Pre-tournament action for the 2025 World Junior Championship is underway, with Canada holding on for the 7-1 victory over Switzerland at TD Place in Ottawa on Thursday evening.
Canada scored four goals in the first period, with Brayden Yager, Andrew Gibson, Caden Price and Easton Cowan all scoring early. No goals were scored in the second, but Cowan would complete the hat-trick with two goals in the third period.
Berkly Catton scored the sixth Canadian goal, while Leo Braillard ended the combined Canadian shutout effort after Carson Bjarnason gave the puck away from behind the net.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Thursday’s game, with Canada set to take on Sweden next on Saturday evening:
Canada
#26 Cole Beaudoin, LW (Utah Hockey Club): The hustle, man. Since the start of the U SPORTS exhibition series, Beaudoin has been one of Canada’s most effective players. He knows his role – he forechecks like his life depends on it. He attacked heavily on the first goal and it paid off with an assist on the 1-0 goal. He had another nice hit that eventually led to the third goal, too.
#10 Brayden Yager, C (Winnipeg Jets): Yager scored the first goal and nearly landed some nice hits along the way, too. Yager was one of Canada’s most productive players last year, and while he’s likely playing a bottom-six forward this year, he’s going to be a matchup nightmare. That’s because Yager sees the ice so well and takes space away quickly thanks to some great footwork.
#22 Porter Martone, RW (2025 NHL Draft): I liked Martone’s defensive game today. He seemed to be involved often, breaking up passes and landing some hits without being overly aggressive. That’s what makes him intriguing – he’s aggressive and smart away from the puck.
#6 Tanner Molendyk, D (Nashville Predators): Molendyk was one of the best two-way players in this game. He made a great play along the boards to get the puck to set up future Predators teammate Andrew Gibson. His speed and puck skills stood out every time he broke into the Swiss zone with the puck. He should have had a few more points tonight – expect many during the real tournament.
#27 Easton Cowan, RW (Toronto Maple Leafs): Cowan was the MVP tonight, scoring three goals. The first was a fancy passing play, while the second came from a great shot near the point. He capped it off with a one-timer on the power play late in the game to help make it 7-1. Cowan played so much better today than we saw from him in any of the games a year ago, as you’d expect from a guy carrying a 56-game point streak in the OHL. Look for Cowan to challenge for the scoring lead when the tournament kicks off.
Switzerland
#1 Christian Kirsch, G (San Jose Sharks): It couldn’t have been easy taking over halfway through a game when it was 4-0, but Kirsch looked great. He made outstanding pad save on Ethan Gauthier near the end of the period, marking a good stretch that saw him play some lights-out hockey after going in cold. Kirsch allowed a few goals later in the game but it didn’t change the fact that he was Switzerland’s best player today.
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