Team Canada won their first game on Wednesday at the 2022 World Junior Men’s Hockey Championship in Edmonton, Alberta. Canada beat Latvia 5-2 in a game that was only seen by 2,779 at Rogers Place.
Four Canadians had multi-point games. 17-year-old phenom and Regina Pats center Connor Bedard of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Brandon Wheat Kings left winger Ridly Greig of Lethbridge, Alberta and Saint John Sea Dogs right winger William Dufour of Quebec City, Quebec each had one goal and one assist for two points. Hamilton Bulldogs center Mason McTavish also had a multi-point game as he had two assists. The other two goals came from Canadian defensemen Lukas Cormier and Olen Zellweger. Cormier is of Ste-Marie-de-Kent, New Brunswick, and plays for the Charlottetown Islanders. Zellweger is of Calgary, Alberta.
The 2022 World Junior Hockey Championships were originally to take place at Christmas time. However, it was postponed because of coronavirus after the tournament had already started.
There are nine different players on Team Canada compared to the December team. They are Dufour, Mississauga Steelheads defenseman Ethan Del Mastro of Freelton, Ontario, Barrie Colts center Tyson Foerster of Alliston, Ontario, Quebec Remparts center Nathan Gaucher of Longueuil, Quebec, Acadie-Bathurst Titan center Riley Kidney of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Vancouver Giants left winger Zack Ostapchuk of Edmonton, Alberta, left winger Brennan Othmann of Scarborough, Ontario, Sherbrooke Phoenix left winger Joshua Roy of Saint-Georges-de-Bea, Quebec, and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenseman Jack Thompson of Courtice, Ontario.
