“He’s the guy who everyone else aspires to,” coach Dave Cameron said. “We thought we had a lot of captain material, but picking ‘Mac’ was actually pretty easy.”
McTavish will try to lead Canada to the WJC title after losing to the United States in the 2021 championship game.
WJC 2022 will take place August 9-20 at Rogers Square in Edmonton. The competition was originally scheduled to run from December 26 to January. 5, but was delayed until December 29 due to coronavirus concerns.
[RELATED: 2022 World Junior Championship schedule]
Canada will join Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia in Group A. The United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Austria will be in Group B.
Latvia was added to replace Russia, which was banned from international competitions due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Selected by the Anaheim Ducks with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, McTavish started last season with 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in nine NHL games and played briefly in After San Diego in the American Hockey League, he returned to the Ontario Hockey League at the age of 19. He played five games with Peterborough before being traded to Hamilton on January 9. McTavish helped Hamilton win the OHL championship with 16 goals in 19 playoff appearances, and he is tied for the Memorial Cup lead with eight points (six goals, two assists) in five games.
“In simple terms, he’s a hockey player,” Cameron said. “Everything about him shows that. Very attentive in meetings, asking the right questions, working as hard as anyone on the ice, no egos, his performance on the ice speaks for itself. He’s been in the NHL playing, and he has a long NHL career in front of him.”
The top four teams in each group will play in the quarterfinals on August 17. The semi-finals are on August 19, and the championship and third place matches are on August 20. All games will be played on the NHL network in the US and TSN in Canada.
There will be no relegation rounds, which means the same 10 teams will be participating in the 2023 WJC, which will take place from December 26 to January. Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick, May 5, 2023.
Here’s a look at each team in Group A, in order of predicted completion:
Canada
coach: Dave Cameron
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Connor Bedard, F, Regina, WHL
schedule: Aug. 10, Latvia (6 p.m. ET); Aug. 11, Slovakia (6 p.m. ET); Aug. 13, Czech Republic (6 p.m. ET); Aug. 15, Finland (Eastern) time 6 pm)
Appearance: Canada’s strength is depth, especially in the mid lane. McTavish, Logan Stan Cowan (Dallas Star), ridiculous greg (Ottawa Senator) and Eliot Desnoyer (Philadelphia Flyers) might start in the middle, but another option could be Conor Bedard. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL draft showed off his dazzling skills in two games when he was still 16 when the tournament debuted in December, including a four-ball game against Austria. Now fourth in the Western Hockey League with 100 points (51 goals, 49 assists) in 62 games with Regina, he’s older, more experienced, and ready for bigger Get ready for a breakthrough.Seven of the eight defenders are left-shooters, but Oren Zellweger (The Anaheim Ducks), the top defensive player in the WHL last season, is part of a group of versatile and powerful skaters who should play well on their offside.with the goalie Sebastian Corsa (Detroit Red Wings) and Dylan Garland (New York Rangers) Likely to share the time, Canada will be the favorites again.
Finland
coach: Andy Pennanning
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Ruben Lufkin, D, TPS, FIN
schedule: Aug. 9, Latvia (6 p.m. ET); Aug. 11, Czech Republic (2 p.m. ET); Aug. 14, Slovakia (2 p.m. ET); Aug. 15, Finland (Eastern) time 6 pm)
Appearance: Finland will have five defenders in third place at the 2021 WJC by Topi Niemera (Toronto Maple Leafs), he was named the Tournament Defensive Player of the Year after scoring 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) in seven games.They have to play well behind three inexperienced goalkeepers Levi Melainen (Ottawa Senators) and Juha Jatkola (2023 draft-eligible), who each played a game in December, and Jani Lampinen (2023-draft-eligible).forward Brad Lambert The (Winnipeg Jets) scored five points (one goal, four assists) in the two games before the game was canceled in December and will now be expected to play at a similar level.Also expected to be a bargaining chip on the offensive end Arturati (New York Islanders), who scored 40 points (13 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games against Ukulet in Liga last season, and Caspar Simonteval (Los Angeles Kings), who has four goals in seven games at the 2021 WJC. If the goalkeeper holds and the attack is successful, Finland can push Canada to the top of the group.
Czech
coach: Radim Rulik
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Daniel Hercik, F, Pardubice, Czech Republic; Adam Mechura, F, Tri-City, WHL
schedule: Aug. 9, Slovakia (2 p.m. ET); Aug. 11, Finland (2 p.m. ET); Aug. 13, Canada (6 p.m. ET); Aug. 14, Latvia (eastern time 6 pm)
Appearance: Jan Maysack (Montreal Canadiens), Matthias Sapovaliv (Vegas Golden Knights) and Girikuric (Buffalo Sabres) could be the key to the offense. Misak, who played 61 games for OHL’s Hamilton last season with 64 points (34 goals, 30 assists), is one of five returning players to the WJC in 2021, scoring three points in five games (2 goal, 1 assist). Sapo Valleeff had 52 points (18 goals, 34 assists) in 68 games for Saginaw, fourth among OHL rookies. Coolidge was named the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship MVP after leading all players with nine goals in six games.Two defensemen are 2021 WJC returners, Columbus Blue Jackets prospects David Giricek and Stanislav Swarzier. Jiricek’s game-start status is in question after testing positive for COVID-19, but hopefully he’ll make it to the opener in time. He is needed if the Czech Republic wants to finish ahead of Slovakia and push Finland to second place in the group.
Slovakia
coach: Ivan Fernes
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Dalibor Dvorsky, F, AIK Jr., SWE-JR; Samuel Honzek, F, Vancouver, WHL
schedule: August 9, Czech Republic (2 p.m. ET); August 11, Canada (6 p.m. ET); August 12, Latvia (6 p.m. ET); August 14, Finland (Eastern time 2 pm)
Appearance: Dvorsky, a potential top-five pick in the 2023 draft, has 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 33 games with AIK’s teams in the Swedish Youth League.Except for Dvorsky, the striker Selvatz Petrovsky (Minnesota Wild) Finished third among OHL rookies last season with 54 points (28 goals, 26 assists) in 65 games with Owen Sand, and he should also play a big role in the offense. Goalie Simon Latkoczy returns after a three-game save percentage of 0.922 at the WJC in 2021 despite facing 34.0 field goals per game and having played in the NHL the past three seasons Ball, which means he has experience on the lesser North American ice.Slovakia has no striker Yuray Slavkovsky (Montreal Canadiens) and guard Simon Nemek (New Jersey Devils), the first two picks in the 2022 NHL draft, but still has a talented team. If Latkoczy can steal them a game, they can challenge for third place in Czech Group A.
Latvia
coach: Artis Abouls
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Niks Fenenko, D, Baie-Comeau, QMJHL
schedule: August 9th, Finland (6pm ET); August 10th, Canada (6pm ET); August 12th, Slovakia (6pm ET); August 14th, Czech Republic (Eastern time 6 pm)
Appearance: This is Latvia’s first participation in the world’s junior top level since 2017 and being in a group with 2nd (Canada) and 3rd (Finland) from 2021 does not help their cause .Three players on the roster have been drafted by NHL teams, including forwards Kraft Weinbergs (Tampa Bay Lightning). He scored 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) in 9 playoff games and helped Zemgale win the Latvian top professional league title. It takes a lot of time for Latvia to win a match, but don’t worry about the relegation round, the experience the players gain can help them compete in the 2023 WJC.
