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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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Team Canada practised at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton on Wednesday.

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Kent Johnson chuckles when asked about his confidence level in one-on-one situations against a goaltender. 

"I'm pretty confident," the Michigan Wolverines forward said. "I've worked on my moves a ton, so definitely confident."

Team Canada held a shootout competition at the end of practice on Wednesday. Johnson was the last man standing. 

"He's a stud," said Edmonton Oil Kings goalie Sebastian Cossa. "How fast he moves the puck, it's pretty crazy. It's on one side of the net to the other pretty quick. You're trying to take it away and then it's not there anymore and it's just in the back of the net before you see it."

"He just really gets the goalie to bite," noted Peterborough Petes centre Mason McTavish. "He really over exaggerates his dekes ... I don't think I've seen him miss one. Some nice mitts, for sure."

How does Johnson come up with his moves?

"Just watching other people or just messing around after practice," the 19-year-old said. "Just messing around with different things. That's about it." 

Johnson watches a lot of hockey and takes a lot of notes. Patrick Kane and Aleksander Barkov are his favourite guys to study at the moment. 

Meanwhile, teammates and coaches enjoy watching him.

"It's ridiculous," said Regina Pats phenom Connor Bedard, a fellow British Columbia native, who skates with Johnson in the summer. "Sometimes I just watch, and I'm amazed at the things he can do. He reminds me a lot of [Trevor] Zegras."

"I think he's the most skilled player I've ever seen probably," gushed Shawinigan forward Mavrik Bourque. "He has so much skill."

Michigan coach Mel Pearson often marvels at the moves Johnson, the fifth-overall pick to Columbus in July's National Hockey League draft, pulls off at the end of practice. 

"He has a number of things he does that I can't even explain, really," Pearson said. "He just does it and you have to see them to really appreciate it. Very talented and super creative in what he tries. There's no limit, really. There's no boundaries." 

Despite weighing in at just 165 pounds, there's also a fearlessness to Johnson's game. 

"They come after him, but he's got that sixth sense to seem to know when he's going to get hit and when someone's coming after him," said Pearson. "He doesn't shy away from it. He goes to the net and plays an aggressive game and he's very slippery. He slides off people the way he plays. It's hard to get a good shot at him." 

Johnson has produced 23 points in 17 games in NCAA play this season. The numbers are nice, but Johnson has also impressed Pearson with his well-rounded game. 

"He's a lot better defensively, too, than people give him credit for," Pearson said. "I mean, everybody talks about his offence, his creativity, but he's very sound defensively as well."

So, you can understand why Johnson is in line for a big role at the World Juniors. He's been skating on left wing on Canada's second line with Bourque and McTavish, who played nine games with the Anaheim Ducks at the start of the season. 

"I'm more of a shooter and it seems like he's more of a passer, who makes plays," McTavish said. "I can work in the corners and get him pucks and get to the dirty areas and he can keep the puck on the outside and then maybe find me down low or something like that." 

"He's kind of a force in the corners," Johnson said. "It's pretty insane, like, he wins every battle. He has touch too. His hands aren't bad or anything. He can score around the net. He's awesome."

The pair met for the first time at Hockey Canada's summer camp and hit it off. 

"We both thought we were funny, I guess," Johnson said, "and kept hanging out."

Johnson tested positive for COVID in early December and missed the start of Canada's camp while quarantining. He's not expecting much rust in Thursday's pre-tournament game against Russia.  

"Legs were pretty sore after the first couple skates, but I feel good," he said following his fourth practice with the team. "I feel up to speed. No excuses. Playing Russia is so exciting. I'm pumped." 

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McTavish hopes his physicality will provide him an edge at the tournament. 

"That's definitely a big part of my game," the 6-foot-2, 207-pound centre said. "I worked really hard on getting stronger in the summer and on my balance so definitely I take pride in that part of my game."

"If he plays inside the lines, it will be a big advantage, but there's a fine line," cautioned coach Dave Cameron. "You need guys like Mac to play on the edge, but not be continuously in the penalty box. He's too valuable of a player for that." 

McTavish has been in the box in three of his four Ontario Hockey League games this season. In his final game before leaving for Canada's camp, which came against Cameron's Ottawa 67’s, McTavish was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for a check to the head.

The standard of officiating may be different in the international game, but Cameron made it clear that's not an excuse.  

"You have to adjust," the coach stressed. "This game's about adjustment. It's no different than refereeing in our league. It changes through the years. It changes game to game. It's no different here than the IIHF." 

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There will be five Wolverines taking part in the World Juniors, including Team USA defenceman Luke Hughes. The freshman has already racked up seven goals and 18 points in 20 games this season. 

"I can't believe he has seven goals," Pearson said. "I don't know if he had seven goals last year in the program, but he's so dynamic offensively. He's an instant breakout, instant offence waiting to happen. He's [one of] the youngest player in college hockey and some nights he's going up against players seven and eight years older than him and nothing seems to faze him. He has that Hughes genetic link where he's so confident and calm. He doesn't see an opportunity that he doesn't like." 

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes, Luke's older brother, produced 29 points in 37 games as a freshman at Michigan. 

"Quinn probably sees the ice a little bit better and is more of a distributor," noted Pearson, "Luke is like, 'I'm going to take it and I'll take it right to the net,' and you see more of the goal scoring at this point already. Both excellent skaters. Quinn is probably more agile on his feet, but Luke is a tremendous skater too. As much as they have differences, they have more similarities."

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At 6-foot-7, Cossa is an intimidating figure in the crease. 

"He's the biggest goalie I've ever shot on," said McTavish. "You don't see much net when you're going against him."

"It's not just because he's big," Johnson pointed out. "He reads the play really well. It's his size and how he's able to move at that size."

Cossa, the first goalie picked in the 2021 NHL draft (15th overall to Detroit), is good and isn't shy about.  

"I'm pretty loose before the game and during the game," he said. "I like to have fun and chirping comes along with that so definitely not scared to throw around a chirp."

What sort of thing will he say? 

"Just guaranteeing they won't score on me," he said. "Putting money on the line. I'll bet money that they won't score on me and when they don't score, I let them know."

He's also not afraid to tell the coach that he wants to play. Cossa got into 19 of Edmonton's 23 games last season. 

"He wants that net every night," said Oil Kings coach Brad Lauer. "Last year was a shortened season and at the end of the season his numbers were outstanding, and he didn't need to play. I said, 'You've played enough. I can get you in one game and we'll give another kid a game.' He just said, 'I want the net. I want to play. I want to finish this thing off right.'"

So, you can understand why Cossa describes his excitement level for Thursday's game as "10 out of 10." 

"It's huge," he said. "Obviously, the plan was three [pre-tournament games] at first and now it's one. Taking every minute that you can, it's very valuable going into the tournament. You want to be in top shape going into the tournament."

Cossa hasn't played since facing the U Sports team at the selection camp on Dec. 12. 

Thursday's game will help determine who gets to be Canada's No. 1 goalie in the tournament. It will be important not to get too amped up. 

"He embraces the moment, but he doesn't want to take over the moment," Lauer observed. "He allows the game to come to him and that's really important. Sometimes when you get in big games, goalies want to be the guy to make the save and be the guy who bails everyone out and that works against you. He has a demeanour where he's very calm and composed and just allows things to come to him."

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Thursday's game will be the second career meeting between the top two prospects in the 2023 NHL draft: Bedard and Matvei Michkov. 

"It's Canada versus Russia, it's not really me versus him," Bedard said. "Whoever you're going against you want play your best, so I don't know if there's added motivation there."

There is a lot of respect, though. 

"You see the highlights and you see the stats and he seems to light up every league he's in," Bedard said. "The one game I did play him, he was dangerous all game. He's one of the smartest players so he's definitely a special player. It's pretty cool to hear my name alongside his." 

Bedard and Michov last faced off in the gold-medal game of the World Under-18 Championship in Texas earlier this year. Michov had a goal and two assists while Bedard had a goal and an assist in Canada's 5-3 win. 

Michov led the tournament in scoring (16 points) and was named MVP. Bedard finished with 14 points.  

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While Michov appears set to play a big role on Team Russia, Bedard has been skating as an extra forward at Team Canada's practices. When he gets on the ice, it'll be important for the 16-year-old to keep his shifts short. The one quibble Cameron had with Bedard during the selection camp was his shift length in the opening game against the U Sports players. 

Cameron says, ideally, shifts will be between 40 to 45 seconds. And he wants his players to err on the side of early changes during the middle stanza. 

"You got to be really careful in the second period with the long change, so you tend to remind them that it's alright to change in the offensive zone," Cameron said. "You'd hope in the second period, with the long change, it'd be 30 seconds or less."

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Lines at Wednesday's practice: 

Perfetti - Wright - Bourgault  
Johnson - McTavish - Bourque 
Neighbours - Greig - Sourdif 
Cuylle - Desnoyers - Guenther 
             Stankoven - Bedard 

Power - Zellweger
Guhle - Cormier 
Sebrango - Lambos 
O’Rourke - Seeley

Brochu 
Cossa
Garand 

Power-play units at Wednesday's practice: 

QB: Power
Flanks: Johnson, Perfetti 
Middle/net front: Bourque, McTavish bouncing back & forth 

QB: Zellweger 
Flanks: Cormier, Wright 
Middle: Guenther / Bedard / Bourgault all rotating in 
Net front: Neighbours