Quarter-final #4: Canada vs. Slovakia
How to watch
Puck drop: 6:30 PM EDT / 7:30 PM ADT
In Canada: TSN (English,) RDS (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Live stream: TSN Direct, RDS Direct
With one of its toughest tests of the preliminary round, Canada took care of Sweden in the final game before the playoff round began. Connor Bedard, who had some critics noting that his lofty point totals came versus lesser competition, added another four points in the game to move into a tie with Eric Lindros for Canada’s all-time mark. There’s at least one person who wants to see Bedard continue to pile up the points in Halifax:
Happy New Year! Don’t just break the record Connor Bedard, smash it! Win the tournament. Go Canada! #WorldJuniors
— Eric Lindros (@88EricLindros) January 1, 2023
Of course the point totals are secondary to team success now that we’ve entered the elimination portion of the event, but Bedard’s line with Logan Stankoven and Joshua Roy has been shredding the competition with its overall play, Stankoven has been winning the vast majority of his faceoffs while Roy does the hard work along the boards, and the points are a reward for their defensive and transition play as much as their offensive skill. If Bedard is putting up points, that means the best players on the other team who are trying to shut him down are having a miserable time in their own zone and not threatening to score at the other end.
Stankoven will get some help in the faceoff dot as Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck has joined the team following an injury to Colton Dach. Beck is one of the best centremen in the Canadian Hockey League and a standout on a rather poor Mississauga Steelheads club. He’s starting this game as the 13th forward, but don’t be surprised if he ends up on the ice in critical situations toward the end of the game.
If Slovakia has held the game close to that point, it’s likely because Peter Repcik, Filip Mesar and defenceman Simon Nemec have had a great night. They all played big roles to get Slovakia to third place in Group B to set this matchup, and need to have their biggest game of the World Juniors to pull off a major upset.
Team Canada projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #7 Brennan Othmann | #15 Shane Wright | #11 Dylan Guenther |
| #9 Joshua Roy | #10 Logan Stankoven | #16 Connor Bedard |
| #14 Zach Dean | #21 Nathan Gaucher | #20 Zach Ostapchuk |
| #12 Reid Schaefer | #18 Caedan Bankier | #19 Adam Fantilli |
| #8 Owen Beck |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #24 Ethan Del Mastro | #3 Olen Zellweger |
| #2 Nolan Allan | #5 Brandt Clarke |
| #25 Kevin Korchinski | #5 Brandt Clarke |
| #27 Jack Matier |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #1 Thomas Milic | #29 Benjamin Gaudreau |
Team Slovakia projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #20 Libor Nemec | #18 Servác Petrovský | #10 Filip Mesar |
| #22 Alex Ciernik | #15 Dalibor Dvorský | #14 Adam Sýkora |
| #23 Martin Misiak | #21 Peter Repcik | #9 Adam Zlnka |
| #26 Marcel Stefancik | #25 Frantisek Dej | #28 Alex Sotek |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #12 Pavol Funtek | #7 Simon Nemec |
| #5 Dávid Nátny | #4 Maxim Strbak |
| #16 Simon Groch | #6 Viliam Kmec |
| #3 Simon Becar |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #30 Adam Gajan | #29 Matej Marinov |
