World Juniors Recap - December 19

Shane Wright scored twice and added an assist to help Canada down Switzerland in its first pre-tournament game.

MONCTON, N.B. – Canada's National Junior Team kicked off pre-tournament action ahead of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship with a win, downing Switzerland 6-0 on Monday night.

Shane Wright (Burlington, Ont./Seattle, NHL) led the offence with two goals and an assist.
Connor Bedard (North Vancouver, B.C./Regina, WHL) chipped in with a trio of helpers.
Joshua Roy (Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, Que./Sherbrooke, QMJHL) and Nathan Gaucher (Richelieu, Que./Québec, QMJHL) contributed a goal and an assist apiece.
Brennan Othmann (Pickering, Ont./Peterborough, OHL) and Olen Zellweger (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta./Everett, WHL) rounded out the scoring.
Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, Alta./Arizona, NHL) and Zach Dean (Mount Pearl, N.L./Gatineau, QMJHL) posted two assists each.
Thomas Milic (Coquitlam, B.C./Seattle, WHL) turned in a 19-save shutout.
Canada outshot Switzerland 42-19.

Next Game:

Canada vs. Slovakia (pre-tournament) – Wednesday, Dec. 21 (7:30 p.m. AT/6:30 p.m. ET)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will provide extensive coverage of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, broadcasting all 31 tournament games, as well as all three Team Canada pre-tournament games. TSN Radio will also provide comprehensive tournament coverage.

Quotes:

“[Dean, Gaucher and Roy] set the tone for us. They were grinding their opponents, working together and feeding off each other. [Establishing chemistry] is never an issue when you come to an event like this. Everyone is coming from across the country and different leagues, but we are all here for a common goal. It’s one team and one country, and you could see a lot of that chemistry on all our lines tonight.”

- Head coach Dennis Williams (Stratford, Ont./Everett, WHL) on the team’s chemistry

“We are three good friends outside of the rink, and that helps us on the ice. [Gaucher] is a guy I know well, and I see [Dean] a lot when I play against him in the [QMJHL]. One of the reasons why we had success tonight is because we respected our game plan. We put the puck behind [Switzerland’s] defence and were strong on the forecheck, and we were able to create scoring chances and capitalize on them.”

- Roy on playing with Dean and Gaucher

“It’s a pretty good feeling getting off to a strong start. The team in front of me makes my job easy, but it is nice to lay a good foundation before the start of the tournament. I feel like I stayed steady and was able to give the team a good chance to win.

“The crowd was incredible tonight. They did a great job of cheering us on and keeping the momentum on our side. There was a lot of signs along the glass in warm-ups, and whenever I had the chance I tried to take in the atmosphere. It is nice to get that level of support for a pre-tournament game.”

- Milic on his shutout and playing in front of fans in Moncton

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Junior Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #WorldJuniors.