the relay final in Paris, Blake was the youngest of the bunch at 28. De Grasse was 29, while Rodney and Brown were 32 — hardly young guns in a sport typically dominated by youth.
“Who knows if everybody’s going to be running in L.A. (in 2028)?” De Grasse recalled Brown saying. “Just basically giving that speech of, ‘we’re gonna go out there and shock the world … let’s go out here and trust one another and get off that mark and run like your life’s depending on it.’
“That pumped me up, that put me in a different mindset, and it gave me that motivation we needed to get the job done.”
After the win, a video of American sprint star Noah Lyles repeatedly responding “Who?” to questions about a rivalry with Canada earlier that year resurfaced and went viral. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even referred to it in a social media post.
Blake insists they’d forgotten all about that until they celebrated on the track with Canadian flags wrapped around their arms.
“That’s when somebody in the stadium, a Canadian fan, was like ‘What now? Canada who?” said Blake, who repeated those words to reporters after the race. “That’s when I started yelling that.”
Looking ahead, Brown, Blake, Rodney and De Grasse all aspire to continue sprinting for another four years and compete in the 2028 Games, but they acknowledge that a lot can change in that time.
For now, they’re focused on running it back at next year’s world championships in Tokyo.
And after striking gold in Paris, they don’t expect anyone to ask who Canada is in 2025.
“The world’s definitely gonna have a target on us, a big one,” Rodney said. “We just got to come with our A game. It’s always hard to be motivated after the Olympics, but the motivation is that you’re now the target.”
A history-making medal helped sway voters choosing who would win The Canadian Press male athlete of the award in 2024.
Hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg earned the honour for his golden performance at the Paris Olympics. He is Canada’s first Olympic champion in the event and earned the country’s first hammer throw medal since 1912.
Katzberg earned 17 of the 56 votes cast by sports editors, producers and reporters across Canada to narrowly beat Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the award last year and picked up 14 votes, and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid who had 13 votes.
“That’s incredible,” Katzberg said of the feat. “Those are two highly achieving athletes who have done incredibly well in their respective sports. That’s really cool.”
The Canadian Press began recognizing male and female athletes of the year in 1932.
Other previous male winners include hockey players Sidney Crosby (2007, 2009, 2010) and Carey Price (2015), basketball player Steve Nash (2002, 2005, 2006), and fellow track and field athletes Donovan Bailey (1996), Andre De Grasse (2016) and Damian Warner (2021).
“There are not many hammer throwers in the world. It’s an almost-obsolete sport, but Katzberg showed what years of lonely dedication can do,” Phil King of The Globe and Mail wrote. “He was an inspiration to athletes around the globe to keep trying, no matter how obscure your sport is.”
Getting to the top of the podium was an all-encompassing endeavour this year, Katzberg said.
“It was 150 per cent dedication to Paris, right? There wasn’t a lot of focus on anything else,” he said. “And then, having that one moment to show all the work we put in, and everything going great, everything connecting at one time, it was a lot of emotions, a lot of energy. It was an incredibly special moment.”
The 22-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., was a dominant force in the Olympic final.
His first throw stood up as the winner, measuring a whopping 84.12 metres. No other thrower surpassed the 80-metre mark.
The distance was just shy of the personal best of 84.38 metres he threw at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 20.
Katzberg’s success — combined with that of fellow Canadian Camryn Rogers, who won Olympic gold in the women’s hammer throw — sparked a growing interest in the sport across the country.
“That puts a smile on my face,” he said. “That’s something I don’t think a lot of people realize, that a lot of athletes realize, that they can have that impact on the younger generation. It doesn’t matter what scale. That’s an incredible feeling.”
Three days later after his Olympic win, Katzberg was back training in Slovakia. He returned to Paris for the closing ceremonies after being named a flag-bearer alongside record-breaking swimmer and CP female athlete of the year Summer McIntosh.
The duo were easy to spot, in part because of the thrower’s six-foot-seven frame, his distinctive moustache and his shoulder-length hair.
“To walk into the stadium holding the flag with, obviously, another very accomplished athlete and kind of have a moment where I’m like, ‘OK, that was my Olympic experience,’ I kind of could take it all in,” Katzberg said. “And that was really special to me, to kind of just understand what just happened.”
There was a slight mishap on the way into the packed Stade de France, he admitted.
“Walking into the stadium, we were waving the flag and there was a volunteer we were following, and I think I accidentally hit him with the flag once or twice,” he said. “We were just new to how to wave the flag properly. So that was the dry run, I guess.”
After achieving his Olympic dream, Katzberg took a month off in September. He didn’t compete. He didn’t train. He simply spent time with loved ones and tried to recharge physically and emotionally.
“It’s interesting because you work toward something and it’s kind of a bit of a pressure cooker of energy,” Katzberg said. “You build so long towards this one moment, and then you have that moment, and then it’s like, ‘OK, this is all I’ve been thinking about for so long. Now, what do I do afterwards?’
“So still kind of figuring that out, to be honest with you. I’m just kind of taking it day by day. I’ve got such an incredible passion for hammer throw, it’s just always there. And I’m pushing as hard as I can right now to kind of get that feeling back that I had prior to Paris.”
Over the past several months, Katzberg has shared that passion with thousands of students, athletes and supporters. At various celebrations and meets, he’s given people a chance to hold and take pictures with the gold medal that was draped around his neck in Paris.
The hardware will one day be added to a special display case, but for now, Katzberg is savouring the joy it brings others.
“It’s kind of a way to make it tangible. The amount of people who are able to actually hold on to one or wear it or whatever is quite small. So sharing that with them, I really enjoy that,” he said. “Doing a talk, and passing it around the room, and everyone gets to take a photo with it and share that moment with you, that’s pretty special.”
The Ottawa Senators are doing some serious bookkeeping before getting back from the holiday break.
Ottawa has recalled goaltenders Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard, and forwards Cole Reinhardt and Zack Ostapchuk from AHL Belleville, the team announced Friday.
The move to call up two goaltenders comes with skepticism surrounding Linus Ullmark’s health after he left Sunday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers with an upper-body injury. He was replaced by Merilainen at the start of the second period.
Additionally, backup goaltender Anton Forsberg has been dealing with a minor injury since Dec. 14.
Merilainen, 22, has made two starts for Ottawa this season, logging a 1-1 record with a 3.72 goals-against average and .846 save percentage. In 13 appearances with AHL Belleville, he has a 7-2-2 record with a 2.43 GAA and .901 save percentage.
Sogaard, 24, has made one start in Ottawa this year in an 8-7 win over the Los Angeles Kings. He has a 0-3-1 record in six AHL appearances with a 3.24 GAA and .877 save percentage.
Reinhardt, 24, has excelled in Belleville this year, logging six goals and 10 assists in 13 games, but hasn’t yet seen his production translate to the NHL, picking up only one goal and one assist in six appearances this season.
Ostapchuk, 21, has been up and down between the NHL and AHL this season, with this most recent recall being his seventh of the year. In 20 appearances with Ottawa, the 2021 second-rounder has three assists and seven penalty minutes. He has a goal and seven assists in nine AHL games this year.
The Senators are set to return from the holiday break on Saturday as they take on the Winnipeg Jets on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Detroit Red Wings fired coach Derek Lalonde on Thursday and named Todd McLellan as his replacement, a major change by general manager Steve Yzerman more than a third of the way through another disappointing season in the place known as “Hockeytown.”
The move the day after Christmas comes with the Red Wings on a three-game skid and having lost nine of their past 12. They’ve lost 21 of their first 34 games this season and are above only the lowly Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference.
Lalonde was nearly midway through his third season with Detroit after winning the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant with Tampa Bay. Yzerman inherited Jeff Blashill as coach when he left the Lightning for the Red Wings in 2019 and hired Lalonde in the summer of 2022 with the goal of getting the team back in the playoffs.
Despite signing three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane in 2023 and re-signing him last offseason, the success has not approached the Red Wings’ glory days when they won the Cup four times between 1996-97 and 2007-08 — three times with Yzerman as captain and once with him working in the front office. Instead, their playoff drought is on track to reach a ninth year — the second-longest in the league behind Buffalo.
Associated coach Bob Boughner was also fired and Trent Yawney was hired to work on McLellan’s staff as an assistant. McLellan signed a multiyear contract to start his fourth NHL head coaching job after stints with San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles.
McLellan, 57, coached his team to the playoffs in nine of the 14 full seasons he was in charge behind the bench. He returns to the Motor City after getting his first job in the league as a Red Wings assistant in 2005 and serving under coach Mike Babcock on the 2008 title run.
The Melville, Saskatchewan, native was hired by the Sharks just after and led them on three trips to the West final. Most recently, McLellan was fired by the Kings in February during the All-Star break and interviewed for other vacancies since.
This is the fourth coaching change around the NHL this season and the 15th this calendar year, counting Rick Bowness’ retirement in Winnipeg. The Boston Bruins in November fired Jim Montgomery, who was hired by the St. Louis Blues less than a week later, and the Chicago Blackhawks replaced Luke Richardson with Anders Sorensen in early December.
SOUTHAMPTON, England — West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was taken off the field on a stretcher after sustaining an injury in the Premier League game against Southampton on Thursday.
The game was delayed for around eight minutes as Fabianski received treatment on the field at St Mary’s Stadium.
The 39-year-old Polish goalkeeper was hurt in a collision from a corner and was replaced by Alphonse Areola in the 36th minute.
Southampton ‘keeper Aaron Ramsdale had run the length of the field to check on Fabianski during worrying scenes. Fabiaski was then greeted by applause as he was taken off.
VALENCIA, Spain — Relegation-threatened Valencia has hired West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan as its new head coach through June 2027.
Valencia fired Rubén Baraja on Monday after another setback in La Liga left the Spanish club stuck in the relegation zone and sparked renewed protests against Singaporean owner Peter Lim.
“Carlos Corberan has been appointed as coach of Valencia CF, signing a contract through to 2027,” a statement on Valencia’s website said early Wednesday. “A buy-out option in his contract with West Bromwich Albion was taken up to allow him to leave.”
No official figure was given but the compensation for the former Valencia youth player was reported to be in the region of $3 million.
The Spaniard, who also briefly coached Greek side Olympiakos, led West Brom to its current seventh place in England’s second-tier Championship. He worked in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr before making his debut as a first-team manager with Doxa Katokopias of Cyprus.
West Brom earlier said in a statement that the 41-year-old Corberan “is set to return to his homeland with the club’s gratitude and best wishes following a two-year tenure at The Hawthorns.”
Chris Brunt, Damia Abella and Boaz Myhill “will oversee first-team duties until further notice.”
Valencia’s next Spanish league match will be against Real Madrid at home on Jan. 3 in a game postponed from October because of the deadly floods that hit Valencia.
Valencia is winless in its last four matches.
Corberan wrote on X that “the decision to leave (West Brom) has been the hardest of my life.”
“There will ALWAYS be a place in my heart for this special club and I hope one day I can return to thank you all for your incredible support,” he said.
The annual World Junior Championship tournament is a great chance for NHL fans to check in on their favourite team’s top prospects.
This year, all seven Canadian NHL teams will be represented in the annual Christmas tournament, which will drop the puck in Ottawa on Boxing Day.
The pool of Canadian team prospects is smaller than in other years, with just 11 players combined between the 10 nations. Team Canada, looking to improve after a quarterfinal defeat a year ago, features four Canadian team prospects, the most of any country.
Here is a closer look at the prospects to watch for each Canadian NHL team.
Calgary Flames
Axel Hurtig, D, Sweden
Age: 19
Draft: Seventh round, No. 208 (2023) by Flames
Club team: Calgary Hitman (WHL)
Hurtig stands at six-foot-five and is a stay-at-home defenceman who doesn’t put up a lot of points. After three years with Rogle’s junior team in Sweden and a brief stint with the club’s senior men’s team, Hurtig made the move to North America this season and is playing in his NHL team’s backyard.
“I’m a big defenceman who likes to hit guys,” he said in an interview with the Flames’ website this summer. “Not afraid to step up, just a hard-nosed defenceman.”
The WHL doesn’t publish hit stats, but Hurtig leads his team with a plus-22 rating through 28 games and has two goals and seven points so far.
Edmonton Oilers
Beau Akey, D, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: Second round, No. 56 (2023) by Oilers
Club team: Barrie Colts (OHL)
Akey is a puck-moving right-shot defenceman who could get some power play time for Team Canada. He was limited to just 14 games last season after having surgery on both shoulders but has returned to the Colts lineup this season with 19 points in 25 games.
Paul Fischer, D, United States
Age: 19
Draft: Fifth round, No. 138 (2023) by Blues
Club team: Notre Dame (NCAA)
The Oilers acquired Fischer for future considerations from the Blues last summer on the same day they didn’t match the offer sheets given to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. The left-shot defenceman is a sophomore at Notre Dame who has nine assists in 18 games this season. A Chicago native, Fischer has said he grew up idolizing former Blackhawks and Oilers defenceman Duncan Keith.
Montreal Canadiens
Rasmus Bergqvist, D, Sweden
Age: 19
Draft: Seventh round, No. 224 (2023) by Canadiens
Club team: Skelleftea AIK (SHL)
Bergqvist has made the jump to the SHL after spending the past two years with Skelleftea’s junior team. A six-foot-two left-shot defenceman, Bergqvist has one assist in 21 games as a rookie in the senior division this year.
“He is tough to play against. He likes to deliver a hit when the time is right,” Skelleftea’s junior coach Joel Rönnmark told Habs Eye on The Prize in an interview. “He also has a good reach to cut passing lanes, and he doesn’t shy away from getting into the shooting lanes.”
Ottawa Senators
Vladimir Nikitin, G, Kazakhstan
Age: 19
Draft: Seventh round, No. 207 (2023) by Senators
Club team: Astana Snezhnie Barys (Rus-MHL)
Nikitin played his draft season with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL where he went viral for scoring a goalie goal in a game last March.
This season he returned to his native Kazakhstan to play for Nur-Sultan Barys of the KHL, although so far he has only suited up for Barys’ junior team. In 12 appearances he has a 4-8-0 record with a .884 save percentage.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Easton Cowan, RW, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: First round, No. 28 (2023) by Maple Leafs
Club team: London Knights (OHL)
Cowan is the top prospect in the Maple Leafs’ system and the reigning Most Outstanding Player in the OHL. He is in the midst of a 56-game point streak, an unofficial record surpassing Doug Gilmour, and has 28 points in 20 games this season.
“We think Easton is going to be a major part of this team moving forward,” general manager Brad Treliving said in an interview on The FAN Pre-Game in September.
Cowan is one of five players returning from last year’s Team Canada and will be counted on to lead the way offensively.
Miroslav Holinka, C, Czechia
Age: 19
Draft: Fifth round, No. 151 (2024) by Maple Leafs
Club team: Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
Holinka spent his draft year playing in the senior men’s league in his native Czechia but made the move to North America this season. The big six-foot-two centre is a scorer who has collected 10 goals and 21 points in 23 WHL games this season.
Vancouver Canucks
Tom Willander, D, Sweden
Age: 19
Draft: First round, No. 11 (2023) by Canucks
Club team: Boston University (NCAA)
Williander is one of the Canucks’ top prospects and a player on track to develop into a reliable two-way defenceman. He is one of nine players returning from Sweden’s silver medal-winning squad on home ice a year ago. Williander leads the Terriers in defence scoring with 11 points this season and has stepped up into more of a leadership role after Lane Hutson graduated to the NHL.
Sawyer Mynio, D, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: Third round, No. 89 (2023) by Canucks
Club team: Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Mynio is a two-way defenceman who plays in all situations for a last-place team. He has 19 points in 18 WHL games this season. Sportsnet scout Jason Bukala writes that Mynio makes “life difficult on opponents” and should be used in a shutdown role for Canada at this tournament.
Basile Sansonnens, D, Switzerland
Age: 18
Draft: Seventh round, No. 221 (2024) by Canucks
Club team: Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
Sansonnens is a big left-shot defenceman. He made the jump from Switzerland to North America this year and is playing a small role with this season’s Memorial Cup hosts.
“He’s a big defenceman. He’s raw,” Canucks scouting director Todd Harvey said at the draft. “We’ve seen him a lot and we liked his raw ability and with some growth, there’s a good player there.”
Winnipeg Jets
Brayden Yager, C, Canada
Age: 19
Draft: First round, No. 14 (2023) by Penguins
Club: Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
The Jets acquired Yager this summer in the Rutger McGroarty trade with the Penguins. He is one of the Jets’ top prospects and will be counted on to be a scorer for Canada while serving as captain. This season in the WHL Yager has 12 goals and 34 points in 23 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes.
With world junior rosters now set for all competing countries, prognosticators are lining up with their predictions for each team’s potential for success.
The host Canadians, along with Team Sweden and defending champion Team USA, seem to be garnering the largest number of votes as favourites to medal. My experience, from attending 13 previous world juniors, tells me to never rule out the pesky teams from Finland and Czechia. Both countries are never an easy out in world championship events.
One thing that is certain is the fact any team hoping to walk away with a gold medal draped around their necks after the final whistle on Jan. 5 in Ottawa will rely on heavily on elite goaltending.
Team Canada has three goalies rostered for the tournament. Carter George (Owen Sound Attack) and Jack Ivankovic (Brampton Steelheads) stop pucks in the OHL while Carson Bjarnason tends net for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL.
Here’s a closer look at the three Team Canada netminders and what their roles could be.
CARTER GEORGE
Height: Six-foot-one
Weight: 190 pounds
Catches: Left
Team: Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
NHL Draft: Los Angeles Kings, second round, 57th overall (2024)
George was the second-rated goalie for the entry draft last summer. He ended up the third netminder off the board when the Kings selected him with the 57th pick overall.
His athletic ability and crease quickness provide him the ability to track the play moving side to side and make saves that some goaltenders aren’t programmed to make. He fronts shooters very well, making him as big as possible between the posts. He also possesses a fantastic glove hand and the ability to fight through screens to find pucks in traffic.
An additional element that George provides is his ability to play the puck. He can step outside his crease to outlet pucks long-range and launch the attack offensively for the group.
George led Team Canada to gold medals at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and World U18 Championship in 2023-24. He was named the top goaltender at the worlds and was also named to the OHL all-rookie team. As impressive as he is on the ice, George excels in the classroom as well. He was awarded the top scholastic player in the OHL last season.
George is well-rounded and uber-focused. He has a history of success with Team Canada and appears to have the inside track for the starting job. He’s up for the challenge, but Canada boasts a couple of additional options if George falters.
CARSON BJARNASON
Height: Six-foot-four
Weight: 207 pounds
Catches: Left
Team: Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
NHL Draft: Philadelphia Flyers, second round, 51st overall (2023)
Bjarnason gives opponents a different look between the posts. He’s by far the biggest of Canada’s three netminders. Bjarnason plays a hybrid style. Like all goalies, he’s at his best when he maintains composure and doesn’t wander outside his posts. The good news is he has the length to make pad save, laterally, with his stature. Bjarnason is having a solid season in Brandon, posting a 2.90 GAA and .913 save percentage in 16 games.
Here’s an example of Bjarnason using his size to his advantage and keeping his composure between his posts. He squares up very well to make the first save and positions himself responsibly to make a second stop if required. His head is on a swivel surveying how the play develops in front of him:
Bjarnason has won a Hlinka Gretzky Cup gold and a World U18 Championship bronze medal representing Canada in the past. He too is up for the task if called upon in Ottawa.
JACK IVANKOVIC
Height: Five-foot-11
Weight: 178 pounds
Catches: Left
Team: Brampton Steelheads (OHL)
NHL Draft: 2025 Eligible
Ivankovic is the youngest of the three Team Canada goaltenders. He’s eligible for the draft next June and is one of the top-ranked goaltenders in the world. Ivankovic was fantastic for Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton this past August. He led the Canadians to gold, posting an incredible 0.75 GAA and .967 save percentage in his four starts.
Ivankovic makes up for his current lack of size with his athleticism and read/react quickness around his crease. Similar to Dustin Wolf from the Calgary Flames, Ivankovic closes on opponents when they are locked and loaded around his net. His aggressive style, and overall low net coverage, takes away shooting options for his opponent.
Here’s a sequence that displays what I’m describing:
I’m not sure Canada will have to go to Ivankovic in this tournament, but I have confidence in his ability if his number is called.
It’s more realistic to think he will gain very valuable experience from this experience and look forward to future starting assignments for Team Canada at the world juniors.
