The Engine Room: How Cole Beaudoin & Sam O’Reilly Became Canada’s Secret Weapons

Canada has advanced past the quarterfinals at the World Junior Championship for the first time in two years. That statement alone is a travesty for Hockey Canada, considering the sport is known to be “Canada’s” game. 

Canada's roster selection process for last year’s tournament faced significant criticism, and rightly so, after the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals on home soil by the Czechs. They left offensive talents like Michael Misa, Zayne Parekh, and Michael Hage off the roster during the holidays. Instead, Canada chose to bring in a group of "role" forwards, players who are recognized for their 200-foot skill sets and defensive abilities.

Let’s not kid ourselves, yes, a team needs a strong checking line to win playoff-style games. But that usually means identifying maybe 3-4 forwards who can fulfill that role, not selecting 6-8, like they did last year. 

Hockey Canada didn’t make that same mistake this year, and they are benefiting from it. 

Those elite offensive players who were left off the roster last year are making up for lost time. Parekh leads the tournament in points heading into Canada’s semi-final showdown against Czechia. Hage’s nine points are second. And after a slow start to the tournament, Misa is looking like the second-overall pick San Jose chose last summer. 

But Canada has two players hailing from the OHL who have been unsung heroes for them, and they fit that “200-foot mold style of players” that has been Canada’s secret weapon. 

Those two players are Cole Beaudoin and Sam O’Reilly. You want to watch two players who understand what it takes to win? Look no further than these two. 

Beaudoin and O’Reilly are two of the three centered around Canada’s checking third line — Caleb Desnoyers being the third. That trio was formed in Canada’s second game of the tournament against Latvia, and there’s no reason for Dale Hunter to split them up now. 

Hunter has elected to start his third line for multiple games throughout this tournament. He sends them out there to set the tone early. All three are physical forecheckers who will use their size to wear down defenders and win puck battles. Beaudoin and Desnoyers are physical beasts who will run straight their man, while O’Reilly is excellent at incorporating a quick stick on his hits to steal pucks. 

The two OHLers have been used on Canada’s penalty kill all tournament long, which ranks second-best at 91.6%. During Canada’s training camp in Niagara Falls, the coaching staff preached the importance of front-facing shots to their forwards. O’Reilly and Beaudoin have been incredible on the PK, sacrificing their bodies on numerous occasions. These two compete harder than anyone on the ice every single shift, winning battles, hustling hard in all three zones, and just being an overall pain to play against. 

Most would assume that Canada’s star forwards Brady Martin, Gavin McKenna, Michael Hage, or Porter Martone lead the way in terms of ice time amongst the team’s forwards. You’d be wrong. 

Beaudoin currently leads all Team Canada forwards in average ice time per game with 17:09. Martone and McKenna are second and third, then it’s the two-time OHL champion O’Reilly in fourth with 16:05. You can see just how trusted and important they are in Canada’s lineup. 

Their impact really has come through their defensive play, and without the puck, but the offense is starting to come through. 

Beaudoin and O’Reilly have combined for five goals and ten points over the last two games, after having just a combined three points in the team’s first three games. Beaudoin was named Canada’s Player of the Game in their New Year’s Eve win over Finland with two goals and an assist in that game. Sam O’Reilly was their Player of the Game in Canada’s tight 2-1 overtime win over Latvia. 

The shift in philosophy is paying off. By balancing the high-octane offense of their top-two lines with the tireless, 200-foot reliability of Beaudoin and O’Reilly, Canada has built a team capable of winning gold. The last two years were a farce; this year looks like a return to Canadian dominance. With their "unsung heroes" now finding the scoresheet alongside the superstars, Canada looks more than ready to reclaim its place at the top of the podium. 

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