Trevor Zegras Led USA wins WJC Gold, Canada and Jamie Drysdale win Silver
Team USA and Team Canada met today in the WJC final in what was hyped up to be an epic battle. The US was led by Trevor Zegras, who was leading the tournament with 16 points in 6 games heading into the game, while team Canada was a dominant force, that had yet to trail in any game in the tournament.
Trevor Zegras even got the headlines prior to the game starting by calling out what he saw as Canada’s weakness. Some might call this cockiness, but I view it as confidence:
Zegras talked the talk before the game and he made sure to walk the walk during the game. He started out the game hot by generating chances for team USA prior to Canada taking over control in the game. Canada was dominant for the first part of the first period and in large part due to Jamie Drysdale. Drysdale used his smooth skating and smart positioning to shut down American transitions before they could even get going. It was truly a sight to see, but like most world juniors game that pressure from Canada would wane.
Team USA would put together some good shifts and then once they had the momentum, the line of Zegras Turcotte and Kaliyev would capitalize. Zegras would feed Drew Helleson at the point who would throw the puck on the net. This shot would find the back of the net due to a Turcotte tip. With that point by Zegras, he jumped ahead of Jeremy Roenick for second all-time in USA WJC scoring (26 points) and single-tournament scoring (17 points).
The rest of the first period would see Canada take the game to the US, including on the PP, but they could not solve Spencer Knight.
The 2nd period would open with a very high IQ play from Trevor Zegras that would lead to him scoring a monumental goal for the US. The puck was thrown at the net but would go wide and take a weird net off the back of the net. Zegras was in the right place and the right time to corral the puck and in one motion pull the puck from forehand to backhand and pot the goal. The split-second recognition that Levi had vacated his post and he should pull the puck to that side was a truly elite play. This goal tied Zegras with Jordan Schroeder for the most USA WJC points in the history of the tournament (27 points) and 1 point shy of Doug Weight for the most points in a single tournament by an American (18 points).
The rest of the game did not have any goals scored, in large part due to the goaltending of Spencer Knight. Even though he is not a Ducks prospect, he was the player of the game for team USA. Zegras was a large reason the US got the lead, but Knight was the reason they closed it out. The US would win the game 2-0 and win the gold medal. Zegras would be named the MVP of the tournament with 7 goals + 11 assists = 18 points.
A huge congratulation also goes out to the other Ducks prospects on team USA. Henry Thrun would play a significant role on the defense in this game, logging 17:49 in the game. He had some shaky moments down low but I think this was one of his best games of the tournament. He constantly found himself in the right place in his own zone and for the most part, made the right play with the puck. He is a bit of a project, but I am excited for what the future holds for Thrun.
On the other hand, Jackson LaCombe and Sam Colangelo had quiet games. LaCombe was the 7th D man for the US tonight and only played 2:06, so it is hard to make any judgment on him tonight, but this ice time was indicative of the rough tournament that he had. LaCombe had some flashes of strong play, like the stretch pass against Finland that led to a goal, but there were too many turnovers in his own zone. Colangelo was the 13th forward and only played 2:04, but I thought he had a decent tournament. Colangelo is one of the younger players on the team and should play a larger role in next year’s tournament.
Jamie Drysdale should not hang his head low either after tonight’s game. He showed why the Ducks took him 6th overall. He logged heavy minutes for Canada, playing 25:24, in a very tough matchup. He was able to push the pace offensively when given the chance and shut down transitions, some of which came against future teammate Trevor Zegras. The one flaw in his game tonight was that he got trapped in his own zone a few times. When that happens against highly skilled players that can burn you, and it did to Drysdale tonight. He was on the ice for both goals against.
So you might be wondering what’s next for these Ducks prospects? Well we got some clarity today from Bob McKenzie today with the following tweets and Eric Stephen’s added more context:
That is going to be one awkward plane flight after tonight’s game, but this is awesome news for the Ducks and Ducks fans. Zegras and Drysdale will be arriving in Orange County tomorrow, and if all things go right could be on the ice by as early as Friday I believe. This will allow both to participate in the back-to-back scrimmages that the Ducks will have prior to the first game of the season in Vegas on January 14th.
I for one am very excited to see how both players are able to use their excellent WJC as a springboard to try and make the Ducks roster right out of training camp.
Trevor Zegras was sent to the WJC by the Ducks to lead the US to victory. Bob Murray stated so in his media availability as reported on by Eric Stephens of The Athletic: “The reason he’s at the World Juniors starts tomorrow. He’s got to help lead that team and get them into the finals. That’s why I sent him there. So far, so good.” Zegras rewarded the Ducks by putting on a show for the ages and now he gets a chance to prove at camp that he is the future of the franchise.
All data per the IIHF scoresheet and Elite Prospects.