It was certainly a one-sided affair as Canada moved to 2-0-0 in the group stage of the World Junior Championship with a 10-0 win vs Latvia. Simply put, the two-time defending gold medalists looked as good as they’ve been all tournament in this one. Right from the opening puck drop, it was clear that Canada was going to not give the Latvians any chance at all to make this a contest. Latvia looked overmatched and showed why many believe they could have to compete in the relegation match to keep their World Junior hopes for next season alive.
The other thing that stood out the most was the tremendous performance from guys like Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Wood. Celebrini in particular was phenomenal and put on quite the show. Head coach Alan Letang will have a lot to be pleased about with his team’s performance. This is a confident Canadian team that already looks to have the makings of becoming the true favourites to win yet another gold medal. Let’s look at three things that stood out the most from their performance in this one.
Macklin “Score-Brini”
There’s no question that the biggest name heading into the tournament this year was Celebrini. Through two games, it’s clearly obvious why there is so much hype around him and he put on a performance vs Latvia that had everyone’s attention. The projected first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft led the way for Canada with one goal, and four assists for five total points. He now has goals in each of his first two career World Juniors games. He was once again all over the ice and made life miserable for the Latvian defence all game long.
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Celebrini told the media before the tournament that his favourite World Junior tournament memory was in 2020 when New York Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere had 10 points in five games. Celebrini is well on his way to breaking that mark as the 17-year-old has two goals and four assists for six points in just two games. The excitement continues to grow for the young forward and will only continue to grow as he continues to excel on this international stage.
Have A Day Matthew Wood
Despite not contributing on the score sheet in Canada’s first game of the tournament, that did not stop Wood from dominating the sheet in this one. The 15th overall pick in last year’s draft by the Nashville Predators finished with a goal and two assists as he and Celebrini combined for eight…
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