Through two games at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, one of just three defensemen to score three points so far is Canada’s Olen Zellweger.
“He’s a stud,” Connor Bedard said about the 20-year-old Anaheim Ducks rearguard after Canada’s opening game against Great Britain. “I played against him in junior and one game in the NHL. I know he’s not an easy guy to defend when he’s dancing around up top there. I’ve been lucky to play with him in a few tournaments now.”
“We also played together in the World Juniors,” Zellweger added. “Playing against him, you’ve gotta be aware of the talent with the puck, his shot … everything about his game is really elite. Those are the types of guys it’s better to play with than against.”
Zellweger is just coming off his first season as a pro, split between Anaheim and the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks’ AHL affiliate. At just 5’9” and 174 lbs, he has to be a a fast, offensive defenseman – one that seems to be well-suited to the wider European ice surface.
“I’m trying to make the most of the opportunities I get,” said Zellweger, admitting he was a bit surprised to get the invite to play for Canada in this tournament. “Yeah, the team’s normally pretty competitive and I’ve only played around 30 games in the NHL. It’s a huge honor to be able to play for this team when there are tons of good players to choose from.”
While Zellweger is the only Ducks player on the Canadian team, the Ducks seems to be well-represented on various teams throughout the tournament.
“Yeah, that’s not surprising since Anaheim has a ton of good young players coming up,” said Zellweger. “I’ve seen Lukáš Dostál, a fantastic goalie and a great person, so it was great to catch up with him. When we play the Czechs it’ll be a different story,” he smiled. About another teammate, defenseman Radko Gudas, he said, “He’s a really tough, solid defenseman. You’ve gotta be aware when you’ve got the puck and coming through the middle with him out there. But he’s definitely a great person who works really hard – a good person to learn from.”
Speaking about some of the more veteran players on the Canadian team, Zellweger said, “You can just pick up some things watching them in the game and also just talking around the room with them. I think there’s a ton of good leaders. On the back end there’s some veterans … Pary (Colton Parayko), Jamie Oleksiak, (Damon) Severson … some of the other guys are a bit younger but you can still pick up some things from them in the game.”
Zellweger got two assists in what was a mostly underwhelming 4-2 victory for Canada over Great Britain. In the second game against Denmark, Canada led 2-1 through two periods with just a 16-15 edge in shots before coming on in the third period and winning 5-1. Still, Zellweger doesn’t think there’s much to be concerned about in the team’s game.
“We’re definitely improving every day and building up that chemistry,” he said. “All we’ve gotta do is keep getting better so that we’re at our best when the games are really important.”