Mark Masters: Canada faces its biggest pre-tournament test as the rivalry with Sweden heats up

Team Canada held a media availability at the hotel Saturday in Ottawa.

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Two of the favorites in the World Juniors clash on Saturday when Canada takes on Sweden in the pre-tournament.

“It’s the closest you’re going to get to a real tournament game in exhibition,” Team Canada defenseman Tanner Molendyk said.

“It’s going to be a close game. It’s going to be tight-checking and a step up from the last game, but I think we’re ready. We know what’s coming.”

Canada beat Switzerland 7-1 on Thursday in its exhibition opener.

“The level of competition will be a little bit higher, no disrespect to Switzerland,” said Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron. “If the competition is higher, you have to raise every part of your game, the speed, the positional play, the execution of it, so we’re just looking to get better.”

They are also looking for some payback. Sweden beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout on July 31 in Windsor, Ont. at the World Junior Summer Showcase. After that game, Canadian players expressed displeasure with how Swedes Felix Nilsson and Otto Stenberg celebrated their shootout goals.

“They did some things that won’t sit well with us,” Molendyk said back in July. “It’s the middle of summer, but we still want to take that into Christmas.”

Nilsson made a kissing gesture to the Canadian players after scoring, while Stenberg stared down the bench.

“It’s definitely on the guys,” Team Canada forward Tanner Howe confirmed Saturday morning. “We’re looking to get some revenge, but we’re not going into the game with that mindset.”

Molendyk eventually shared a laugh with Nilsson, a fellow Nashville Predators, about the game and played down the revenge angle ahead of the rematch.

“When it happened, it was a bit of a touchy subject,” he said. “But it’s over and it’s a clean slate.”

Melker Thelin starts for the Swedes on Saturday. He was the first star of the game this summer, making 44 saves before slamming the door in the shootout. Carson Rehkopf scored both Canadian goals.

“We don’t like to lose,” newly appointed Canadian captain Brayden Yager said after the game this summer. “It leaves a little bitter taste in the mouth, even though it’s July 31st. It motivates us for December. We know they’re a good hockey team and we know what we’re capable of. With the group we have, we can build a special hockey team here, and come December, be ready to give it back to them.”

Jack Ivankovic and Carson Bjarnason will both see action in the Canadian net on Saturday.
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With 46 points in 26 games, Sam Dickinson arrived at Team Canada’s selection camp as the leading scorer among Ontario Hockey League defensemen. But London Knight found himself a healthy scratch in the first game before the tournament.

“I understand this is the World Junior team for Canada, like there’s not a lot of guys here that could be on this team,” Dickinson said. “I understand roles and all that kind of stuff. I’m just here to play my role and if it’s going to be my role I’m ready for it and if my time is going to come up I’ll be ready for it .”

Dickinson will get his first chance on Saturday. The 11th overall pick to the San Jose Sharks in June’s draft will slide into the third pairing alongside Barrie Colt Beau Akey.

“Sam is the whole package in terms of being big, strong, physical and with really good offensive instincts,” Cameron said. “We just need him to not force the offense. He’s strong for it. He’ll read it. It’ll happen. And just use that big body to defend.”

At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Dickinson is the second tallest blueliner on Team Canada behind only Soo Greyhound Andrew Gibson. He made it clear that his focus is primarily on defense.

“Play a hard, hard game,” Dickinson said of his mindset. “Obviously we’re going to play a lot of good teams here, so that’s going to be what separates me when I get in the lineup, just focusing on the defensive side of the game and taking care of that side.”

Luca Pinelli, who plays for Cameron’s 67’s in the OHL, will retire up front. He is expected to start on a line with Spokane Chiefs center Berkly Catton and Medicine Hat Tigers winger Gavin McKenna.

“Play for the style that got you here,” Cameron advised the fresh bodies entering. “Easier said than done, especially when you’ve been sitting out.”

Brampton Steelheads winger Porter Martone will miss the game after watching Friday’s practice from the glass.

“The hockey word is ‘maintenance day,'” Cameron said. “It was a tweak day. The boys out today are not performance related.”

Vancouver Canucks prospect Sawyer Mynio practiced Friday, but will be the odd man out on defense.

ContentId(1.2223422): Dickinson started as scratch with Team Canada: ‘I’m here to play my part’

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How left the summer game against Sweden after just one period.

“We were on the penalty kill, I was in the middle of the ice and got smacked in the teeth and lost a coupe jib and broke my palette,” the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect said. “So it wasn’t fun. I’m still missing this (front) tooth.”

Howe was forced to leave Hockey Canada’s summer camp early as a result of the injury. He has been limited to 16 games so far this season after suffering a broken hand in the Western Hockey League. But the 19-year-old still earned a spot on Team Canada thanks to his gritty play.

“I bring a lot of energy,” the native of Prince Albert, Sask. said. “I’m really good at the forecheck. I can turn the puck over. I can be the energy boost for the team and score the odd goal.”

Howe credits his father Jason, who works as a mechanic for the farm shop Redhead Equipment, with instilling a blue-collar approach.

“He coached me all the way up to Pee-Wee hockey,” Howe said. “I remember being benched in Atom hockey because I didn’t try or anything. Yeah, he was always hard on me, and now I look back on it and I’m very thankful for that.”

Howe does not stop working. He didn’t pick up a point on Thursday, but still got a shout-out from the coach.

“One of the highlights for me was we were up 7-1 and Howey tracks back like it’s a 1-1 game,” Cameron said.

Teammates appreciate how the Calgary Hitmen workhorse never backs down despite standing just 5-foot-11, 182 pounds.

“I’ve never seen a guy get in the corners as much as he does,” Molendyk noted. “It’s a different game. Not a lot of guys will go there anymore, but to see a guy like him go in there and get dirty, he comes out with a lot of bruises. That’s something you need on your team. ”

ContentId(1.2223966): ‘I remember being benched in Atom’: Howe’s blue-collar style comes from dad

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Howe needed to improve his skating to reach this stage.

“For the last three years I’ve been working on it a lot,” he said. “To get to the next level, I had to become a much better skater. It’s something I’ve put a lot of work into and I think it’s come a long way.”

Molendyk, meanwhile, has always been known for his skating. Teammates wonder how he moves on the ice.

“Hockey just looks so easy to Moly,” Yager said. “It’s like he’s floating around on the ice. He just goes a lot faster than everybody else. It just looks easy for him.”

“I think a lot of people say this, but he could be a top-10 skater in the NHL,” said Knights winger Easton Cowan, who scored three goals Thursday. “His skating is unreal. It’s actually very cool to watch.”

Molendyk can only shrug when asked about the secret behind his smooth steps.

“I never did power skating, never did any of that, so I got no answer for you,” he said.

Molendyk eventually theorizes that growing up in tiny McBride, BC, may have helped. The village in the Robson Valley region is home to just 588 people as of the 2021 census.

“I was on the ice almost every day,” he recalled. “I mean, at McBride we didn’t have anybody that really skated, so I was always out there with my grandpa, my dad (Jamie Molendyk, who played in the BCHL). My dad, he was always a pretty good skater, so maybe just watching him and seeing how he does it.”

Who is he looking at now?

“I like Miro Heiskanen. Just the way he skates and moves is second to none. He’s so shifty and he doesn’t always push, but I just like how smooth he is. It’s crazy to watch.”

Canadian fans will enjoy watching Molendyk dance all over the ice at the World Juniors. He has 21 points in 21 games this season with the Saskatoon Blades.

And Molendyk is already on the results list with Team Canada in Ottawa. He picked up the primary assist on a goal by defense partner Gibson on Thursday. Molendyk ended up under the net on the sequence that led to the goal.

“I’m just covering him, honestly, and making sure if they come back the other way, I’m defending it,” Gibson said with a smile. “We both came down a few times. At one point I remembered seeing him and we were both under the top of the circles. We had a lot of good movement there, a lot of chemistry going on, so it’s been good. “

Defenseman Caden Price also scored against the Swiss. Canada will look for its defensemen to generate offense through the World Juniors.

“It’s game over now,” Cameron said. “Teams defend really well, you’ve got to get your D up in a hurry and we did. The one thing about our defense is we’re mobile.”

ContentId(1.2223959): ‘Could be a top-10 skater in the NHL’: Molendyk’s stride is a natural talent

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Team Canada’s lines for Saturday’s game:

Nadeau – Ritchie – Cowan
McKenna – Catton – Pinelli
Howe – Luchanko – Cataford
Beaudoin-Yager-Gauthier
Rehkopf

Molendyk – Gibson
Schaefer – Bonk
Dickinson – Akey
Price

Ivankovic starts
Bjarnason

Team Sweden lines for Saturday’s matches:

Stenberg – Edstrom – Under Sorum
Vuollet – Forsfjall – Traf
Hedqvist – Berglund – Granberg
Altorn – Nilsson – Eklund
Eriksson

Gustafsson – Sandin-Pellikka
Lindstein Willander
Bergqvist – Hallquist
Fast – Kostadinski

Thelin starts
Gidlof