BUFFALO, N.Y. – Canada has more than one score to settle. The United States has a title to defend. And don’t discount Sweden.
The 10-nation World Junior Championship opens in Buffalo on Tuesday with numerous subplots. The most notable involves the question of whether hockey parity is finally catching up to the Canadians.
Bring it on, says Canada manager and two-time world junior gold medalist Joel Bouchard.
“I played in ’93 and ’94, and it was not even close to what it is right now,” Bouchard said. “Every country is pushing it. And it’s our job to keep bringing the bar higher and higher. We know everybody is looking at us. And that’s good. That’s what you want.”
The landscape has dramatically shifted since 2009, when the Canadians set a world junior record by winning their fifth consecutive title.
In the eight years since, Canada has won just one gold medal — in 2015 with a team featuring Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid.
By contrast, the United States has won three times, including a 5-4 shootout victory over Canada in the championship game last January.
Finland has won twice and the Swedes and Russians once each.
No one is discounting Canada’s chances of winning its 17th gold medal this time, especially with eight first-round NHL draft picks.
And yet, as Russian defenseman and New Jersey Devils prospect Yegor Zaitsev said through an interpreter: “Canada is not more favored than Russia.”
One drawback is Canada’s inability to draw upon the nation’s entire pool of players 20 and younger because the top talent is already competing in the NHL. McDavid, for example, could have represented Canada for two more years, but was instead busy producing at more than a point-a-game pace during his first two years in Edmonton. He was the NHL MVP last season.
USA Hockey is enjoying a golden era by doubling its medal count from five to 10 (four gold, one silver and five bronze) since 2010. The surge reflects a rise of nationwide registration in hockey, attributed to the NHL’s expansion into nontraditional markets such as Arizona, where 2016 No. 1 draft pick Auston Matthews grew up rooting for the Coyotes.
The test for the Americans is becoming the first U.S. team to win consecutive titles, and the first nation since Canada’s five-year run to repeat as champions.
“Honestly, I would never say pressure,” said U.S. coach Bob Motzko, the coach at St. Cloud State. “I would be foolish to waste energy having those feelings. I love the process. I’m more nervous about what we’re going to do at practice tomorrow.”
The Americans’ 23-player roster features seven returnees, and nine first-round picks.
The U.S. is in the same pool as Canada, and the two will meet in international hockey’s first outdoor game, which will be played at the NFL Buffalo Bills’ New Era Field on Friday.
Sweden also might finally be in line to medal after finishing fourth in each of the past three years.