Yahoo Sports A Disastrous World Junior Championship From Canada Ends In The Quarterfinals; Head Coach Dave Cameron & Easton Cowan At The Front Of Ridicule
It seems like forever ago when Canada defeated Finland 4-0 on Boxing Day to open up their 2025 World Junior Championship tournament. It was a dominating performance by the host nation and the vibes were high in the north.
However, an unlikely hurdle struck, and Canada faltered to Latvia for the first time in history at the World Juniors. Failing to score more than two goals against Latvia was concerning, but surely they would bounce back against an inferior opponent like Germany, right?
Wrong. Canada struggled again to score and scrapped out a tight 3-0 win over the Germans. Their lack of talent and scoring concerns remained prevalent as they headed to a New Year's Eve game against the United States.
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Canada's lack of finishing ability — again — and discipline — an issue as good as time for Canada at the World Juniors — proved costly against USA. They lost 4-1, setting up a tough quarterfinals matchup against Czechia, the team that ousted them in the quarters at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Before the game even started, it seemed like there was very little belief that this Canadian roster could pull it together and get through to the medal round. The frustration from Canadian fans was quite noticeable online.
Despite a valiant third-period comeback, Canada's discipline issues proved costly once again. Soo Greyhounds defenseman Andrew Gibson received a kneeing penalty with just over two minutes remaining in a tied 3-3 hockey game, a call that sparked considerable debate about its validity.
Andrew Gibson was assessed a two-minute penalty for kneeing after review.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/Yq61da4otl
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 3, 2025
Regardless, Czechia converted on their powerplay and sealed Canada's fate. It's the first time in IIHF World Junior Championship history that Canada has been eliminated in the quarterfinals in consecutive years. It started great. It ended disastrously.
With the entire hockey world watching and talking, what went wrong for Canada?
It all started on day one when they announced their official roster and left several extremely talented players off the list — even excluding players like Michael Misa, Michael Hage, and Carter Yakemchuk from their selection camp roster.
OHL superstars Beckett Sennecke and Zayne Parekh initially did not receive invitations to training camp, but both later earned their spots. Despite being top 10 picks in the 2024 NHL Draft and showcasing elite talent, they were not selected to represent their country, leading many to question the reasoning behind this decision.
Sennecke, Parekh, Misa, Hage, Yakemchuk, Matthew Wood, and Andrew Cristall all left off the team. Every year, Canada usually leaves off maybe one of two players from their roster whom everyone says should've been on the team. This year, they left off far too many, and it cost them in the end.
Head Coach Dave Cameron deserves the blame for that. His roster decision-making proved to be a failure.
Canada brought far too many forwards who play a similar role. Players like Cole Beaudoin, Ethan Gauthier, Tanner Howe, Luca Pinelli — who was a pleasant surprise — Mathieu Cataford, and Jett Luchanko are best described as 200-foot players who are hard workers on both sides of the puck, don't cheat for offense, and are reliable.
Do you need six of those kind of players? At a junior level tournament where historically the nation that has the most skill wins? The answer undoubtedly is no.
Additionally, Cameron's deployment of his lines was questionable.
Brampton Steelheads forwards Carson Rehkopf and Porter Martone have had terrific chemistry playing together this season. They never got the chance once to play with one another at this tournament.
Cameron also waited too long to try Canada's phenom Gavin McKenna with Easton Cowan and Calum Ritchie. He didn't start playing those three as a line until the third period against Czechia, where they were buzzing around the offensive zone.
Lastly, canceling practices after losses to Latvia and USA, and the morning skate before their quarterfinal game against Czechia certainly was an interesting decision for a team that looked like they lacked chemistry.
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Now, Dave Cameron isn't the only person from Canada receiving hate. Easton Cowan has received a ton of hate for his lackluster performance. Is it deserved?
The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect definitely did not live up to expectations, although they were set astronomically high. Crazy enough, he did finish tied with Brayden Yager for the most points on Canada with three in five games, but those are poor numbers considering they needed him to be an offensive catalyst.
In fairness to Cowan, he was one of the very few Canadian players who was making slot passes to set up high-danger scoring chances and could've had more points if his teammates buried their looks.
However, it looked like he put far too much pressure on himself to do it all, overthinking, and gripping his stick too tight. Making ill-timed passes, not spotting an open man, or just blind giveaways had people ready to attack him and voice their displeasure online.
All in all, the hate Cowan is receiving is a bit much, as it always is when a Canadian doesn't live up to their expectations at the World Juniors. But he needed to have a better tournament.
Another player who needed to have a better tournament was his linemate, Calum Ritchie.
For someone who is known for his high-octane offensive play and unreal skill, Ritchie did not deliver. You would expect a player who started the season in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche would stand out more. He didn't.
The same could be said about Jett Luchanko — who started his season with Philadelphia in the NHL — but he doesn't possess the elite individual skillset that Ritchie does.
When you build a roster compiled of a bunch of 200-foot forwards, and energy/role guys, you're asking skillful players like Cowan and Ritchie to carry the offensive load. That proved to be too tough a task for them.
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