Zellweger and Schaefer Win Gold with Team Canada at 2023 World Junior Championship
Canada recovers to top Czechia in OT, win World Junior Championship
Guenther scores 2nd of game at 6:22 to give country 2nd straight gold medal
by Mike G. Morreale@mikemorrealeNHL/ NHL.com Staff Writer
January 6, 2023
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- Dylan Guenther (Arizona Coyotes) scored his second goal 6:22 into overtime, and Canada won the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 3-2 victory against Czechia at Scotiabank Centre on Thursday.
"It means everything," said Guenther, who also had an assist. "To win, you never know when you're going to get the opportunity to win again, and to be here with this team and play in front of these fans and just the whole situation that was around it, it couldn't have ended better.
"It was unbelievable."
Canada won its second straight gold medal and 20th overall.
Guenther finished a 2-on-1 with Joshua Roy (Montreal Canadiens) by lifting the puck into the net from the slot for Canada, which became the first back-to-back WJC champion since it won the last of five straight in 2009.
"I remember I didn't throw my gloves off right away and almost forgot it was overtime, do or die," Guenther said. "And then I see Roy threw his stuff off. It was a nice play by [Brandt Clarke] to Roy for the 2-on-1. I got a nice pass and just had to get it over the pad."
Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers) and Clarke (Los Angeles Kings) each had two assists for Canada in its 35th top-three finish. Thomas Milic (2023 NHL Draft eligible), the only player on Canada's roster who was passed over in the NHL Draft, made 24 saves.
"It's incredible ... I haven't stopped smiling for the past hour now," Milic said. "I'm just so happy for myself and everyone else here."
Canada won six straight tournament games, outscoring its opponents 40-10, after an opening with a 5-2 loss to Czechia on Dec. 26.
"I'm going to remember every moment together," Milic said. "I think right from Day One, we really jelled as a group. I think a lot of us played together at the World Under-18 Championship, as well. I think just the chemistry and how great everyone got along."
Czechia rallied for two goals in a span of 54 seconds in the third period to tie it 2-2.
Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres) scored at 12:30 on a shot in the slot that deflected off the post, and Jakub Kos (Florida Panthers) tied it at 13:24 on a redirection in front after a shot by Tomas Hamara (Ottawa Senators) from the right boards.
"We never gave up in our journey in this tournament, so we knew we could come back," Kos said. "I'm so proud of this whole team. The players are on the ice, but people don't see the people who care about the team. ... The coaches helped us. So, I would like to thank everybody."
Tomas Suchanek (2023 draft eligible) made 35 saves for Czechia, which was playing in the gold-medal game for the first time since winning back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001. It won its sixth WJC silver medal and first since 1987. It last medaled in 2005 (bronze).
Guenther gave Canada a 1-0 lead at 12:41 of the first period on a slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle.
Shane Wright (Seattle Kraken) made it 2-0 on his 19th birthday at 4:35 of the second period. After taking a pass from Guenther along the right-wing boards, the Canada captain skated into the zone, shielded the puck away from forward Adam Mechura (2023 draft eligible) and beat defenseman Stanislav Svozil (Columbus Blue Jackets) before scoring on a backhand low in the right circle.
"It's pretty cool. It hasn't even sunk in yet," Wright said. "It's my birthday, just won a gold medal at the World Juniors and it's an unbelievable feeling."
Czechia was the first team in the tournament to hold Connor Bedard, the projected No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft, without a point.
"It was an unbelievable tournament by [Bedard]," Wright said. "I'm running out of things to say about how unbelievable his whole performance was this entire tournament, how mature he has been and how much of a good teammate he's been to every single guy."
Bedard led all scorers and set a WJC record for points (23; nine goals, 14 assists) by a 17-year-old, breaking the mark set by Jaromir Jagr (18 points; five goals, 13 assists) in 1990. Bedard was named the tournament MVP and its top forward.
"We obviously talked about Bedard because he's got a lot of points in this tournament and is a real threat," Czechia forward Gabriel Szturc said. "So, we tried to kind of eliminate him. Every time he's got the puck, we put our stick on puck, and just don't give him a space. He didn't have a point, but Canada has guys that are very skilled, some playing in the NHL.
"So, this team was very good and unfortunately they beat us. It's not very good for us, but still I'm very proud of this team, what we've done."
NOTES: Canada had nine first-round NHL Draft picks on its roster; Czechia had two. … The United States defeated Sweden 8-7 in overtime in the bronze-medal game Thursday.