It wasn’t looking good for Canada’s National Men’s Team. Twenty minutes into its preliminary game against Sweden at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, the Canadians were being outshot 14-5 and found themselves facing a 3-0 deficit.

Needing a jolt – not to mention a goal – Canada got both from 19-year-old Aaron Ekblad. Early in the second period, the team’s youngest player – who two games earlier became the youngest defenceman to ever score for Canada – fired home a loose puck through traffic to get his country on the board. Over the final 40 minutes Canada outshot its Scandinavian rival 34-18 and outscored it 6-1. Tyler Ennis, who had the game-winner, was the oldest of the six goal-scorers.

He’s 25.

“I’m not sure when we started [putting the team together] that we were thinking about age,” says Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of hockey operations and national teams. “We were just thinking about taking the best players and fortunately when you look forward in our program we got a lot of good young players.”

Head coach Todd McLellan agrees that age was never a consideration.

“We just knew that these players were very capable of playing at a high level,” he says. “Most of the players were leaders and offensive leaders on their teams, and we had to put the group together so that the whole was more important than the parts.”

Veteran presence was added in the form of Jason Spezza, Brent Burns, Dan Hamhuis and Mike Smith.

“They had a big role in settling the team down when it needed it,” says McLellan. They also served as key decision-makers for the team, he adds, having a voice on things like workload and days off. “We wanted to have them participate in the direction of the team.”

While the core of the team ended up being chronologically young – 16 of the 23 players were 25 or younger – it was far from inexperienced. Cumulatively the core had won medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship (10), Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament (11 – all gold), World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (seven), IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship (four) and Olympic Winter Games (one), not to mention a Spengler Cup (Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin).

That Program of Excellence experience played a key role in preparing them for the big stage in Prague. It also may have provided a little extra motivation.

“Interestingly enough there’s a lot of guys who’ve been through the program who didn’t win,” says Salmond. Many players had international experience and knew the expectations that came with wearing the maple leaf, but recent gold medal droughts at the World Juniors and world championship had left them wanting more.

“From the day we got that team together there was a feeling from the players that they wanted to get it done,” says Salmond. “I thought as much as anything that was motivation for our players, guys who’d been disappointed before at the World Juniors, guys who’d been to the world championship and lost and being we’re not going to let that happen this time.”

The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is a major event in Europe, with nearly 160 individual broadcasters and more than one billion viewers. “It’s a huge stage. The players understand what that’s all about and they want to win,” says Salmond. “At the end of the day they’ve got the experience through the NHL or our programs to do that.”

The younger players also had veteran leaders to rely on. “What they were able to capture from those veterans is that experience of being in the tournament,” says McLellan. “How it��s supposed to feel now, what happens next, when does it get tough, when does it get easy.”

A big part of the experience of the world championship is helping players become better, says Salmond, and that comes from being around those who’ve been there before, those who’ve had success there (Burns, Hamhuis and Spezza have six medals between them) and those who’ve had long NHL careers.

“The reason the [younger] guys are good players is because they’re smart,” says Salmond, “and smart players will gain as much knowledge and experience as they can from the players around them.” Many of them, even though they’re only 23 or 24 years old, are leaders on their NHL teams; however, says Salmond, “this time, I think they kind of turned themselves over to our older leadership group and looked for direction from them.”

Spezza and Burns were named Top Forward and Top Defenceman, respectively, by the IIHF Directorate, but their younger teammates also made their mark in Prague.

Taylor Hall joined Spezza and Burns on the media all-star team. Ryan O’Reilly and Duchene were among the tournament leaders in the face-off circle, each winning two-thirds of their draws. Sean Couturier finished plus-13 and was never on the ice for an even strength goal against. Seguin and Hall ended up first and third in goals scored. Ennis showed off skill and speed on a wraparound that proved to be the gold-medal-winning goal versus Russia. And Jordan Eberle, Hall and Duchene were second, third and fifth among the tournament scoring leaders.

“We’ve gone through the Gretzky-Lemieux era and the Sakic-Blake-Iginla era,” says McLellan. “When I look at this group I think this is the next generation of Canadian teams.”

This year’s Team Canada finished 10-0 at the world championship, winning every game in regulation. It was the third gold medal won by a men’s team on the international stage this season. Between worlds, the World Juniors, U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship, Canada went 28-1.

The future of Canadian hockey is bright thanks to its young stars.

“Not that long ago people were questioning Canadian hockey and were we developing talented players and were we skilled enough,” says Salmond. “I think we’ve answered those questions this year.”

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Hockey Canada and eBay.ca will launch the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship auction on Saturday, May 9 at 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT. Up for auction are game-worn jerseys from Canada’s National Men’s Team.

The jerseys up for grabs are Team Canada’s 100th anniversary jerseys worn exclusively at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Prague and Ostrava. The colour of the jersey will be determined following Canada’s final game at the world championship.

Canada’s National Men’s Team 23-player roster includes three who helped Canada win gold at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games (Crosby, Duchene, Hamhuis, Smith), 11 who have previously played at a world championship (Burns, Crosby, Duchene, Eberle, Giroux, Hall, MacKinnon, O’Reilly, Schenn, Smith, Spezza) and 14 who represented Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship (Barrie, Burns, Couturier, Crosby, Eakin, Eberle, Ekblad, Ennis, Giroux, Hall, Jones, MacKinnon, Schenn, Spezza).

All proceeds from the sale of game-worn jerseys will go to the Hockey Canada Foundation, whose mission is to promote and foster accessibility to the game of hockey. Proceeds of this auction will support Hockey Canada Foundation initiatives that help ensure Canada remains at the forefront in the development and promotion of amateur hockey as well as creating access to the game.

The auction will last 10 days, closing May 18, 2015. Shipping will commence for paid items the week of June 15, 2015.

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Team and Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_men. 

CALGARY, Alberta – Hockey Canada has announced that two-time Olympic gold medallist Rick Nash (Brampton, ON/Columbus, NHL) will serve as general manager of Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia.

Nash was selected by Doug Armstrong (Sarnia, ON/St. Louis, NHL), management group lead for Canada’s National Men’s Team, Ryan Getzlaf (Regina, SK/Anaheim, NHL), player relations advisor and Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.), senior vice-president of hockey operations and high performance.

“Rick is an outstanding person to lead Canada’s National Men’s Team at this year’s world championship, as he brings a wealth of international and NHL experience from his playing career and his time as an executive,” Armstrong said. “We are excited to work with Rick and begin building the staff and roster that will wear the Maple Leaf in Czechia and help us defend gold this May.”

Nash most recently won a silver medal as assistant general manager of Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 2022 IIHF World Championship. He is in his third season as director of player development with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and previously spent two seasons (2019-21) as the team’s special assistant to the general manager. As a player, he represented Canada at the Olympic Winter Games in 2006, 2010 and 2014, winning gold in 2010 and 2014. He also wore the Maple Leaf at four IIHF World Championships, winning one gold medal (2007) and two silver (2005, 2008), and won a silver medal at the 2002 IIHF World Junior Championship. Professionally, he played in 1,060 NHL games over 15 seasons with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, amassing 805 career points (437 goals, 368 assists).

Additions to the management group, as well as the coaching staff, support staff and roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship will be announced at a later date.

Canada will open the tournament against Great Britain on May 11 at 6:20 a.m. ET/3:20 a.m. PT. It will also take on Denmark, Austria, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Czechia in the preliminary round before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 26. Prior to the start of the tournament, Canada’s National Men’s Team will play pre-tournament games against Austria at Steffl Arena in Vienna on May 5 and Hungary at the MVM Dome in Budapest on May 7.

For more information on Hockey Canada, Canada’s National Men’s Team and the 2024 IIHF World Championship, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, X and Instagram.

TAMPERE, Finland – A three-goal third period helped Canada’s National Men’s Team win gold at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, downing Germany 5-2 in the gold medal game at Nokia Arena on Sunday.

Sammy Blais (Montmagny, Que./St. Louis, NHL) netted the game-winner off a rebound just under five minutes into the third period, his second goal of the game and fourth in three contests, to give Canada its 28th gold medal at men’s worlds.

“This feels really good. We have been in Europe for a month and have waited for our moment to play for a gold medal, and it is really special to win in front of our friends and family that travelled here,” Blais said. “Our group built chemistry so quickly and it feels like we have played together for a long time, and we are excited to bring this gold medal back home to our fans.”

Canada fell behind 1-0 just over eight minutes into the game before Blais, who was named Player of the Game, buried a one-timer off a Peyton Krebs (Okotoks, Alta./Buffalo, NHL) pass to tie the game. Germany responded with a goal 13:47 into the middle frame before Lawson Crouse (Mount Brydges, Ont./Arizona, NHL) redirected a puck past German goaltender Mathias Niederberger on the power play to equal the score at 2-2 before the end of the second.

After Blais gave Canada the lead early in the third, Tyler Toffoli (Scarborough, Ont./Calgary, NHL) and Scott Laughton (Oakville, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL) added goals to secure the win and give Canada its 51st medal overall at the IIHF World Championship.

“I could not be more proud of this group. We battled through a lot of adversity and doubt to get to this point, and this win is so special,” Toffoli said. “We have such a close-knit team that came together quickly, and we always believed in each other. Everyone bought in and we played a great game today, and I am incredibly happy to be going back to Canada with a gold medal.”

Sam Montembeault (Bécancour, Que./Montréal, NHL) capped off a stellar tournament with a 21-save performance. A full game summary can be found at HockeyCanada.ca.

Following the gold medal game, MacKenzie Weegar (Nepean, Ont./Calgary, NHL) was named Best Defenceman of the tournament and was selected to the media all-star team. Crouse, Montembeault and Weegar were also named Team Canada’s three best players of the tournament following the semifinals.

“The commitment of everyone on our team was unbelievable. We knew we had to come here and play for each other and commit to a team game. We came here to represent Canada and make our country proud, and I am so blessed to be a part of this group,” said head coach André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Arizona, NHL). “Our players wanted to win so bad. They wanted to bring a gold medal back to Canada, and when you have that mindset you can accomplish great things, and we did that tonight.”

Canada finished the preliminary round in second place in Group B after wins over Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Kazakhstan and Czechia. It booked a spot in the gold medal game after a 4-1 win over Finland in the quarterfinals and a 4-2 win over Latvia in the semifinals.

Since 1931, Canada has collected 28 gold medals at the world championship, to go along with 16 silver and seven bronze.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE BLOG 

TAMPERE, Finland – A three-goal third period helped Canada's National Men's Team punch its ticket to the gold medal game at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, doubling up on co-host Latvia 4-2 at Nokia Arena on Saturday.

• Adam Fantilli (Nobleton, Ont./University of Michigan, Big Ten) scored the eventual game-winner, a highlight-reel goal just under nine minutes into the third period.
• Scott Laughton (Oakville, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL) chipped in with an empty-net goal and an assist.
• Sammy Blais (Montmagny, Que./St. Louis, NHL) and Jack Quinn (Cobden, Ont./Buffalo, NHL) rounded out the scoring.
• Peyton Krebs (Okotoks, Alta./Buffalo, NHL), Jake Middleton (Stratford, Ont./Minnesota, NHL), Lawson Crouse (Mount Brydges, Ont./Arizona, NHL), Milan Lucic (Vancouver, B.C./Calgary, NHL) and Justin Barron (Halifax, N.S./ Montréal, NHL) chipped in with one assist apiece.
• Sam Montembeault (Bécancour, Que./Montréal, NHL) made 20 saves.
• Canada outshot Latvia 36-22.

Next Game:

Canada vs. United States or Germany (gold medal game) – Sunday, May 28 (1:20 p.m. ET/10:20 a.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 64 and 24 games, respectively; please check local listings for details.

Quotes:

“The Latvians battle hard, they are physical and they played really well today. We stuck with it and needed some character after they scored the first goal, and I think the boys did a great job. [Quinn] scored a big, big goal for us, and Fantilli’s goal will be a highlight for a long time. There was no panic on our bench, and I think the commitment from our team was exceptional today.”

-      Head coach André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Arizona, NHL) on today’s semifinal win

“It was a special moment for me. I grew up watching Milan Lucic my whole life, and for him to give me a great pass before my goal was pretty cool. It is a pretty surreal feeling to score a big goal that helps get us to the gold medal game, and it would mean a lot for everyone in our locker room to leave Finland with a gold medal. We all came here to represent our country as best as we can, and the best way to do that is by winning, so hopefully we can do that tomorrow.”

-      Fantilli on his goal and the opportunity to play for gold

“The puck just kind of popped out to me after a great forecheck by Crouse. I was just trying to bank it off any part of the Latvian goalie, and luckily the shot hit the perfect spot and went in.”

“This game shows that we have a lot of resiliency and that we believe in each other. We knew we were going to face some adversity today, and we were able to stick with it and stay calm, and in the end we got rewarded. We know how we need to play tomorrow to be successful, so we just need to reset and get focused on what we need to do to leave with a gold medal.”

-      Quinn on his game-tying goal and today’s game

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #IIHFWorlds.

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE BLOG 

TAMPERE, Finland – Canada's National Men's Team has booked its spot in the semifinals at the 2023 IIHF World Championship after defeating co-host Finland 4-1 at Nokia Arena on Thursday.

• Sammy Blais (Montmagny, Que./St. Louis, NHL) netted the eventual game-winner just past the midway point of the second period.
• Jack Quinn (Ottawa, Ont./Buffalo, NHL), Michael Carcone (Ajax, Ont./Tucson, AHL) and Tyler Toffoli (Scarborough, Ont./Calgary, NHL) rounded out the scoring.
• Lawson Crouse (Mount Brydges, Ont./Arizona, NHL), Jake Neighbours (Airdrie, Alta./St. Louis, NHL), Justin Barron (Halifax, N.S./Montréal, NHL), MacKenzie Weegar (Nepean, Ont./Calgary, NHL) and Jake Middleton (Stratford, Ont./Minnesota, NHL) chipped in with one assist apiece.
• Sam Montembeault (Bécancour, Que./Montréal, NHL) was spectacular in goal, making 27 saves and earning Player of the Game honours.
• Canada outshot Finland 31-28.

Next Game:

Canada vs. Latvia (semifinal) – Saturday, May 27 (7:20 a.m. ET/4:20 a.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 64 and 24 games, respectively; please check local listings for details.

Quotes:

“[Montembeault] made a lot of key saves for us. [Finland] had breakaways and grade-A chances, and Sam stood tall. He was our best player tonight, and when your goalie is playing that well, it is a good recipe for winning games.”

“We tried to play with speed on the forecheck to disrupt the Finns’ timing. They are so strong on pucks, they are heavy and protect the puck well. We wanted to be really aggressive when they had the puck and take possession away from them as quickly as possible. Finland possessed the puck a lot tonight, but I feel like we put them under pressure as soon as they touched the puck. Our penalty kill was also really good, and that was a key for us. [Finland] has some elite players, and we did a great job to contain them and kill those penalties.”

-      Head coach André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Arizona, NHL) on the play of Montembeault and getting the win

“Our team played great tonight, and you can see how much we have grown since the start of this tournament. We knew it was going to be a tight game today, and that third goal from Carcone was huge for us and it took some weight off our shoulders. We played a great third period and managed the puck really well.”

“This is a great group. Our goal coming into this tournament was to win a gold medal, and we knew we were going to have to work hard tonight to beat Finland in front of their fans. We are one step closer to our goal, and now we are looking forward to the semifinals.”

-      Montembeault on the team’s performance and playing for a medal

“We need to keep doing what we have been doing the past two games. We need to be hard on the forecheck and stick to our systems. We have been playing well defensively and blocking a lot of shots, and we need to keep that up. We have a great goalie that we have a ton of confidence in, and we are going to bring our best game against Latvia.”

-      Blais on facing Latvia in the semifinal

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #IIHFWorlds.

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE BLOG 

RIGA, Latvia – Canada's National Men's Team wrapped up the preliminary round at the 2023 IIHF World Championship with a win, downing Czechia 3-1 at Arena Riga on Tuesday to finish in second place in Group B.

• Peyton Krebs (Okotoks, Alta./Buffalo, NHL) opened the scoring on a first-period power play and was named Player of the Game.
• Tyler Myers (Calgary, Alta./Vancouver, NHL) netted the eventual game-winner just over four minutes into the third period.
• Lawson Crouse (Mount Brydges, Ont./Arizona, NHL) rounded out the scoring with an empty-net goal.
• Scott Laughton (Oakville, Ont./Philadelphia, NHL) chipped in with a pair of assists.
• Sam Montembeault (Bécancour, Que./Montréal, NHL) made 16 saves.
• Canada outshot Czechia 44-17.

Next Game:

Canada vs. Finland – Thursday, May 25 (1:20 p.m. ET/10:20 a.m. PT – Nokia Arena)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 64 and 24 games, respectively; please check local listings for details.

Quotes:

“The past two games did not go the way we wanted, so we wanted to play a hard game tonight and play well defensively. I am certainly happy about the progression of our team. We were strong on the forecheck and won a lot of battles. We were not as good as we needed to be in the second period, but we came back strong in the third and were able to get a lead early in the period. I am happy about our compete level and the speed we had off the rush.”

-      Head coach André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Arizona, NHL) on today’s win

“We really set the tone and established the way we wanted to play in the first period. We got away from that a bit in the second, but we dialed things back in in the third and found a way to put the puck in the net. That has been a bit of a missing ingredient for us in this tournament, but we got a big goal [from Myers]. We need to keep playing the way we did in the first period of today’s game. The quarterfinal is going to be a fun game and it will be pretty electric in front of the Finnish fans, but it is a challenge we are ready for.”

-      Krebs on today’s game and the quarterfinal

“It was good for us to get to this level of play in our last game of the preliminary round. The first and third periods were our best two periods we have played all tournament in my opinion. We did not really like our game in the second, but I am glad we came out in the third and responded the way we did. We need to carry that play and mindset over to Finland.”

“[Finland] plays a really hard game and they are not going to give you much, so we are going to have to work hard for every inch on the ice. It is going to be fun playing against the Finns in Finland because we know the arena is going to be buzzing, and we are excited to get [to Tampere].”

-      Myers on the final preliminary-round game and playing Finland

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #IIHFWorlds.

GAME STATISTICS | LIVE BLOG 

RIGA, Latvia – Canada's National Men's Team dropped its second-consecutive game at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, suffering a 3-2 shootout loss to Norway at Arena Riga on Monday.

• Lawson Crouse (Mount Brydges, Ont./Arizona, NHL) tied the game with 12 seconds remaining in the third period to send the game to overtime.
• Milan Lucic (Vancouver, B.C./Calgary, NHL) opened the scoring for Canada just over eight minutes into the second period.
• MacKenzie Weegar (Nepean, Ont./Calgary, NHL), Jake Middleton (Stratford, Ont./Minnesota, NHL) and Michael Carcone (Ajax, Ont./Tucson, AHL) chipped in with one assist apiece.
• Tyler Myers (Calgary, Alta./Vancouver, NHL) was named Player of the Game.
• Joel Hofer (Winnipeg, Man./St. Louis, NHL) made 21 saves.
• Canada outshot Norway 33-23.

Next Game:

Canada vs. Czechia – Tuesday, May 23 (9:20 a.m. ET/6:20 a.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast 64 and 24 games, respectively; please check local listings for details.

Quotes:

“[Norway] plays well defensively, and we knew that going into the game. They have averaged about two goals against per game, so we knew they were going to defend really well. We did not play fast enough to get on the inside on them, and against a team like that you need to attack the inside of the ice to create scoring chances.”

“Adversity is part of this tournament. If you cannot overcome adversity, you will not have a good chance of winning. We are going through some adversity right now, which will help build character among our team. Tomorrow will give us another indication of where we stand as a team. We know we have qualified for the quarterfinals, but our focus is still on getting better every day and it will be good to get back at it in less than 24 hours.”

-      Head coach André Tourigny (Nicolet, Que./Arizona, NHL) on the challenges of Norway and facing adversity

“We have to give Norway credit. They played a hard game and locked us up pretty well. For us, we are working hard but we need to be realistic about the areas we need to improve. I do not think we need to make drastic changes, but we need to simplify things a little bit. We need to get more pucks to the net, crash some bodies in front of the other team’s net and make it hard on their goalies. It was not the result we wanted tonight, but we have a chance to come out tomorrow, improve our game and finish the preliminary round strong.”

-      Myers on today’s game and continuing to improve 

“We need to play better. All these teams here play so well defensively, and we need to find a way to get higher-quality scoring chances. It is a quick turnaround for tomorrow’s game, and it is a short tournament, so we need to learn from what we did wrong tonight and get ready to play the Czechs tomorrow. It is going to be an important game for us.”

-      Crouse on creating better scoring chances

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #IIHFWorlds.

RIGA, Latvia – The following is a statement on behalf of Doug Armstrong, general manager of Canada’s National Men’s Team, in response to the suspension given to Joe Veleno (Kirkland, Que./Detroit, NHL) at the 2023 IIHF World Championship:

“We have been informed that the IIHF Disciplinary Committee has imposed a five-game suspension to Joe Veleno for an on-ice incident that occurred during Canada’s game against Switzerland on May 20. Canada’s National Men’s Team acknowledges the role of the committee and appreciate the diligence that went into the decision-making process, and we accept and support the IIHF’s decision.”

The following is a statement on behalf of Joe Veleno:

“I have been notified of the five-game suspension imposed by the IIHF for my actions in our game against Switzerland. I accept the sanction from the IIHF and apologize for my actions.”

To read the official announcement from the IIHF, please visit IIHF.com.

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #IIHFWorlds.