MYHockey News
World Jr. A Challenge 2024: USA Captures Gold in Alberta
Updated at 9:45 a.m. on Monday, December 16
Many of us in the hockey community look forward to the end of December when the top junior hockey players from all over the world come together to compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Many top National Hockey League draft prospects and player who already have been drafted play in the annual event, which over the years has produced some classic battles featuring future professional superstars.
It truly has become must-see TV for any hockey fan during the winter holiday season.
Another event that often flies a bit under the radar because of the attention afforded the WJC takes place on North American soil earlier in December. The World Jr. A Challenge also is comprised of talented future college and professional stars, and this year’s tournament was played Dec. 9-15 in Camrose, Alberta.
Play got underway Monday, Dec. 9, at 5 p.m. EST as the United States took on Canada East. Canada enters two teams every year; Canada West began play that same evening at 9:30 EST. The Canadian and U.S. sides were joined by Sweden for the four-team tournament.
The teams played each other once during the tournament’s opening five days to determine seeding for the semifinals, which took place at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. EST Saturday, Dec. 14. Semifinal winners played for the gold medal Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. EST, while the losers competed for bronze at 3 p.m. that same day.
World Jr. A Challenge preliminary-round and semifinal games were streamed live at HNLIVE.ca. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, aired the bronze and gold medal games.
Tournament History
Since the inaugural tournament in 2006, Team USA has captured nine tournament crowns (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022) along with a single second-place finish and five third-place finishes.
Of the 16 gold medal games at the Junior A World Challenge, 13 have featured at least one Canadian team. Canada East will look to earn its first gold medal, having won silver eight times (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023) and bronze once (2008), while Canada West has won gold six times (2006, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2023), silver three times (2008, 2009, 2012) and bronze twice (2013, 2018).
World Jr. A Challenge 2024 Schedule & Game Results
Monday, December 9, 2024
5:00 PM EST – Game 1
United States (8), Canada East (0)
The U.S. scored five goals in the first two periods and kept its foot on the gas with three more in the final 20 minutes while compling a 42-18 shots advantage. Incredibly, eight different American players scored goals: Lucas Van Vliet, Finn McLaughlin, Jacob Rombach, Ben Kevan, Mason Moe, Jack Hextall, Jack Pechar and Luke Osborn. Hextall had a goal and two assists, with Austin Baker dishing out a pair of helpers. Caleb Heil earned the shutout with 18 saves.
9:30 PM EST – Game 2
Sweden didn't relax after sprinting to a 4-0 lead through 40 minutes, exploding for six third-period goals in the rout. The Swedes outshot Canada West, 38-18. Ivar Stenberg led Sweden's onslaught with three goals and an assist, with Anton Frondell adding 2-1-3 and Eric Nilson dishing out three helpers. Love Harenstam earned the win in goal with 16 saves. Connor Miller and Allen Sherpa scored for Canada West.
CLICK HERE for the 3 Stars of Day 1
CLICK HERE for the top plays of Day 1
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
5:00 PM EST – Game 3
Sweden rallied from a 2-0 first -period deficit with five goals over the game's final 35 minutes to improve to 2-0 at the WJAC. Ben Kevan staked the United States to a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the less than a four-minute span of the opening frame, but it was all Sweden after that. Arvid Drott got the Swedes on the board 5:14 into the second period, and they rolled from there. Mans Goos stopped 32 shots to earn the win in goal, while Zeb Lindgren notched a goal and 2 assists for the winners. Drott added a goal and a helper, while Oliver Sjostrom and Joe Wahlund netted Sweden's other goals. Lucas Van Vliet scored his second of the tournament for the U.S.
9:30 PM EST – Game 4
Canada East (6), Canada West (1)
Brett Arsenault recorded two goals and two assists, while Noah Tegelaar stopped 39 of the 40 shots he faced as Canada East rebounded from a Day 1 loss to beat their counterparts from Western Canada. Dylan McFadden added a goal and two helpers for East which blew open a close 1-0 game by scoring four second-period goals.
CLICK HERE for the 3 Stars of Day 2
CLICK HERE for the top plays of Day 2
Thursday, December 12, 2024
5:00 PM EST – Game 5
These two teams found themvelves tied at 2 after Canada East's Zachary Deleau buried a short-handed goal with 11:30 left in the third period. It took just 2:20 to break the tie, though, as the Swedes tallied the first of three goals in 1:58 to dash East's upset hopes. Viktor Klingsell, Ivar Stenberg and Filip Ekberg scored the decisive third-period markers to clinch an undefeated preliminary round for Sweden. Melvin Novotny and Arvid Drott also scored for the victors, while Menard had the other Canada East goal. Mans Goos made 24 saves to earn the win in goal.
9:30 PM EST – Game 6
United States (9), Canada West (0)
Brendan McMorrow scored twice and handed out an assist, Lucas Van Vliet contributed three helpers and Caleb Heil recorded a 19-save shutout as the United States notched its second decisive victory against a Canadian opponent to clinch the second seed in the semifinlas. Ben Kevan and Finn Brink each added a pair of goals for the winners, with Reid Daavettila, Jack Pechar and Ryan Rucinski also scoring.
CLICK HERE for the 3 Stars of Day 3
CLICK HERE for the top plays from Day 3
Saturday, December 14, 2024
3:00 PM EST – Semifinal 1
#4 Canada West (0), #1 Sweden (6)'
Sweden led, 1-0, after the first peroid and broke open the game with three second-period goals to continue its dominance and advance to the gold medal game. Ivar Stenberg scored twice and added an assist for the Swedes, with Eddie Genborg, Eric Nilson, Filip Ekberg and Jakob ths Wozniak scoring once apiece for the winners. Ths Wozniak and Nilson each also handed out single helpers, while goalie Love Harenstam stopped all 27 shots fired his way.
7:00 PM EST – Semifinal 2
#3 Canada East (2), #2 United States (3)
Cameron Eke's goal for Canada East with 4:29 remaining in the third period cut the margin to 3-2, but Team USA goalie Kam Henderson and his defense held off the Canadians as the Americans advanced to the gold medal game. Ben Kevan's third-period goal proved to be the game-winner after Reid Daavettila and Sam Laurila had scored earlier for the U.S. Hendrickson finished with 14 saves to earn the win in goal. Ethan Facchina scored the first goal for Canada in the opening period.
CLICK HERE for the 3 Stars of Semifinal Saturday
CLICK HERE for the top plays of Semifinal Saturday
Sunday, December 15, 2024
3:00 PM EST – Bronze Medal Game
Canada West scored four times in the final 40 minutes as Canada West claimed the bronze medal against its countrymen. Koen Senft netted two of those goals, with Ellis Mieyette contibuting a goal and an assist and Jackson Kostiuk adding two helpers. Goalie Sean Cootes earned the win in goal with 30 saves.
7:00 PM EST – Gold Medal Game
The United States got four goals from four different players in the third period to turn a 3-2 game into a 7-4 gold medal victory. Ryan Rucinski, Finn McLaughlin, John Stout and Luke Osburn scored in the final frame after Sweden had rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to cut the margin to 1 through two periods. Will Zellers scored two of those initial three goals in the game's opening 25:22 following Lucas Van Vliet's tally just 37 seconds into the contest. Caleb Heil stopped 17 shots to earn the win in goal, while Van Vliet and Osburn each contributed a goal and an assist. Likewise, Ivar Stenberg notched two points on a goal and an assist for Sweden, with Oliwer Sjostrom dishing out two assists.
CLICK HERE for the 3 stars of Championship Sunday
CLICK HERE for the WJAC All-Star Team
Team USA Preview
The 22-member United States roster is comprised of players who compete in the Tier 1 United States Hockey League, which is the top junior league in the United States. It is the only USA Hockey-sanctioned tuition-free junior league in the U.S. and produces NHL Draft and top NCAA Division I college prospects annually.
Every member of Team USA has committed to an NCAA Division I program.
Last year’s U.S. squad finished third thanks to an 8-5 victory against Sweden in the bronze medal game. That win came on the heels of a 4-3 overtime loss to Canada West in the semifinals after an unbeaten preliminary round. The Americans will be seeking their 10th championship since the inaugural event in 2006, with their last gold medal coming in 2022.
Head coach Matt Smaby leads the U.S. Junior Select Team once again after guiding the team to the bronze medal a yar ago. He is in his fourth season as the head coach of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks.
Goaltender Caleb Heil of the Madison Capitols is the only player returning from the 2023 U.S. team. The U.S. roster shows 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies. Four team members were selected in the 2024 NHL Draft: Will Zellers of the Green Bay Gamblers, Luke Osburn of the Youngstown Phantoms, Lucas Van Vliet of the Dubuque Fighting Saints and Austin Baker of the Sioux Falls Stampede.
Smaby hopes to mold his team into a gold-medal contender by finding the right chemistry and line combinations in the two weeks the group will be together. His previous experience will make that task a little easier in 2024.
Zellers scored twice to lead Team USA to a 4-0 victory against Canada West in a pre-tournament game. Reid Daavettila and Ryker Lee also scored, while goaltenders Caleb Heil and Kam Hendrickson combined for a 23-save shutout as the U.S. piled up a 40-23 shots advantage.
“It was nice to get going and play some hockey with our team,” Smaby said in a story on the USA Hockey website. “After three practices and this pre-tournament game, I like where we’re starting from. As this group continues to play together, we will become more connected with our team game. Tonight was a nice start, but I am looking forward to watching this group continue to grow together.
CLICK HERE for the Team USA Roster
Canada East & West Previews
Hockey Canada has selected 44 players from the Junior A Canadian Jr. Hockey League (CJHL) to compete for the East and West teams at the World Jr. A Challenge. The teams were determined following a recent three-day selection camp in Calgary.
The CJHL is a notch below the major junior Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which produces a large number of NHL draft picks annually, in terms of the overall level of play, but it has sent many players on to the CHL, NCAA and professional ranks throughout its history.
The 22 players representing Canada East were selected from the CJHL’s five eastern leagues - the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL), Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec (LHJAAAQ) and Maritime Hockey League (MHL).
Matthew Souliere of the Trenton Golden Hawks has been one of the OJHL’s top rookies, recording 34 points on 18 goals and 16 assists in 26 games. Ryder Cali of the Milton Menace is right behind him with 33 points (15-18-33), and those two should be prime offensive threats for Canada East.
Providing offensive depth from the CCHL will be forward Shaan Kingwell. The Navan Grads forward has posted 28 goals and 21 assists in 23 junior games, while Nolan Turnbull is widely considered one of the league’s top two-way defensemen. He has 15 points in 24 games this year. Defenseman Cameron Eke of the OJHL’s Collingswood Blues also is a solid two-way defender, having accumulated 28 points in 30 outings thus far.
The 22 players representing Canada West come from the CJHL’s four western leagues - the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).
Canada West has its usual talented and deep team as the locals look to win their sixth WJAC gold medal. Forward Jack Plandowski is the AJHL scoring leader with 18 goals and 19 assists in 26 contests for the Calgary Canucks. Calgary teammate Nolan DuPont is tied for third in the league with 29 points.
The team should be strong in goal as well with the AJHL’s Hudson Sedo and Sean Cootes handling netminding duties. Sedo of the Prince Alber Raiders has complied a 2.20 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in going 7-3-0 between the pipes, while Sean Cootes of the Drumheller Dragons is 9-8-0 with a 2.21 GAA and a .928 save percentage.
“We feel we have assembled two strong and competitive teams that will proudly represent Canada and compete for a gold medal,” Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations for Hockey Canada, said in a release on the governing body’s website.
CLICK HERE for the Canada East Roster
CLICK HERE for the Canada West Roster
CLICK HERE for the Sweden Roster
