Canadian Gold: Remembering the 2018 World Junior Championship
In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.
After losing to the United States in the gold-medal game at the 2017 world juniors, Canada was looking to avenge its predecessors on American soil in Buffalo, New York, at the 2018 tournament.
The roster
| Player | Position | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Drake Batherson | F | 19 |
| Maxime Comtois | F | 19 |
| Dillon Dube* | F | 19 |
| Alex Formenton | F | 18 |
| Jonah Gadjovich | F | 19 |
| Brett Howden | F | 19 |
| Boris Katchouk | F | 19 |
| Jordan Kyrou | F | 19 |
| Michael McLeod* | F | 19 |
| Taylor Raddysh* | F | 19 |
| Sam Steel | F | 19 |
| Tyler Steenbergen | F | 19 |
| Robert Thomas | F | 18 |
| Jake Bean* | D | 19 |
| Kale Clague* | D | 19 |
| Dante Fabbro* | D | 19 |
| Cal Foote | D | 19 |
| Cale Makar | D | 19 |
| Victor Mete | D | 19 |
| Conor Timmins | D | 19 |
| Carter Hart* | G | 19 |
| Colton Point | G | 19 |
*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament
The tournament
The Canadians opened with a 4-1 victory over a strong Finnish team that had won gold in 2014, 2016, and would win again in 2019. They then toppled Slovakia 6-0 before an outdoor game at New Era Field (now Bills Stadium) in Orchard Park, New York, against the United States.
In front of 44,592 fans - smashing the previous record of 20,380 for a world junior game - Canada squandered leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Wearing Buffalo Bills-themed jerseys, USA scored two third-period goals to force overtime. The Americans ultimately prevailed in the shootout to claim victory.
However, thanks to USA's loss to Slovakia and Canada's 8-0 win over Denmark, the Canadians finished the tournament atop group A. This would prove to be massive. Instead of playing Russia in the quarters and Sweden in the semis, Canada got to beat Switzerland 8-2 in the quarters and Czech Republic 7-2 in the semis. That set up a gold-medal game against the Swedes, which Canada won 3-1 for its 17th gold in tournament history.
The stars
Carter Hart was phenomenal in his second World Junior Championship. Starting six of Canada's seven games, he led the tournament with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. However, Sweden's Filip Gustavsson was named the tournament's top netminder.
Cale Makar was also a force for Canada, tallying eight points in seven games while being named to the media All-Star team.
Jordan Kyrou and Sam Steel were offensive catalysts, recording 10 and nine points, respectively.
The key moment
The biggest moment of the tournament came from one of Canada's most unheralded players.
Tied 1-1 in the third period with just 1:40 remaining, Tyler Steenbergen re-directed a Conor Timmins point shot to give Canada a late lead. Alex Formenton added an empty-netter 26 seconds later to put the icing on the cake. Watch Steenbergen's winner here.
The tally was Steenbergen's first goal and just his second point of the tournament. He was Canada's only forward without a goal up until that point.
The fallout
The most immediate fallout featured heartbroken Swedish captain Lias Andersson, who threw his silver medal into the crowd.
Canada failed to defend its gold-medal title in 2019, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Finland in overtime. But the nation reached the top of the podium once again in 2020.
While all of the players from this team are still just 21 and 22 years old, a handful of them have already become stars in the NHL. Makar is the reigning Calder Trophy winner, and Hart has already established himself as one of the best young goalies in the league.
Most of the players from this squad are not yet in the NHL, but some will likely make their mark in due time.