World Juniors Right now: Welcome to Ottawa because the 2025 match begins

26 December 2024

The 2025 World Juniors start right this moment in Ottawa and The Athletic will probably be with you each step of the way in which. Together with each day evaluation from our prospect consultants Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler, we’re introducing World Juniors Right now to arrange every day’s slate of video games. The Athletic’s Senators beat reporter Julian McKenzie and employees editor Sarah Jean Maher will each be on-site to doc the sights and sounds of the match.

Right here’s a fast introduction to your two intrepid World Juniors Right now guides for the subsequent week and a half.

McKenzie: I keep in mind watching the Canada-Russia semifinal in 2009 upstairs at my grandparents’ place on a small TV of their bed room. I keep in mind watching a 16-year-old Rasmus Dahlin on the 2017 World Juniors in Montreal with some previous associates, and we ended up on the JumboTron! And now, I get to jot down in regards to the match for The Athletic! The WJC is a vacation custom that so many hockey followers, together with myself, take pleasure in. To be ready to offer protection of the video games and write options in regards to the gamers is an honor.

This 12 months’s match goes to be enjoyable to look at. There’s at all times stress on Canada, particularly this 12 months contemplating the expertise they left off their roster. However what in regards to the Individuals and potential 2025 No. 1 decide James Hagens? The Swedes are a drive, too. 9 gamers who received silver finally 12 months’s match are again. To have the ability to witness potential greatness in particular person isn’t misplaced on me and I’m excited for the World Juniors to start out.

Maher: I nonetheless have a scar on my proper hand from once I by chance scratched myself in celebration of Jordan Eberle’s dramatic tying objective for Group Canada the final time Ottawa hosted the World Juniors. It’s one in every of my favourite “The place had been you?” sports activities moments, and I used to be a highschool scholar on my dad and mom’ sofa harboring desires of working in media that will unknowingly lead me to sports activities journalism within the capital metropolis within the close to future.

Sixteen years later, the World Juniors are again in Ottawa (town I nonetheless name house) and I’m excited to be a part of The Athletic’s protection. I’ve coated a number of World Juniors tournaments through the years however nothing beats protecting your favourite time of the season in your personal metropolis. From getting my begin protecting the Ottawa 67’s at TD Place (then the Civic Centre) to working with the NHL out of Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata for practically 4 Senators seasons (and let’s not neglect the frigid Hockey 100 Basic in December 2017), I’ve been lucky sufficient to cowl a variety of floor within the chilly capital.

Canada is hungrier than ever for gold after final 12 months’s devastating quarterfinal loss. Group USA has by no means received back-to-back gold medals. The No. 1 decide within the 2025 NHL Draft is up within the air. To not point out the slew of thrilling NHL prospects starting from Sweden, Czechia, Finland, Slovakia and Kazakhstan (!) we’ll get a front-row seat to see. There’s quite a bit to be enthusiastic about this winter.

Right now’s schedule

• Sweden vs. Slovakia, midday ET/9 a.m. PT
• Germany vs. USA, 2:3o p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT
• Switzerland vs. Czechia, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT
• Canada vs. Finland, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT

Oliver Bonk, Denton Mateychuk and Maveric Lamoureux react to Canada’s quarterfinal loss to Czechia in January 2024. (Christinne Muschi / The Canadian Press by way of AP)

‘Resilient’ Bonk returns for Canada

It was a flukey objective that eradicated Canada early from final 12 months’s World Juniors. Nonetheless, defenseman Oliver Bonk says his staff has one thing to show on house soil.

“Positively not completely satisfied how final 12 months occurred or how we carried out or how good we did,” he stated of Canada’s heartbreaking 3-2 quarterfinal loss to Czechia final January.

Jakub Stancl’s wrist shot went off Bonk’s stick and previous goalie Mathis Rousseau with 11.7 seconds left within the recreation, sending Czechia to the semifinals. It was merely an unfortunate bounce for Canada.

“It’s simply unhappy to love get a bounce like that, however it occurs,” Bonk stated. “I’ve scored targets to tie this 12 months to win the sport off of fellows, prefer it occurs on a regular basis. So it’s actually unlucky it occurred to you however there’s nothing you are able to do about it.

“For the time being, like sort of 24 hours after, you’re nonetheless actually unhappy about it, however it occurs.”

Bonk, a 2023 first-round decide of the Philadelphia Flyers and son of former NHLer Radek Bonk, is one in every of 4 returnees to Canada’s roster alongside captain Brayden Yager, Carson Rehkopf and Bonk’s London Knights teammate Easton Cowan.

Radek recently told the Ottawa Citizen that Oliver was “devastated” after the loss and condemned the “keyboard warriors” who criticized his son on social media following the sport.

Knights defenseman Sam Dickinson remembers his fellow blueliner’s disappointment upon his earlier-than-expected exit from the match however says it didn’t section him for lengthy because the Knights obtained sizzling.

“He’s very resilient. Whenever you watch him play, he doesn’t let issues get to him,” stated Dickinson, additionally a member of Group Canada this 12 months. “You’d should be disenchanted with the play, however it’s such a flukey play. Not a lot he may have actually executed there. So I do know he’s moved on and he’s trying ahead to the match this 12 months and the way a lot he’s going to be a giant a part of this staff and contribute as effectively.”

Bonk, Dickinson and Cowan went on to win an OHL championship with the Knights final season, an expertise Bonk says he can use to play a management function this winter.

“I feel (I’ll) positively attempt to be a frontrunner on the staff and sort of put the boys in the precise course from what we possibly ought to’ve executed final 12 months and what we may do higher this 12 months,” he stated.

So what can they do higher this time? Bonk says “being extra dialed in” and “ready” on a staff that’s “able to go this 12 months greater than we had been final 12 months.” It’s exhausting to match groups, however he’s satisfied this 12 months’s is stronger, with “no actual weaknesses.”

“I feel I really feel extra ready as a result of I do know what’s coming,” he stated. “So I sort of obtained to prepare for it, obtained to get the staff prepared for it and simply ensure we’re quite a bit higher than final 12 months.”

Peter Anholt, a part of Canada’s administration group, touts this 12 months’s again finish as one of many staff’s greatest strengths, various with hardness and dimension. Head coach Dave Cameron, who coaches the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, didn’t know Bonk too effectively coming into the match however is aware of his ability.

“All they do down in London is win,” Cameron stated. “I do know (Bonk) as a result of he’s from Ottawa, and I coach in Ottawa, I can ask questions. He’s recognized in the neighborhood and a personality child, a superb child and a hell of a hockey participant.”

Reclaiming gold after final 12 months’s disappointment is clearly the objective, however doing so in entrance of household and associates in his hometown — and in the identical rink his father performed in for 10 seasons with the Senators — would make this 12 months’s expertise all of the extra particular for Bonk.

“It’s going to be actually enjoyable,” Bonk stated. “Most of my mother’s facet of my household’s in Ottawa, so that they’re positively going to return do their greatest to return watch the video games and yeah, excited to have all of them right here.”— Maher