David Brien & Wendy Graves
NOTE: This story was originally published March 2 with the announcement of the first 16 players. It has been updated to reflect the full Team Canada roster.
The players named to Team Canada are a who’s-who of Canadian hockey; they have combined for 21 Olympic gold medals and 16 more at the IIHF World Championship, and all but one – goaltender Corey Crawford – has previous international experience on their résumé.
Included in their list of successes is the IIHF World Junior Championship. Of the group, 16 are World Juniors alumni, and 14 of them have a gold medal to their name; Brad Marchand, John Tavares and Jonathan Toews lead the way with two apiece.
Here’s a look at how the World Cup-bound Canadians fared at the World Juniors:
PATRICE BERGERON 2005 WJC – 6GP 5G 8A 13P (gold medal/MVP/All-Star Team)
One year after making his NHL debut, Bergeron joined Team Canada at the 2005 World Juniors because of the NHL lockout. His professional experience paid off; he combined with Sidney Crosby and Corey Perry to form Canada’s most dangerous line, and finished with a tournament-leading 13 points to help Canada end an eight-year gold medal drought, earning MVP honours and a spot on the media all-star team in the process.
JAY BOUWMEESTER 2000 WJC – 7GP 0G 0A 0P (bronze medal) 2001 WJC – 7GP 0G 2A 2P (bronze medal) 2002 WJC – 7GP 0G 2A 2P (silver medal/All-Star Team)
In 2000, Bouwmeester became the youngest player to ever represent Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship (16 years, 3 months), a distinction he still holds. The defenceman is one of only seven players to play for Canada’s National Junior Team at three World Juniors and is tied with three others for most games (21). A steady presence on the blue-line, Bouwmeester recorded a tournament-best +11 in 2002 and was named to the Media All-Star Team.
BRENT BURNS 2004 WJC – 6GP 0G 6A 6P (silver medal)Burns has twice been named Best Defenceman at the IIHF World Championship, in 2008 and 2015. But in 2004, he set the physical tone while making his international debut as a forward on Canada’s National Junior Team. On loan from the Minnesota Wild, he registered six assists – including two each in wins over Switzerland and the Czech Republic – in six games playing on a line with Jeff Carter and Ryan Getzlaf.
SIDNEY CROSBY 2004 WJC – 6GP 2G 3A 5P (silver medal) 2005 WJC – 6GP 6G 3A 9P (gold medal)
The youngest player to ever score for Canada at the World Juniors when he tallied against Switzerland in 2004, Crosby made his biggest impact one year later; the future two-time Olympic gold medallist trailed only Jeff Carter in goals in Grand Forks, tied Éric Dazé’s all-time Canadian record for power-play goals in one World Juniors (five), and helped Canada end eight years of gold medal heartache.
DREW DOUGHTY 2008 WJC – 7GP 0G 4A 4P (gold medal/Best Defenceman/All-Star Team)
Doughty not only took home a gold medal from the Czech Republic at the 2008 World Juniors, but a pair of individual honours as well. While he registered only four points in seven games – two assists against both Slovakia and Finland – he was recognized for his ability to make life difficult for opposing offences; the blue-liner was named Best Defenceman by the IIHF Directorate, and to the media all-star team.
RYAN GETZLAF 2004 WJC – 6GP 3G 3A 6P (silver medal) 2005 WJC – 6GP 3G 9A 12P (gold medal)
After settling for silver at the 2004 World Juniors in Helsinki, where he averaged a point a game, Getzlaf was back in red and white one year later, joining what many believe is the best Canadian team ever. The Regina, Sask., native was an offensive force, finishing second in Team Canada and tournament scoring with 12 points, and scoring just 51 seconds into the gold medal game to help the Canadians to a gold medal.
CLAUDE GIROUX 2008 WJC – 7GP 2G 4A 6P (gold medal)
Giroux tied for second in team scoring in Pardubice and Liberec, with his best offensive outing – a goal and two assists – coming in a loss to Sweden in the preliminary round. He had an assist in wins over Denmark on New Year’s Eve and the United States in the semifinals. His most important point, however, came in the gold medal game; his goal give Canada a 2-0 lead in a game it eventually won 3-2 in overtime.
BRAD MARCHAND 2007 WJC – 6GP 2G 0A 2P (gold medal) 2008 WJC – 7GP 4G 2A 6P (gold medal)
Marchand’s name goes hand-in-hand with IIHF World Junior Championship success, as he won back-to-back gold medals. He wasn’t much different in the red and white of Team Canada as he is today with the Boston Bruins – a feisty winger who played bigger than his size and loved to play physical. Marchand scored twice in 2007, including a goal in the gold medal game, and added six points in seven games one year later.
COREY PERRY 2005 WJC – 6GP 2G 5A 7P (gold medal)
Perry lined up alongside Patrice Bergeron and Sidney Crosby on what coaches initially deployed as their shutdown line. He registered at least one point in five of six games, including a two-goal effort in an 8-1 win over Finland. The gold medal is part of an impressive collection of hardware; Perry joins Team Canada alumnus Scott Niedermayer as the only players to earn membership to the IIHF Triple Gold Club (Olympic gold, IIHF World Championship gold, Stanley Cup), and win World Juniors gold and the Memorial Cup (with London in 2005).
ALEX PIETRANGELO 2009 WJC – 6GP 1G 2A 3P (gold medal) 2010 WJC – 6GP 3G 9A 12P (silver medal/Best Defenceman/All-Star Team)Pietrangelo was golden in Ottawa at the 2009 World Juniors, but it was the 2010 tournament where he really started to turn heads. The King City, Ont., native dominated from the blue-line, tying Bryan McCabe’s Canadian record for points by a defenceman in one year (12). Pietrangelo recorded at least a point in all six games, deservedly earning Top Defenceman honours and a spot on the media all-star team.
CAREY PRICE 2007 WJC – 6GP 6-0-0 1.14GAA .961SV% 2SO (gold medal/MVP/Best Goaltender/All-Star Team)
The last goaltender to play every second of every game for Team Canada at the World Juniors, Price backstopped the Canadians to a third-consecutive gold medal in 2007; the 2015 Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy winner opened the tournament with a shutout and never slowed down, leading the WJC in goals-against average, save percentage, and shutouts, and turning away the U.S. in a semifinal shootout thriller.
STEVEN STAMKOS 2008 WJC – 7GP 1G 5A 6P (gold medal)
The future first-overall pick finally won a medal with Team Canada in his third go-round after finishing off the podium at the summer U18 tournament and U18 worlds. The 17-year-old had three assists in a tournament-opening win over the host Czechs, and chipped in a goal and two assists the rest of the way to finish second in team scoring as the Canadians won a fourth gold in a row with an overtime win over Sweden.
JOHN TAVARES 2008 WJC – 7GP 4G 1A 6P (gold medal) 2009 WJC – 6GP 8G 7A 15P (gold medal/MVP/Best Forward/All-Star Team)
Tavares had four goals in seven games as a 17-year-old to help Canada win gold at the 2008 World Juniors, but that was nothing compared to his 2009 performance as the Canadians made it five in a row in Ottawa. He won MVP and Best Forward honours after a 15-point effort, earned a spot on the media all-star team, and sits tied with Jeff Carter and Eric Lindros for second-most goals in Canadian WJC history (12).
JOE THORNTON 1997 WJC – 7GP 2G 2A 4P (gold medal)
Thornton was 17 and the youngest member of Canada’s National Junior Team in 1997. Five months before going first overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, he had a pair of goals and assists as the team went undefeated in Geneva, Switzerland, capped off with a 2-0 shutout of the U.S. in the gold medal game for Canada’s fifth-straight World Juniors title. The head coach of that 1997 team? World Cup bench boss Mike Babcock.
JONATHAN TOEWS 2006 WJC – 6GP 0G 2A 2P (gold medal) 2007 WJC – 6GP 4G 3A 7P (gold medal)
The Winnipeg, Man., native had a modest two assists at the 2006 World Juniors as part of the best defensive team ever, but he broke out one year later. Toews led Canada in scoring in Sweden with seven points in six games en route to gold, and that doesn’t include his biggest contribution – three goals in three attempts in a semifinal shootout win over the U.S. that booked his place in Canadian hockey history.
SHEA WEBER 2005 WJC – 6GP 0G 0A 0P (gold medal)
Weber did not record a point in six games as Canada ended its eight-year gold medal drought in Grand Forks – the only Canadian to play more than one game and not find the scoresheet – but that doesn’t mean he didn’t play a major role; making his international debut, the blue-liner joined Dion Phaneuf on Canada’s shutdown defensive pairing, finishing tied for third in plus/minus at +10 – tops among all defencemen.