Jason La Rose
The quest for the Stanley Cup is down to two teams, with the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals facing off for hockey immortality.
In total, 31 of the 49 players who have dressed for the Golden Knights (14) and Capitals (17) during this playoff run have worn their country’s colours at the IIHF World Junior Championship, including seven who represented Canada.
The list includes seven gold medals in the top division, one Most Valuable Player (Kuznetsov), two Top Forwards (Kuznetsov, Ovechkin), one Top Goaltender (Fleury) and five media all-stars (Carlson, Fleury, Kuznetsov [twice], Orlov, Ovechkin).
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Cody Eakin 2011 – 7GP 1G 2A 3P (silver medal)
Eakin scored his lone goal early, finding the back of the net in a comfortable win over the Czech Republic, before notching a pair of assists in the medal round; he had the primary helper on a Louis Leblanc insurance goal in the quarter-finals before setting up Curtis Hamilton for the opening goal in the semis.
Marc-André Fleury 2003 – 5GP 4-1-0 1.57GAA .928SV% 1SO (silver medal) 2004 – 5GP 4-1-0 2.00GAA .911SV% 1SO (silver medal)
Fleury burst onto the international scene in Halifax, earning Top Goaltender honours and a spot on the media all-star team after backstopping Canada to a silver medal with a tournament-low 1.57 goals-against average. He returned a year later and again led Canada to the final, cementing his spot as one of the best Canadian puck-stoppers in World Juniors history.
James Neal 2007 – 6GP 0G 0A 0P (gold medal)
With players like Jonathan Toews, Steve Downie, Kris Letang and Brad Marchand doing the heavy-lifting offensively, Neal took on more of a support role in Sweden. He didn’t record a point and recorded only two shots on goal, but did his part to help Canada make it three gold medals in a row.
Malcolm Subban 2013 – 6GP 4-2-0 2.76GAA .901SV% 0SO (fourth place)
Subban was a standout during the prelims, making 36 saves in a win over the eventual gold medallists from the United States. After a semifinal loss he came in in relief of Jordan Binnington in the bronze medal game, turning aside 17 shots as the Canadians dropped a heartbreaker in overtime.
Shea Theodore 2015 – 7GP 1G 1A 2P (gold medal)
Part of a steady blue-line corps that helped Canada back atop the podium for the first time in six years, Theodore chipped in a goal and an assist during the unbeaten run to gold in Montreal and Toronto, scoring in a semifinal win over Slovakia.
Other WJC Alumni Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (FRA 2004 D1B/2005 D1A) – 10GP 5G 1A 6P (bronze/4th) Erik Haula (FIN 2011) – 6GP 4G 3A 7P (6th) William Karlsson (SWE 2012/2013) – 12GP 1G 3A 4P (gold/silver) Oscar Lindberg (SWE 2011) – 6GP 2G 2A 4P (4th) Jon Merrill (USA 2011/2012) – 12GP 1G 8A 9P (bronze/7th) Tomas Nosek (CZE 2012) – 6GP 0A 1A 1P (5th) Luca Sbisa (SUI 2008/2010) – 9GP 0G 0A 0P (9th/4th) Tomas Tatar (SVK 2009/2010) – 13GP 10G 6A 16P (4th/8th) Alex Tuch (USA 2015) – 5GP 1G 1A 2P (5th)
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Brett Connolly 2011 – 7GP 0G 3A 3P (silver medal) 2012 – 7GP 5G 1A 6P (bronze medal)
One of the youngest players on the Canadian roster his first time around, Connolly took a backseat to Brayden Schenn, Ryan Johansen and Ryan Ellis, posting three assists in a silver medal-winning performance. He flexed his offensive muscle a year later in Alberta, finishing second with five goals – one in each of Canada’s first five games – to help the Canadians win bronze.
Devante Smith-Pelly 2012 – 1GP 0G 0A 0P (bronze medal)
Loaned to Team Canada by the Anaheim Ducks, Smith-Pelly never got a chance to make an impact in Calgary and Edmonton – he broke a bone in his foot blocking a shot on Boxing Day and missed the remainder of the tournament.
Other WJC Alumni Nicklas Bäckström (SWE 2006/2007) – 13GP 4G 10A 14P (5th/4th) André Burakovsky (SWE 2014) – 7GP 3G 4A 7P (silver) John Carlson (USA 2010) – 7GP 3G 4A 7P (gold) Christian Djoos (SWE 2013) – 6GP 0G 3A 3P (silver) Lars Eller (DEN 2007 1A/2008/2009 1B) – 16GP 8G 11A 19P (gold/10th/silver) Philipp Grubauer (GER 2009/2010 D1A/2011) – 12GP 5-7-0 2.97GAA .908 SV% 2SO (9th/gold/10th) Jakub Jerabek (CZE 2010/2011) – 12GP 2G 8A 10P (7th/7th) Michal Kempny (CZE 2010) – 6GP 0G 2A 2P (7th) Evgeny Kuznetsov (RUS 2010/2011/2012) – 20GP 12G 14A 26P (6th/gold/silver) Matt Niskanen (USA 2006) – 7GP 0G 0A 0P (4th) Dmitri Orlov (RUS 2010/2011) – 13GP 1G 12A 13P (6th/gold) Brooks Orpik (USA 2000) – 7GP 1G 1A 2P (4th) T.J. Oshie (USA 2006) – 7GP 1G 0A 1P (4th) Alexander Ovechkin (RUS 2003/2004/2005) – 18GP 18G 7A 25P (gold/5th/silver) Jakub Vrana (CZE 2013/2014/2015) – 16GP 3G 3A 6P (5th/6th/6th)