Canadian Gold: Remembering the 2009 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.
The pressure Team Canada faced entering the 2009 world juniors was immeasurable. Not only did the country win four consecutive gold medals leading up to the event, but the games took place on home ice in Ottawa, the nation's capital, this time around.
As if the pressure entering the tourney wasn't enough, the 2009 world juniors showed how hungry Canadians were to see their team win another gold. The tournament holds the record for total attendance, with 453,282 spectators attending games.
The roster
| Player | Position | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Jamie Benn | F | 18 |
| Zach Boychuk* | F | 19 |
| Patrice Cormier | F | 18 |
| Stefan Della Rovere | F | 18 |
| Chris DiDomenico | F | 19 |
| Jordan Eberle | F | 18 |
| Tyler Ennis | F | 19 |
| Angelo Esposito | F | 19 |
| Cody Hodgson | F | 18 |
| Evander Kane | F | 17 |
| Brett Sonne | F | 19 |
| John Tavares* | F | 18 |
| Keith Aulie | D | 19 |
| Ryan Ellis | D | 17 |
| Cody Goloubef | D | 19 |
| Thomas Hickey* | D | 19 |
| Tyler Myers | D | 18 |
| Alex Pietrangelo | D | 18 |
| P.K. Subban* | D | 19 |
| Colten Teubert | D | 18 |
| Chet Pickard | G | 19 |
| Dustin Tokarski | G | 19 |
*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament
The tournament
Canada won all four of its preliminary-round games with ease, scoring 35 goals while allowing just six against. The contests included a 15-0 drudging against Kazakhstan and an emphatic 7-4 victory over the U.S. Pickard and Tokarski split the games at two apiece.
Canada advanced directly to the semifinals after finishing first in the preliminary round and took on Russia. Thanks to Eberle's late-game heroics, Canada managed to win in a shootout.
The Canadians faced a tough Swedish squad that included future stars Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, and Jacob Markstrom in the final. Sweden put up a good fight, outshooting Canada 40-31, but Tokarski shut the door and helped guide his team to a lopsided 5-1 victory and the country's fifth consecutive gold medal.
The stars
Hodgson led the team and tournament with 16 points in six games, including two goals and an assist in the gold-medal matchup.
Tavares was named tournament MVP after leading his squad with eight goals. Tavares, Hodgson, and Subban were picked for the world junior All-Star team.
The key moment
Every contest Canada played during the tournament was nearly a blowout except for its semifinal matchup against Russia. The two sides traded goals all game long, but it seemed as though Canada was on its way out after Russia scored to go up 4-3 with just over two minutes left in the third period.
With time winding down and hope fading, Eberle scored one of the country's most dramatic goals of all time. Team Canada was putting on a ton of pressure with Tokarski pulled, and Eberle miraculously swatted the puck into the net with five seconds left. The game eventually went to a shootout, where Eberle and Tavares scored, while Tokarski shut the door on both Russian shooters to send Canada to the gold-medal game.
The fallout
The team featured a number of future NHL stars, including Benn, Pietrangelo, Ellis, Kane, Subban, Tavares, and Eberle. Some of them showed flashes of brilliance at the world juniors, but others flew under the radar, like Pietrangelo, who managed just three points in six games.
Hodgson never fully found his footing in the NHL despite shining in the tournament. He went on to play in 328 career NHL games, racking up 142 points. He hasn't suited up in the league since the 2015-16 season.
The 2009 world juniors marked Canada's fifth-straight gold medal, but it would also be the beginning of a long drought for the country as its next gold wouldn't come until 2015.