It was the final day of the World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) on Sunday (Dec. 17), and that meant that it was time to award medals to three of the four remaining teams. The matchup was set, and the gold medal would go to a Canadian team, the question was, which one, Canada East or Canada West?
Related: 2023 World Junior A Challenge Bronze Medal Game
Earlier in the day, the United States earned a bronze medal with an 8-5 win over Sweden. They were led offensively by Trevor Connelly, who scored four goals, which included a hat trick in the first period, becoming only the third player in the tournament’s history to score four goals, one of which was the Arizona Coyotes’ third overall pick in 2007, Kyle Turris, during the 2006 tournament.
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TSN provided coverage of the semifinals and medal games, which provided some exposure to a great event. Some casual fans may be wondering why this tournament matters. It’s simple, beyond the pride of competing for your nation at any level, it is an important milestone for NHL scouts. Every NHL club has scouts watching every moment of this tournament, and several high-quality NHL players have been discovered or proven themselves in the WJAC.
An All-Canada Final: East versus West
Team Canada West won the gold medal at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge on Sunday, claiming its sixth gold with a 7-2 win over Team Canada Eastin in Truro, Nova Scotia. It was their sixth gold medal, and first since 2017. It was also the second consecutive silver medal for Canada East and the best showing by an East team in the history of this tournament during round-robin play.
To say that this matchup in the Final was not expected is an understatement. Canada East (East) had finished second behind Team USA and was also the only other team to finish the preliminary round with a positive goal differential. Canada West (West) snuck into the medal rounds after winning only once in the preliminary round. They went on to shock the top-seeded Americans, who were also favourites to repeat as gold medalists, with an overtime win.
East started the game with a plan of playing a physical style. They were finishing every hit, and in some cases, going out of position to do so. This left West an opening only 1:10 into the game as Jack Silverberg scored on the first shot of the game. Dawson Labre entered this game as the tournament’s top goaltender, and could arguably have been named the tournament MVP before the gold medal game loss. He seemed to have a case of nerves as he did not look like the focused, confident goaltender we saw throughout the tournament.
“I thought the score didn’t indicate the actual game. I thought we were a little flat at times, so we can’t blame it all on our goaltending. Sometimes you just need key saves at key times and we didn’t get them. At the end of the day, Dawson (Labre) gave us some really good games in the tournament that we maybe shouldn’t have won where he ended up winning the game for us.”
– East head coach Billy McGuigan
In contrast, the goaltending at the other end was solid as Erick Roest turned aside 30 shots for the win. But his job was made much easier as West was winning all of the one-on-one battles, especially in front of his net. He had a clear line of sight, and the high-danger chances were cut down to a minimum. East could have done far more to support Labre.
As the game wore on, the team lost focus, lacking the discipline to stick with the systems that got them to the Final, instead, there were times when there was more focus on individual play. This was born out of frustration as West was playing a nearly flawless game, sticking to their strengths, using their speed to close gaps and transition onto the attack.
This hyper-concentration on their team plan allowed West to play a calmer, more focused brand of hockey. It gave them the option to remain patient and wait for plays to develop, for East to make even the tiniest error, and pounce. Over the full 60 minutes, dozens of little plays saw the puck bounce over an East stick, or land just right for the West. It almost felt as though West was the team of destiny and the hockey gods were in their corner. While that may be true, the gods favour teams that sacrifice to make a play.
“This win today truly shows the character of this team. We had a tough start to this tournament, but we had some deep heart-to-heart conversations with the players and staff and we got everyone pulling on the same rope. Guys bought into the right way to play and this is a great feeling.”
-West head coach Scott Barney
It did look as though West was the more rested team, but it was their methodical, structured play contrasted with the emotional game by the East that was the real difference. West had an emotional lift after the overtime win over the USA, and it may have helped build their confidence at the right time. But it was their ability to get East off of their game as they continued to chat them up between plays, and on the bench. Whatever was being said seemed to work as East became focused on revenge between whistles. While this didn’t give West an advantage with power plays, it did build on the frustrations their opponents were feeling as the missed opportunities began to mount.
“It does play a factor (West’s emotional win over the US), they had a rest day on Friday as well. Not to make excuses, we were all in a tough tournament and it’s a grind, but they had that rest and I think that rest day is pretty important. It is what it is, there’s all kinds of things that come into play”
– East head coach Billy McGuigan
This tournament is a showcase of players who decided to forego the traditional major junior hockey route and instead remain eligible for the NCAA, much like Cale Makar did in 2016 when he won gold at the WJAC. The fans may have gotten to see firsthand a player or two who will be seen as a surprise riser in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Fans in Truro got to watch the most goals scored in the gold medal game since the United States scored seven in 2008. While they were there to cheer on Canada East, cheering every hit, and were disappointed at every missed pass, missed shot or missed opportunity, they gave Canada West great support as they were awarded their medals, and each player took turns doing their lap with the championship trophy. They also got to watch a rare sight, an all-Canada final. This was the first time since 2011 and only the fourth time ever.