Canada may have gone undefeated in the qualifying rounds, but teenage star Conor Bedard is determined to keep him and his team on track to reach the finals of the World Junior Hockey Championship. Mate says she still has more to give.
Canada (4-0-0) sits at the top of the standings as they prepare to face Switzerland (1-3-0) in Wednesday's quarterfinals. ``I think our goal is to improve every game,'' Bedard said after he had a goal and an assist in Canada's 6-3 win over Finland. said on Monday.
"Finland will be one of the top teams and what we showed [on Monday] was pretty big for us, and we want to keep that momentum going into Wednesday.
Bedard's play was Canada's highlight in the tournament so far.
READ MORE: Bedard shines as Canada beats Latvia 5-2 at World Junior Hockey Championship
The 17-year-old forward from North Vancouver, British Columbia scored at least one point in a 5-2 victory over host country Latvia. Did. Every game (3 goals, 4 assists).
Bedard, the first overall pick in his draft NHL entry for 2023, is simply a special player, captain Mason McTavish said.
"There's a lot to see in him," he said. "He's elite and his shot is crazy."
McTavish is Canada's offensive force, leading the tournament with 13 points (seven goals and six assists).
The 19-year-old Anaheim prospect of his Ducks has been playing a lot of hockey in recent months, with the Hamilton Bulldogs helping Ontario his hockey win his league. Maple is pulling his leaf at the Beijing Olympics.
Big McTavish, a veteran of his game, said his mindset hasn't changed much heading into the quarterfinals.
READ MORE: Canada beats Finland 6-3 to remain undefeated in the Junior Worlds {44
Elimination games, anything can happen,” he said. }
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Canada trailed only once in the qualifying rounds. At this time, the Czech Republic (commonly known as the Czech Republic) opened the scoring in the round. Robin match-up on Saturday, where the Canadian earned his 5-1 victory.
Special Teams has played an important role for Canada, power six times out of 10. He scored a goal on the play and allowed just two goals on 11 penalties.
In four games, the Canadian outscored his opponents 27-7 and led the world juniors with a plus-20 goal difference.
The team must come out on top in Switzerland on Wednesday to continue the tournament.
Switzerland qualified for the quarterfinals with her 3-2 victory over Austria, their only win of the tournament so far. But Canada knows nothing is certain in the world's juniors.
Read more: In: Team Canada gears up for World Juniors
Swiss) didn't have the most success in this tournament, but we know they're a great team." said Canadian forward Nathan Gaucher. "They're out there and they're going to challenge us. They're a skill team. So we have to play our best game, even better than against Finland."
Others on Wednesday In the quarterfinals, reigning champions USA (4-0-0) will face the Czech Republic (1-2-1) and Sweden (3-1-0) will face Latvia (1-2-). 1), Finland (3-1-0) will play Germany (2-2-0).
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Goalkeeper Dylan Garland is the only Canadian team to qualify for Worlds Juniors .
The 20-year-old New York Rangers prospect was part of the team that won the silver medal at the 2021 tournament in Edmonton without fans in the stands due to COVID-19 restrictions.
This year's group has no interest in heading to the quarterfinals, he said, Garand.
"We're here to win, so we're not really afraid of elimination (the game)," he said. "I want to win those games and achieve my goal of a gold medal."
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