Toronto, Ont. – The Ontario Hockey League is pleased to congratulate 13 OHL players who will return from the Lone Star State with gold medals after defeating Russia by a score of 5-3 in the IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship gold medal game on Thursday in Frisco, Texas.
Kingston Frontenacs star Shane Wright found the back of the net twice as Canada’s National Under-18 Team completed a perfect 7-0 tournament, outscoring opponents 51-12 in the process to claim their first U18 Worlds gold since 2013.
“It means the world to this country, to the guys in our dressing room, all of the coaches and all of the staff,” said Wright after the win. “Just the effort we put in, how hard everyone has worked since day one. I couldn’t be prouder of the work everyone has put in and all the sacrifices that have been made.”
Russia presented a new challenge to Canada in the early going, with tournament scoring leader Matvei Michkov netting his 12th of the U18 Worlds 5:13 in, marking the first time Canada had surrendered the first goal in the event.
“We had scored first every single time, which is a great thing, but we knew it was going to happen,” said Canadian coach Dave Barr, who was OHL Coach of the Year with the Guelph Storm in 2006. “We talked about it in the first intermission about playing from behind and how we aren’t going to change the way we play the game. We just did what we needed to do to work our way back into the game.”
Just over a minute after a denied penalty shot, exceptional talent Connor Bedard (Regina Pats) beat Sergei Ivanov on the backhand with 4:01 remaining in the first to tie things up as Chase Stillman (Sudbury Wolves) picked up a secondary assist. Russia quickly responded with a goal from Dmitri Buchelnikov before Wright ripped home a wrist shot on the power play to make it 2-2 after one.
A shot from a tight angle off the stick of Brennan Othmann (Flint Firebirds) put Canada in the lead 3-2 off a feed from Ethan Del Mastro (Mississauga Steelheads) 4:42 into the second. Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers) delivered a wrist shot to double the Canadian lead near the period’s end as Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts) and Wright pitched in with assists.
Following a scoreless nine minutes to start the third, Vladimir Grudinin brought Russia back within one on the power play. Wright ultimately struck on the empty net with 40 seconds remaining off an impressive pass from Bedard to seal an undefeated tournament for Team Canada. With his ninth goal, Wright surpassed Connor McDavid‘s 2013 mark of eight to set a Canadian record at the U18 Worlds.
Ben Gaudreau (Sarnia Sting) amassed 31 saves in net to improve to 5-0 for Canada as the shots ended an even 34-34.
“It was really exciting, the last minute felt about as long as the entire game,” said Gaudreau after the buzzer. “Once Shaner (Wright) put the icing on the cake there with 40 seconds left it really set in. The feelings can’t really be described. I couldn’t have done this with a better group of guys.”
Wright finished the tournament tied for second in scoring with fellow exceptional status forward Bedard, racking up 14 points (9-5–14) in just five games, two back of tournament-leader Michkov of Russia who wound up with 16 points.
Brandt Clarke finished tied for second in tournament scoring by defencemen with seven points (2-5–7) in as many games, being named to the event’s media all-star team.
Between the pipes, Gaudreau paced all goaltenders with five wins, a 2.20 goals-against average and .919 save percentage over five games to be recognized as the tournament’s top goaltender by the IIHF directorate.
“I have had a great time coaching this team,” said Barr. “It was a lot of fun to be able to bring the gold medal back to Canada, and I was very fortunate to have two great assistant coaches in Mike Stothers and Gordie Dwyer. Ultimately you are trying to win the gold medal and you never know how a game like tonight’s is going to go, but we focused on what we were able to control and that gave us a great chance to win.”
Since 2002, Canada has won four gold medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship (2003, 2008, 2013, 2021), in addition to one silver (2005) and three bronze (2012, 2014, 2015).
13 OHL players winning gold with Canada at the U18 Worlds:
Goaltender:
Ben Gaudreau (Sarnia Sting)
Defence:
Brandt Clarke (Barrie Colts), Ethan Del Mastro (Mississauga Steelheads), Jack Matier (Ottawa 67’s)
Forwards:
Brett Harrison (Oshawa Generals), Wyatt Johnston (Windsor Spitfires), Mason McTavish (Peterborough Petes), Brennan Othmann (Flint Firebirds), Francesco Pinelli (Kitchener Rangers), Chase Stillman (Sudbury Wolves), Ryan Winterton (Hamilton Bulldogs), Shane Wright (Kingston Frontenacs), Danny Zhilkin (Guelph Storm)
About the Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League and U SPORTS than any other league.
With exceptional mobility and speed, Clarke is almost like a fourth forward when transitioning to offence and jumping up into the play. It should come as no surprise since he models his game after Erik Karlsson. He plays a very poised game, patient with the puck, and rarely turns it over. He has excellent hockey senses and is a superb passer. His defensive game showed marked improvement as the season progressed. He gets back quickly because of his skating, has good gat control and is effective with his stick. And he doesn’t shy away from the physicality and began to be the player who initiated contact rather then the receiver as the season went on. Clarke finished the season with 6 goals and 32 assists in 57 games and was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team. 
The offensively talented McTavish led all 2003 born players in goals and points despite not always getting the best offensive opportunities with the Petes, moving up and down the lineup. He’s a puck possession beast, seemingly having the puck on a string. He’s not shy about going end-to-end, is patient with the puck and is very adept at creating space. He reads the play extremely well and is able to find soft spots undetected. He is willing to drive the net with or without the puck. McTavish is a pure sniper with a pro caliber shot and release already. He’s already physically strong and yet there is still room for more. He’s also a top player in the faceoff circle. McTavish finished the season with 29 goals and 13 assists in 57 games and was named to the OHL Second All-Rookie Team.
At this point, it may not be a reach to say that Pinelli is the best two-way player out of the draft class and that ability coming straight from minor midget earned him the trust of the Rangers coaches. He’s a versatile player who can play both the wing and down the middle. He works hard from shift-to-shift and is not afraid to play a physical game. He has high hockey senses, is positionally sound and creates turnovers almost at will. He’s a strong skater with a unique ability to draw in defenders and make a perfect pass. He has a superb one-timer and can unleash it with accuracy and it is especially dangerous on the pp with space. He finished fourth among rookies with 18 goals and 23 assists in 59 games.
When watching Othmann play, it’s obvious his deadliest asset is his shot. He possesses and excellent one-timer and a snap shot that is deadly accurate with a superb release. Maybe it was a lack of confidence in his abilities, but he just didn’t use that shot enough as he chose to dish off rather then take his shot. That said, he is a very good playmaker as well, so maybe he was reading something else on the ice. One might raise the question if it’s his hockey sense/vision that comes into play. However, I believe it’s just a question of confidence in his ability to beat goaltenders and with a year under his belt, those questions will be answered. Othmann finished the season with 17 goals and 16 assists in 55 games and was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team.
With a late 2002 birth date, Chayka will be in his third OHL season come his draft year and the young Russian has already made a name for himself. He is a smooth skater, plays in all situations and eats up huge minutes. Chayka is a pass first defender but is more then willing to jump into the play on offence. He has a good shot from the point but doesn’t try to overpower goaltenders and shoots with a purpose. Defensively his size and skating make him hard to beat one-on-one. Even at a young age, Chayka has shown excellent leadership qualities. Chayka finished the season with 11 goals and 23 assists in 56 games. He was named to the 2018-2019 OHL Second All-Rookie Team.
While the attention in Sudbury was all on Quinton Byfield, Stillman quietly put up a very good rookie season. The son of former NHL’er Cory Stillman and younger brother of Riley, he comes from a family with hockey blood lines. He is a swift skater he has a high level of hockey smarts. Stillman is a coachable player – not because his father is a coach in Sudbury, he stayed with a billet family, but he took directions well from the older players. Expect Stillman to be one of the go-to guys for offence in Sudbury next season. He finished the year with 13 goals and 21 assists in 58 games. He was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team.
OHL Writers 