In a game that took the entire world of hockey by storm, Latvia defeated Canada in a shootout at the World Juniors on Friday night.
Canada had outscored Latvia 41-4 in their previous matches at the WJC, having never lost to them before. But Latvia, a team destined for the relegation round, played their hearts out and had the game of their lives, taking down the gold medal-favourites and hosts 3-2 in a shootout.
This was supposed to be a stat-padding game for Canada, and anything less than a 7-0 victory would look like a disappointment. But Latvia took a well-earned win, and Canadian fans are not taking it well.
However, despite the outrage from fans online, not all hope is lost, and Canada still has two more group stage games before the knockout round. Here's a look at what's next to come for this Canadian team.
Canada Falls to Latvia at WJC: What's Next For This Team?
Lineup Changes:
Canada, a team loaded with star junior players and first-round picks, just couldn't find a way to score on Latvian goaltender Linards Feldbergs, who stopped 55 shots in the game and all eight shots he faced in the shootout. Credit to Feldbergs, who played amazing, but only scoring twice with a team as talented as Canada is inexcusable.
While many fans are criticizing the fact that Hockey Canada elected not to take high-end CHL scorers such as Michael Misa, Andrew Cristall, Beckett Sennecke, and Nick Lardis, this team still has plenty of scoring talent throughout. Changes need to come from the lineup they have, as this team is too good to have a problem scoring goals.
First of all, Carson Rehkopf needs to be in the lineup and on the power play. He's been one of the top scorers in the CHL for the last two years and had four points in five games in last year's WJC despite a minimal role. Playing Rehkopf on a line with Brampton Steelheads teammate Porter Martone, a top-end prospect for this year's NHL draft, could ignite some previous chemistry and give Canada more scoring options.
Another player who needs a bigger role is defender Sam Dickinson, who will likely be running the power play with Matthew Schaefer out for the tournament. Dickinson, who leads the OHL in defensemen scoring, has had a minimal role so far with Team Canada, but should get a bigger spot from here on out.
Special Teams Issues:
Team Canada lost the game to Latvia much in part to special teams problems, with the power play only scoring once in their two games so far, at a below average 14%. Canada failed to score a power play goal vs Finland in their opening match, and scoring at least one more vs Latvia likely wins them the game. Adding Rehkopf and Dickinson to the power play will give them a different look, and ideally better production.
The penalty kill was also a problem, Canada took eight penalties (discipline is another issue I won't get into) vs Latvia, and allowing the Latvias to score twice in the third period, including tying the game with 2:29 left in regulation.
If the penalty kill is an issue against a team like Latvia, imagine what USA or Sweden could do. Special teams needs to improve, and winning a medal with poor special teams is near impossible at this tournament.
Going Forward:
Despite the catastrophic loss, Team Canada can still win the group. A regulation against both Germany (who they play tonight) and against USA (who they play on the 31st) would give Canada first place in Group A (unless Latvia goes 4-0, which is unlikely).
We've seen Canadian WJC teams overcome massive losses like this one before and go undefeated the rest of the way, taking gold home in the process. The 2020 and 2023 WJC champs were both Canadian teams who overcame a rough loss like Friday's game, to rally and win gold just a week later.
In 2020, Canada had its worst loss at the WJC ever, losing 6-0 to Russia in their second group stage game, but went 5-0 the rest of the way, including beating Russia in the finals.
In 2023, Canada lost 5-2 to heavy underdogs, Team Czechia, on opening day. The Canadians again went undefeated the rest of the way, funnily enough beating Czechia in the finals, a 3-2 overtime win on home ice.
These past tournaments show that facing adversity early on in the WJC is sometimes a good thing, and not all hope is lost, obviously losing to Czechia and Russia is way different than losing to Latvia, but they are all learning experiences nonetheless.
Until Canada is out of the tournament for good, not all hope is lost. There are still plenty of games to be played, and until the tournament is over, I have hope Canada can turn it around.
The Canadians look to bounce back on Sunday night with their third group stage game, as they take on Team Germany.