By Thomas Williams -
The World Juniors was rolling on and there were technically two Minnesota Wild prospects in action, but they didn’t really see much ice for Team Canada.
Let’s just get into it.
Carson Lambos and Ryan O’Rourke, Canada vs. Austria
I’m just going to group these two together because they played on a pairing together, and they were both dealt the same unfortunate hand being on a superteam like Canada at this tournament. Somehow and some way, both of them came up with zero points in an 11-2 win over Austria. It was all the top guys like Connor Bedard, Mason McTavish, and the top pairing of Owen Power and Ronan Seeley; that got all the points.
It just wasn’t Lambos and O’Rourke’s time to shine, even if it was 5-0 after 20 minutes and clearly they shouldn’t be risking their top players in a game already decided against an Austrian team that will be facing elimination from Division A.
Lambos was given 8:59 TOI, while O’Rourke had slightly more with 10:56 TOI. Nevertheless, they just weren’t given any large opportunities to really try and make a mark on this tournament, or rise up the depth chart so they are guaranteed to play in the elimination rounds.
The World Juniors is certainly not a tournament to take any true evaluation from, or think of in any developmental way besides just the experience of being there; it’s just a win-now tournament where every minute counts until they are able to place the gold around their necks. And for a team like Canada that views it as such a statement on the future of hockey in their country, they will make some young kids feel slightly off to put over the whole team.
Let’s just hope they get some more ice later, and that Jack Peart is actually able to play for the United States, instead of his team forfeiting due to two positive COVID tests.
Day 4 of the tournament is a big one, with four games featuring Wild prospects in them (if the United States play). So, enjoy your couch today. All times are in CST and the games are available on the NHL Network.
December 29
Finland vs. Czechia (Novak) - 1:00 PM
Slovakia vs. Russia (Khusnutdinov) - 3:30 PM
Canada (Lambos, O’Rourke) vs. Germany - 6:00 PM
Sweden (Wallstedt) vs. United States (Peart) - 8:30 PM
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