McTavish's Canadian record-tying 4-goal game leads rout of Slovakia in world juniors
Captain contributes 4 goals, 2 assists in 11-1 round-robin victory
Mason McTavish didn't have to pull on the Maple Leaf and play in an unusual summer world junior hockey championship.
The 19-year-old forward will head back to the Anaheim Ducks next month, the NHL team where he put up a goal and two assists in nine appearances last season. Skipping an August tournament to focus on preparing for training camp likely wouldn't raise eyebrows.
But McTavish has been clear — he loves playing hockey and he loves representing Canada
The dedication paid off Thursday as the captain put up four goals and two assists, powering his team to an 11-1 victory over Slovakia.
"I don't think anyone's surprised by his hockey and what he brings to the ice. But what really impresses me is his attitude," said Canada's head coach Dave Cameron.
"He has no ego. He probably had every reason not to come to this tournament, just because of the timing of it. And he's fully engaged in it. And his performance tonight was outstanding."
WATCH l McTavish's 6-point game leads Canada in rout of Slovakia:
McTavish made his way into the history books Thursday, tying a Canadian record for most goals in a world juniors game.
Other players who have accomplished the feat include Mario Lemieux (1984), Brayden Schenn (2011) and Maxime Comtois (2019).
"It's pretty cool for sure. A special moment," McTavish said. "Obviously, credit to my teammates. They were looking for me all game, it felt like."
McTavish plays a special game, said teammate Brennan Othmann.
"He's fun to play with," he said. "He's an elite goal scorer, as you could see tonight. No matter what team he faces, he always finds the back of the net somehow."
'Everyone's contributing in some way'
Nine Canadians had multi-point performances in the win, including McTavish, Joshua Roy (one goal, three assists), Othmann (one goal, two assists), Olen Zellwegger (one goal, one assist), Connor Bedard (one goal, one assist), Logan Stankoven (one goal, one assist), Will Cuylle (one goal, one assist), Lukas Cormier (two assists) and William Dufour (two assists).
Zack Ostapchuk also scored for Canada (2-0-0), who were coming off a tournament-opening 5-2 win over Latvia on Wednesday.
"We're deep from our first line to our fourth line," Othmann said. "It doesn't matter who's in or who's out, everyone's contributing in some way."
And another one. 🇨🇦🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a><a href="https://t.co/rBnelC2tlu">pic.twitter.com/rBnelC2tlu</a>
—@HockeyCanadaMatej Kaslik put away the lone goal for Slovakia (0-0-2) midway through the second period.
Making his first start of the tournament, Canada's Dylan Garand registered 22 saves.
Tomas Bolo stopped 33 of 44 shots for Slovakia, who dropped a 5-4 decision to Czechia (1-0-1) on Tuesday.
There were just 21 seconds left on the game clock when Ostapchuk buried a shot. He picked up a loose puck at the side of the net and slid it around the front, in past Bolo to seal the score at 11-1.
Roy bumped Canada's lead to 10-1 at the 15:07 mark. Dufour's shot hit Bolo's pad and Roy picked up the rebound at the top of the crease, firing it in over the netminder as he fell to the ice.
WATCH l World junior tournament underway amidst Hockey Canada controversy:
McTavish barely celebrated after finding space between Bolo and the post for his fourth goal of the night 3:44 into the third.
"I'm not the biggest celebrator, unless it's a game-seven OT winner or something like that," he said. "I don't really tend to get too excited."
McTavish completed his hat trick with 35 seconds left in the middle frame.
Bedard took a hit in the neutral zone and sent a puck up the ice to give his teammates a two-man breakaway. Roy put a crisp pass on McTavish's tape and he fired a shot past Bolo to give the Canadians an 8-1 lead.
About a dozen hats floated to the ice.
It was McTavish's backhanded flick from the top of the crease 15:16 into the second that gave Canada a 7-1 cushion.
Just 36 seconds earlier, Slovakia finally beat Garand after a battle down low.
Kaslik got the puck and unleashed a shot that hit the goalie's pad and the crossbar on its way into the net.
The second period was just over a minute old when Stankoven put away Canada's fifth goal of the night on a five-on-three.
Kent Johnson sent a shot into Bolo's pad and Stankoven, stationed at the side of the net, popped a shot in before the goalie could get back into position.
Canada was 1 for 4 on the power play and Slovakia went 0 for 3.
After a slow start in Wednesday's 5-2 win over Latvia, Canada was a force in the first period Thursday.
The host nation took a 4-0 advantage into the first intermission after Zellweger scored with 43 seconds left in the opening frame.
The defenceman got a shot off from the hash marks and the puck appeared to tick off another player in front of the net before pinging in off the post.
Slovakia challenged the play for being offside but a video review determined Zellweger's goal was good.
A scuttled Slovakian clearing attempt set up Canada's third strike of the night.
Bolo tried to send the puck out from deep in his own end but Cuylle picked it up at the blue line and sent it to Othmann in the faceoff circle The New York Rangers prospect sailed a shot in past the goalie 15:57 into the game.
Cuylle gave Canada a 2-0 lead less than three minutes earlier.
Ridly Greig stepped out of the penalty box and chipped a pass up the boards to Cuylle, who skated in alone on a breakaway and put a quick blast through Bolo's pads.
WATCH l Greig's one-handed goal highlights Canada's win over Latvia:
Slovakia had a breakaway of its own earlier in the first, but Garand read the play perfectly and the shot thudded off of his pads to keep Canada up 1-0.
For the second game in a row, Bedard opened the scoring for the Canadians.
The 17-year-old Regina Pats centre dished the puck to McTavish, who sliced it back across the slot. Bedard capped the give-and-go by ripping a blistering shot past Bolo from the bottom of the faceoff circle 6:16 into the first period.
The early game Thursday saw Finland (2-0-0) battle Czechia (1-0-1) to a 4-3 shootout win.
"During the game, we got better and better. And that's the most important thing," said Finland's head coach Antti Pennanen.
Czechia and Canada will both be off Friday before going head-to-head on Saturday.
The Czechs know they'll need to elevate their game for the matchup, said forward Jiri Kulich.
"We just want to keep our game," he said. "It's a big challenge, of course, and a big game. So we're just going to do our best."
Switzerland (0-1-0) was set to battle the reigning champion Americans (1-0-0) in the final game of the day on Thursday.
Friday will see Austria (0-1-0) face Sweden (1-0-0) and Slovakia take on Latvia (0-2-0).
