World Junior Tournament in Review: Canada

Including injury replacements and last-minute invites, Canada had eight OHL players on their World Junior Roster. Each played a valuable part on this team, despite a disappointing loss in the Quarter Finals to Finland.

Oliver Bonk may have had the most disappointing end to the tournament out of all Canadian players, but that shouldn't take away from his strong performance all-round. Bonk was consistently a solid-presence in the defensive end, but his smart puck moving ability was the most valuable part of his game. He was able to take his team out of high-pressure situations by settling down the puck and moving it out of the zone. He generated some offence with his passing and his smart pinches down the wall as well.

With the London Knights, Bonk is highly relied upon, as he was in this tournament. He is used to playing in game-deciding situations. Czechia's final goal was simply a bad bounce, nothing that Bonk could have done differently as he was attempting to block the shot.

The Philadelphia Flyers first round pick has a bright professional career ahead, and his defensive stick and intelligence will take him far.

Tanner Molendyk's replacement Jorian Donovan was invited with short notice, but he was just what Canada hoped for. He's a smooth skating defender who moves the puck quick up the ice. Donovan did get caught a couple of times in this tournament, but I think this tournament was a good thing for his development. He was able to experience being a bottom pair defender, and making impacts where he can.

In Brantford, Donovan has been the go-to player on the back-end for the last couple of seasons. Even in his rookie year he was a top four defender. He never had to experience little ice time, and experiencing that in this tournament is a big learning point for him.

The Ottawa Senators prospect will return back to the Bulldogs, who have moved up to first in the Eastern Conference since his departure.

Canada's sole returnee from last year's World Juniors, Owen Beck did exactly what he was supposed to do. Beck was consistently reliable in the faceoff dot, and he retrieved a lot of pucks in board battles. He played a valuable role on the PK, and was the backbone of Canada's "checking line" with Nate Danielson & Owen Allard.

His singular goal was an important one, as he put Canada up 3-2 against Germany in their final round-robin game. Beck's speed and quickness with the puck generated lots offensively from the bottom-six, as this was one of Canada's best lines all tournament long.

Beck has been one of the best faceoff men in the OHL this season, and his attributes will be greatly chased after ahead of the OHL's Trade Deadline. The Peterborough Petes have missed Beck's services, only winning one game since his departure.

Straight out of the NHL, Matthew Poitras was projected to be Canada's "go-to" player for offence. Unfortunately it didn't turn out that way, and his game looked out of sync all tournament long. He was hesitating on passes and shots, and lacked confidence every time the puck was on his stick. 

Poitras did get some production, putting up four points in the five games playing in the top-six. He played on the wing for a lot of this tournament, and he is used to playing the centre spot. 

With a return to Guelph on the horizon, Poitras will hopefully be able to rebuild his confidence with the Storm. In a mediocre performance this season, the Storm will be glad to have Poitras back.

After starting as Canada's 13th forward, Carson Rehkopf moved up the lineup just a couple games in. He finished the tournament on the third line alongside Brayden Yager & Easton Cowan. Rehkopf had loads of chances all tournament long — but only capitalized on two of them. 

Nonetheless, Rehkopf had a strong tournament and his ability to generate scoring chances was on full display. He was able to get himself open with the puck around the net very often, something he does with Kitchener quite often.

Rehkopf returns to the Rangers who have held onto first place in the OHL. He will look to continue to lead the league in scoring, and help Kitchener deep into the playoffs.

One of the best stories in the entire tournament — is the story of Owen Allard. The undrafted forward made this team out of selection camp with his incredible work ethic, speed, and physical game. He would make Canada hard to play against — and that he did.

Allard suffocated his opponents in the attacking zone with his relentless pressure and body strength. He forced many turnovers down low, and retrieved puck after puck below the goal line.

The nineteen-year-old missed most of last season due to injury, and a year later he was able to represent Canada on the international stage. Allard's bubbly personality gives his teammates life in stressful moments, and that in itself is invaluable. 

Seattle Kraken prospect Ty Nelson was the second injury replacement player, and he played as the 7th defenceman for the majority of the tournament. Nelson had a strong selection camp, despite not getting selected initially. 

His shooting mentality and offensive creativity is very high, and he was able to take advantage when he did get his chances on the ice. Nelson also plays with a bite to his game, and he definitely isn't easy to knock off the puck.

The North Bay defender is heavily relied upon to provide offence for the Battalion, and he will return to their playoff-contending team once again.

Easton Cowan aged like fine wine through this tournament, he just got better and better each game. He started out a little shaky, his nerves were evident and he was making some questionable plays. But as the tournament continued on, he became more and more confident.

The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect performed better in the bottom-six, where the pressure was off offensively. He was able to use his compete and high energy to gain momentum, and his confidence offensively seemed to rise. In the quarter final game against Czechia, he was dancing around the offensive zone and creating with his hands. He stepped up to the plate in their final game.

Cowan returns to a strong London Knights team, and will reunite with his "twin" Denver Barkey in the coming days.