It was a terrific and historic 2015 IIHF World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic. In the midst of it all saw the amazing Avalanche gather gold with Canada, as four players represented Colorado and did it with some style and swagger.
Tyson Barrie, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, and Ryan O’Reilly all represented their country and the Burgundy and Blue very well. Each playing a large role in Canada’s historic, perfect run to gold.
Confidence Rising
There was no shortage of confidence in these four Colorado Avalanche players and the proof is in the golden pudding. Matt Duchene was the top offensive player from the Avalanche, while also finishing 1st in FO% throughout the whole tournament. Duchene was also given PK duties, he played a great two-way game and was one of Canada’s best players. Matt Duchene finished the tourney with 4G 8A 12pts, which ranked 3rd overall on team Canada.
Ryan O’Reilly notched 2G 9A for 11pts, and was Canada’s most consistent/versatile player during the tournament. O’Reilly played on the 1st PK AND PP units, showing you just how valuable a forward he really is. O’Reilly started the tournament on the 4th line but that didn’t last long. Very soon he was playing on the 2nd line with Claude Giroux and Tyler Seguin and they formed a very dangerous two-way line.
Nathan MacKinnon contributed 4G 5A for 9pts. He was coming off of his foot injury and looked great out there. MacKinnon was first played with Sidney Crosby and Jason Spezza. During the game vs Sweden Duchene and Crosby switched places and it seemed to work. Though it was interesting to see Nathan MacKinnon playing left-wing throughout the tournament.
Tyson Barrie probably surprised many Canadian fans, but not Avalanche fans. Barrie put up 1G 5A totaling 6pts, and was one of Canada’s top PP QB’s, breaking out and setting the team up on the attack time and time again. This kid is gonna be a stud in the NHL and Colorado are certainly glad to have him.
After the season Colorado had, this was a great thing for these players and their confidence. They can now go into next season on a very high note.
One for the Record Books
“We’ve created history. For this team, this year, against all of the opponents, this was a historic year for us” coach Todd McLellan.
Team Canada went on a perfect run in this year’s IIHF World Championship. They were dominant from start to finish.
Canada scored a record 66 goals on route to becoming the first team to collect the million Swiss Franc bonus for having their perfect record of 10-0, with no overtime, no shootout. Not too shabby.
And that’s how we do it ‘Round Here! #Canada #AvsBoys #WorldChamps @Avalanche @HockeyCanada pic.twitter.com/4KTYbGspZI
— Matt Duchene (@Matt9Duchene) May 18, 2015
Bonus Video
I don’t know if this is good or bad exposure for the team, but they just won gold so cut em some slack. In this video, 3/4 of the Avalanche boys are getting loose, and I’ll just leave it at that.