Against all odds, the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship was completed. Based on the way the tournament went, the odds of the United States winning the whole thing may have been even longer. However, for the fourth time in 11 years, the Americans skated off the ice with the gold medal following one of the more spectacular defensive efforts and goaltending performances the U.S. has ever enjoyed at that level.
Canada looked unbeatable throughout much of the tournament, outscoring opponents 41-4 prior to the gold-medal game, and never once trailing. However, they ran into a hot goaltender and a U.S. squad that was committed to forcing the Canadians to earn every inch of ice.
The road for any team to just get to the tournament, let alone the gold-medal game, was long and arduous. Several players had to be withdrawn from team camps due to positive COVID-19 tests or close contacts. Germany had nearly half of its team quarantined for the first half of the tournament due to positive tests upon arrival to Canada. Sweden played the tournament without four of its coaches on site, including head coach Tomas Monten. Canada's camp was disrupted by positive tests among players and staff, forcing a two-week isolation period in a hotel in Red Deer, Alberta. The U.S. lost two players to positive tests the day before they were to leave for Canada.
It will continue to be debated whether the tournament should have happened at all amid the pandemic. However, the system worked as it was designed, and the result was a tournament that provided some incredible individual and team performances in the first (and hopefully only) World Junior Championship played in a bubble.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from an unforgettable tournament:
Jump ahead:
Zegras' legendary performance
11 prospects who leveled up
Four who didn't show their best
Inside the U.S. win
Canada's eye-popping stats
1. Trevor Zegras had a legendary World Juniors performance
Anaheim Ducks prospect Trevor Zegras had what can only be described as the greatest individual performance by an American player in the history of the World Junior Championship. With 18 points in seven games, he fell one point shy of tying Doug Weight's single-tournament scoring record set in 1991. The difference is that Zegras won the gold medal and was named the tournament's MVP.
Zegras also matched the record for most points in a World Junior Championship career, with 27. The previous sole record-holder Jordan Schroeder appeared in three World Juniors and played in 19 total games. Zegras appeared in 12 games as the U.S. was eliminated in the quarterfinals last year. His 2.25 points-per-game average ranks fifth all-time among players that appeared in more than one WJC, with a minimum of 10 games played. Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, Esa Keskinen and Vladimir Krutov are the only players that bettered Zegras' mark.
The key part about the production Zegras put together in 2021 is that the vast majority of his points were scored on consequential goals. He assisted on USA's first goal and scored the second himself in the gold-medal game. He was never held off the score sheet in any game.
"Trevor showed up against every team we played," said head coach Nate Leaman after the gold-medal game. "He was so committed off the puck and that helped our team. Seeing that helped them."
Earlier in the tournament, Leaman said that he was especially impressed with how Zegras was just as effective and dangerous at the end of a shift as he was at the beginning. When your best players are providing that kind of effort, it trickles down. There wasn't a single game where Zegras wasn't a threat.
Now Zegras will head to Anaheim where he will look to make the Ducks out of training camp. He has a good shot of doing that, if he plays as well as he did in the tournament. The 19-year-old is one of the best passers not currently playing in the NHL, with elite vision and hockey sense. He also tacked on some muscle this offseason, and showed his physical strength in the way he protected pucks and extended plays, while also challenging teams on the back check and forcing turnovers.
Part of what made Zegras' tournament that much more impressive is that he hadn't played in any live games this year, like many of his U.S. teammates that are still playing college hockey. He came into the tournament ready after the long layoff, and looked even better than he did at the end of last season at Boston University.
There may be some development time yet before he's ready to make a big NHL impact, but there's no question that he's coming into his first NHL training camp red hot.
2. Other prospects that leveled up in this tournament
The World Juniors is a major showcase for prospects, but it's really important not to get too wrapped up in the results positively or negatively in this tournament. It's two weeks of hockey. Not only that, for many of the players, this was their first action of the season and hardly should be considered a full picture.
However, we can take a more short-term look at some of the performances we saw from the Edmonton bubble:
Dylan Cozens, C, Canada/Buffalo Sabres: Cozens finished the tournament with 16 points. He was everywhere and did everything for Canada. The most impressive things I saw from him in the tournament were improved physical strength, even more explosiveness in his skating and an ability to take pucks away from the opposition and immediately turn it into offense. Like Zegras, he looks to be riding a particularly strong wave into NHL training camp and you'd have to think the Sabres have a full-time spot ready and waiting for him.
Tim Stuetzle, LW, Germany/Ottawa Senators: The 2020 No. 3 overall pick looked incredible in his second World Juniors. Having just recovered from an injury sustained during training camp, he finished third in the tournament with 10 points despite Germany playing in only five games. With nearly half his team quarantined, Stuetzle took over games and allowed the Germans to advance to the quarterfinal for the first time ever in their World Junior history. He averaged 25 minutes per game due to his team having fewer available players, and never once looked like it was too much for him. He was named the tournament's best forward by the directorate, and was the only player from a team not to reach the semis to make the tournament All-Star team. Next stop: Ottawa and a long, successful NHL career.
Alex Turcotte, C, USA/Los Angeles Kings: Turcotte scored the game-winning goal in the gold-medal game on a net-front tip in the first period. He also assisted on the late game-winner in the semifinal that sent the U.S. to the final. He finished second on the U.S. with eight points, but saved his best performances for the medal round. Turcotte looked faster and more disciplined. He also was USA's top faceoff man, and often was out for consequential draws. At both ends of the ice, he was special. This was a tremendous bounce-back performance after an underwhelming post-draft season at Wisconsin in 2019-20.
Devon Levi, G, Canada/Florida Panthers: He wasn't supposed to be there. Levi wasn't even invited to Canada's summer virtual camp, indicating he wasn't in the mix for the team. Nevertheless, he was a tournament All-Star, the directorate award winner as the tournament's top goalie. Canada may have had a weaker goaltending group than usual and Levi wasn't always tested at 5-on-5, but the Northeastern University netminder performed at a really high level. He posted a .964 save percentage and three shutouts in the tournament.
Spencer Knight, G, USA/Florida Panthers: It's good to be a Florida Panthers goalie coach these days. Knight had a terrible start to the tournament in a shaky effort in a loss to Russia. However, he responded with consecutive shutouts -- the first American ever to post back-to-back shutouts in a World Junior. He then added another shutout in his best performance of the tournament in a 34-save effort against Canada. He was notably crucial in USA's efforts to thwart Canada's speedy forecheck with his excellent puck-handling skills.
Knight set U.S. records for most shutouts in a single tournament and career at the World Juniors, with three for each. His .940 save percentage is the sixth best by an American in a single tournament, and four of the five players ahead of him became NHL regulars in their careers. Knight's tournament didn't start great, but it could not have finished better.
Bowen Byram, D, Canada/Colorado Avalanche: Selected to the tournament All-Star team, Byram was a huge reason Canada was so dominant at 5-on-5 throughout the tournament. He is such a great skater and escapes pressure well. I thought his commitment to his own end was top-notch, and his ability to get pucks up ice was excellent.
Matthew Boldy, LW, USA/Minnesota Wild: Tied for second on the U.S. with five goals, Boldy may have been USA's second-most effective forward on a game-to-game basis. His ability to control pucks in the offensive zone, especially along the boards, kept a lot of plays alive that would have died on less-capable players' sticks. He was an all-situations player for the U.S. on its first power-play unit and as one of its most trusted penalty killers. From January last season to now, Boldy has shown a lot of the tools that will make him a long-time NHLer.
Ville Heinola, D, Finland/Winnipeg Jets: Heinola was a tough cut from my Top 100 earlier this season, and he needed very little time to make me look foolish for doing so. He was Finland's top defenseman in the tournament in terms of minutes played, and was crucial in his team owning possession in some games, including the semifinal against the U.S. His counting stats weren't amazing, but his play on the ice was. He looks quicker, more committed to his defensive game and showed an ability to be an excellent transition weapon. He was a tournament All-Star.
Topi Niemela, D, Finland/Toronto Maple Leafs: The top scoring defenseman in the tournament with seven points, Niemela was also named the best defenseman by the directorate. He was sensational in his offensive capabilities. Niemela has smooth skill and easily moves about all three zones. His knack for finding sticks at the net front and creating time and space will be assets to him going forward.
Anton Lundell, C, Finland/Florida Panthers: This wasn't so much a level-up as it was a continuation of what he's done all season. Lundell led Finland with 10 points while serving as the team's captain. He looked NHL-ready, though Panthers fans will likely have to wait a bit longer to see him in South Florida.
Elmer Soderblom, LW, Sweden/Detroit Red Wings: A favorite of mine since his draft year of 2019, the 6-foot-7 Soderblom was one of Sweden's most reliable forwards and a menace at the net front. Despite that big size, Soderblom moves well and has excellent hands. He had just three points, but seemed to be involved in everything for Sweden.
3. Players that underwhelmed
Let's provide the same caveat again from before. A bad World Junior Championship does not change the way you should feel about a prospect. Plenty of great players have underwhelmed in this tournament in the past. So, understand that much of what comes below has done little to change my overall evaluation of players because I'm going to look at the entire body of work. That said, some top prospects did not shine particularly brightly at this tournament.
Yaroslav Askarov, G, Russia/Nashville Predators: He was the No. 1 goaltending prospect on my Top 100 and I still feel that he is that promising, but Askarov never looked shakier than he did in the semifinal game against Canada. Russia got blown out in that one and ended up outside of the medals after losing to Finland. Askarov had a pedestrian .913 save percentage in the tournament. It's important to remember he'll have another crack at this tournament next year, and has been lights out in the KHL this season. This was not his finest hour.
Marco Rossi, C, Austria/Minnesota Wild: Look, Rossi was in a really tough situation because Austria just didn't have the firepower to compete with any team in this tournament. However, Rossi finished with zero points as the Austrians scored just one goal in the tournament as a team. It was swimming upstream all tournament. I think we can excuse Rossi's lack of production a little considering this team played Russia, USA, Sweden and the Czech Republic -- with no easy passes -- but it was a tough go for him.
Alexander Holtz, RW, Sweden/New Jersey Devils: He had 26 shots on goal over five games, but just one of them found the back of the net. There were flashes of brilliance and bad luck played a role, but Holtz didn't do a lot of play-driving. That was left more to Lucas Raymond, which is what you'd expect. That said, Sweden desperately needed more from its top two players as COVID-19 hurt their depth. It was a tough position to be in, but Holtz didn't end up finding the net.
Hugo Alnefelt, G, Sweden/Tampa Bay Lightning: I'm an unabashed believer in Alnefelt after seeing him shine at multiple levels of hockey over the years. He had a World Juniors to forget, and I was honestly a bit surprised that Sweden chose him over Jesper Wallstedt to start the game against Finland in the quarterfinals. Sweden ultimately lost on a late goal in a tight game, but Alnefelt was a big reason they had to play Finland in the quarters in the first place, as he was pulled during a poor performance against the U.S. Alnefelt ended up allowing eight goals on 74 shots (an .892 save percentage).
4. Team USA saved its best for last
The U.S. started the tournament on the wrong foot with a 5-3 loss to Russia. With the exception of Zegras, the U.S. didn't have many bright spots in that game. Spencer Knight, in particular, was shaky and didn't quite look himself. The response to that misstep was especially important.
Team USA rattled off three consecutive shutouts to close out the preliminary round, one by Dustin Wolf and two by Knight, including a closer contest against Sweden with first place in the group on the line. Then the games got quite a bit tougher in the medal round.
The Americans had a tougher-than-expected test against Slovakia, which had only one win in the preliminary round. They survived based on their depth and quality goaltending from Knight. Then the U.S. had to rely on a last-minute goal from Kings prospect Arthur Kaliyev to oust a feisty Finnish team that probably out-played Team USA for long stretches of the semifinal, which included erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third period.
In the final, however, the U.S. played to the identity head coach Nate Leaman preached against a Canadian team that had the depth. The American coach wanted his team to dictate pace and for the first period, the U.S. absolutely did. Setting Canada back on its heels, they were rewarded with a net-front tip by Alex Turcotte to make it 1-0.
The U.S. forecheck was relentless in that period and it seemed to surprise Canada, which is something Canadian head coach Andre Tourigny admitted after the game. As Leaman noted, however, Zegras getting the early goal in the second period was absolutely huge.
The game plan as the U.S. coach described it before Tuesday night's game was to force Canada's defensemen to make plays against the glass, instead of facing up ice. Canada was a dominant transition team, and if it turned into a track meet, the U.S. could have been in trouble. That was a key piece of execution early in the game that allowed the Americans to dictate the flow.
The third-period onslaught that is a hallmark of Canadian teams at the World Juniors was there, though. Canada out-shot the U.S. 15-1 in the final frame, but Team USA seemed to be contesting all of those shots, and making Canada work for its offense. Meanwhile, Knight was stopping everything, with a few key saves late. It was anything but casual, but Knight never looked rattled while making save after save.
Winning short tournaments is hard. The bubble environment probably made it even harder, especially with the lack of a crowd to provide that extra dose of energy. The Americans can be especially proud of the tournament they had because not many people (including me) thought they had much of a chance against Canada's depth. That was a hard-earned and well-deserved gold medal.
5. Despite the loss, Canada was still a wagon
They might not have finished with the medal they wanted, but that Canadian team was one of the best I've seen at this tournament since the Connor McDavid-led squad in 2016. Dylan Cozens, Bowen Byram and Devon Levi were the All-Star selections, but so many different players stepped up in different situations.
They finished the tournament with a plus-25 goal differential, only two even-strength goals allowed, a WJC-leading .959 team save percentage, and a tournament-best 16.21% shooting percentage.
Both Cozens and Quinton Byfield tied Canadian records for most points in a single game, with six. Every skater on the team had at least one point in the tournament, including Jordan Spence, who only appeared in two games as the eighth defenseman on the roster.
Losing Kirby Dach to injury at the beginning of the tournament was a setback; even though Canada missed him, they didn't always look like it. They still overwhelmed teams.
And yes, it's true, they had one of the easiest paths to a final in recent memory, but I still thought they exceeded lofty expectations and had every right to be the favorite in the tournament. They ran into a hot goalie and a determined U.S. team in the end.
"We didn't win the gold medal, but we're still a hell of a hockey team," said Byram, who served as captain in the final in Dach's absence. "We had a great tournament. I hope our fans and everyone feels the same way."