After skate blows up, Ostapchuk moves up Canada's lineup

TSN SportsCentre Reporter Mark Masters reports on the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship. Team Canada practised at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton on Tuesday ahead of their opener against Latvia on Wednesday. 

Zack Ostapchuk started Monday's pre-tournament game as Team Canada's 13th forward. The exhibition encounter against Team Sweden represented a big opportunity to earn a bigger role at the World Juniors. It didn't start well.

"My skate blew up before the game so I wasn't using my own skates," the Vancouver Giants winger revealed. "I was tying them and the eyelets on one side just ripped off. It was an emergency five minutes before we went out there."

Ostapchuk didn't have a second pair handy so he ended up using the back-up pair belonging to teammate William Dufour.

"They fit good, actually," Ostapchuk said. "They were pretty similar to mine. We have the exact same size so it was perfect."

It's the first time Ostapchuk has ever dealt with a skate malfunction like this.

"It was a pretty crazy experience," he said. "I had to refocus. It was kind of funny. I had a good laugh about it. It's a good story."

Even better considering what happened next. The Ottawa Senators prospect helped set up the opening goal of the game thanks to some fine forechecking.

"I got around my check and saw the D-man wasn't going to get the puck," Ostapchuk recalled. "I tried to get a stick on it and I was lucky enough to poke it free. I was able to drive the net and go five-hole, but he [goalie Calle Clang] made the stop. [Nathan] Gaucher came in and tapped it in. It was nice to get on the board like that."

Ostapchuk played only seven minutes and 15 seconds, the lowest total on the team, but he made a positive impression. At Tuesday's practice, the 19-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., was skating on the third line alongside Ridly Greig and Dufour. 

"Zack is a big body [6-foot-3, 198 pounds]," noted head coach Dave Cameron. "He's smart. He sees the game well. He combined that in his game. There was some physicality there."

Ostapchuk will have a new pair of his own skates for Canada's tournament opener on Wednesday against Latvia. 

"I live in St. Albert, which isn't too far down the road so I will have a lot of friends and family here," he said. "It will be nice to have some support in the crowd. It will be my first time putting on the Canada sweater so it will be a really special moment for me."

Flint's Brennan Othmann, who took two penalties on Monday, was bumped off the third line and skated as an extra forward at Tuesday's practice. 

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It was an exhibition game in a mostly empty building, but Greig did his part to inject some emotion into Monday's proceedings. He levelled defenceman Anton Olsson with a heavy hit. The collision forced the Swedish defenceman to leave the game. 

"I just caught him with his head down," the Brandon Wheat Kings centre said. "It was pretty clean. I always like to lay the body around a little bit. It's a huge part of the game and for my game."

The hit sent a jolt through the Canadian bench. 

"It definitely gets the energy going," said captain Mason McTavish. "I love how hard he plays. He's a beast out there."

Greig racked up 92 penalty minutes in 39 games in the Western Hockey League last season. That's more than any other player on Team Canada.   

"I played him maybe six times this year and he'd always be going at it with a lot of our guys," said Regina Pats centre Connor Bedard with a smile. "It's pretty funny, but you like it a lot more when he's on your team. He's such a complete player and super hard to play against."

What does Cameron appreciate about Greig's game? 

"Everything," the coach said. "He's a bit of a throwback. He's physical. He's smart. He's competitive."

Ostapchuk also skated alongside Greig, a fellow Senators prospect, during the first few practices of Canada's training camp last week. 

"I like how he kind of does it all," Ostapchuk said. "He's got a lot of grit. He hits guys. He's hard on pucks. He's good in the D-zone. He wins faceoffs and he's got skill to back it up. He's a guy you don't want to play."   

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Edmonton Oil Kings goalie Sebastian Cossa will start for Team Canada against Latvia on Wednesday.

"He backstopped the Edmonton team to a [WHL] championship and went to the Memorial Cup and played real well," said Cameron. "Any time you play best on best it gives you the best chance to improve. That's what the Memorial Cup is and that's what this tournament is. Any time these young guys can draw on experience it's going to make them better."

Cossa was a healthy scratch during both tournament games in December. He allowed three goals on 12 shots on Monday after entering the game midway through the second period. 

"He's played well enough over the course of his career that Detroit made him a first-round pick [15th overall in 2021] so he's got a lot going for him," Cameron said.

Team Canada also plays on Thursday when they face Slovakia. Cameron says the team will "probably" split the first two starts.

Kamloops' Dylan Garand, who is the reigning Canadian Hockey League goalie of the year, stopped all 15 shots faced on Monday. He started for Team Canada on Boxing Day.   

London's Brett Brochu, who is the reigning Ontario Hockey League goalie of the year, started Canada's second game in December. He was a healthy scratch on Monday. 

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Elliott Desnoyers wore a Hockey Canada hat every day during the first half of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season. It was a constant reminder of his goal to make the World Junior team. He achieved that goal in December. 

The superstitious Halifax Mooseheads centre returns to Team Canada this summer looking a bit different. For the first time in his life, Desnoyers has grown a moustache. 

"Just something I wanted to try for this summer edition," he explained with a smile. "I came here for the second edition and I had to do something." 

How's it feel? 

"I kind of like it. I watch the NHL a lot and Auston Matthews rocks it pretty well."

Desnoyers is hoping his teammates will follow his lead. 

"I think [Donovan] Sebrango is joining the team and I'm hoping for a couple other members," he said with a grin. "If you guys want to ask them, it would be appreciated."

Desnoyers points out that his parents are on board with the new look. 

"They love it," he said. "My mom loves it so I'm happy about that." 

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Bedard will need to wait another season before being drafted, but the 17-year-old is already rubbing shoulders with some of the elite talent in the National Hockey League. He was recently in Toronto where he trained with a group of players working out with Gary Roberts, including Connor McDavid, Darnell Nurse, Robert Thomas and Quinton Byfield. 

"Whenever you're with some of those guys you can take things and learn a lot," Bedard said. 

What did he take from watching McDavid? 

"Work ethic. I didn't get to skate with him this summer. I was only there for a few days, but the way he was in the gym, he was so focused and everything was so much detail. You can learn a lot even watching him work out."

Back home in British Columbia, Bedard skates with guys like Mathew Barzal, Dante Fabrro and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He's grown particularly close with Barzal. 

"We became pretty good friends," Bedard said. "He texted me before the tournament. He'll ask me about my shot and I'll ask about his skating and we can learn things from each other."

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Bedard's shot continues to turn heads among teammates. 

"It's incredible," said linemate Joshua Roy. "I don't know how this guy can shoot that hard."

"My stick's really whippy," Bedard explained. "It's a 70 flex."

The stick helps, but Bedard's blast has been fine tuned over the years. 

"It's something I take a lot of pride in," he said. "Going to my backyard or on the ice and shooting the puck a lot, it's something I enjoy. If you ask any kid what he wants to work on it's not skating or something, it's shooting pucks. It's a lot of fun and something I do a lot."

"I think he shoots an hour a day," said Cameron. "If you're going to be elite you have to practice and obviously he does."   

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Lines at Tuesday's practice: 

F

Roy - McTavish - Bedard 
Johnson - Stankoven - Foerster
Ostapchuk - Greig - Dufour 
Cuylle - Desnoyers - Gaucher 
Othmann - Kidney

D

Sebrango - Zellweger 
O'Rourke - Cormier 
Seeley - Thompson 
Del Mastro - Lambos 

G

Garand 
Cossa
Brochu

Power-play units at Tuesday's practice:

PP1

QB: Zellweger
Flanks: Bedard, Johnson 
Middle: Stankoven
Net front: McTavish 

PP2

QB: Cormier 
Flanks: Roy, Seeley/Thompson
Middle: Greig/Othmann
Net front: Foerster