Canada looking to capture gold for injured Schaefer as clash with Germans up next at World Juniors

Team Canada skated at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday. 

Injured defenceman Matthew Schaefer remains with Team Canada in Ottawa. 

"He's still with the boys," confirmed Brampton Steelheads forward Carson Rehkopf. "Can't really say enough about that guy. We're super happy to have him around. He's one of those guys who lightens up the mood wherever he is so it's super nice."

Schaefer sustained a broken collarbone on Friday and will likely be sidelined for the next couple of months. The Erie Otters defenceman had dedicated his performance at the World Juniors to his mom, Jennifer, who passed away in February after a battle with cancer. 

Team Canada is looking to rally around Schaefer and win the gold medal for the 17-year-old from Hamilton.

"That's something that's definitely in our heads," Rehkopf said. "Obviously he's had a tough year. Feel for him so much." 

Schaefer is expected to be in attendance for Sunday's game against Germany. 

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How will Team Canada fill the void with Schaefer out? 

"Well," said head coach Dave Cameron. "You can't."

But what Team Canada can do – what it must do – is adjust and ask others to step up. Sam Dickinson took Schaefer's spot beside Oliver Bonk at the morning skate. 

Dickinson, who is the highest NHL draft pick on Canada's blue line (11th overall to the San Jose Sharks in June), sat out the first pre-tournament game as a healthy scratch. He's now being asked to play a top-four role.

"I think I've been playing well, progressing through the games, kind of getting more and more confident with the style of play I'm going to be playing here," Dickinson said. "Kind of looking forward to what's next and maybe a little bit of a bigger role tonight and moving forward. I'm excited for that opportunity and just looking to take advantage of it."

"He's a helluva hockey player," Cameron said. "He's high end, going to play in the NHL a long time. He's got a real good 200-foot game."

The 18-year-old from Toronto leads all Ontario Hockey League defencemen with 46 points in 26 games this season. 

"He's arguably the best D in the OHL," Rehkopf said. "Probably one of the best D I've played. He's gifted at both ends of the ice, and offensively he's showing it this year. I'm happy for him. I think he'll do a great job with it." 

Dickinson and Bonk have built-in chemistry courtesy their time together with the London Knights. 

"We're looking at two and a half years now of me and him playing together," Dickinson said. "It's exciting to be able to play with him wearing a Team Canada jersey. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun tonight and we'll be able bring something." 

What does Dickinson enjoy about playing with Bonk? 

"Just how reliable he is. He's always in the right spot it seems. Any time you seem like you're in trouble he's just in that perfect spot for an outlet pass. If you get beat and he's playing a 2-on-1 you're so confident he's going to break that play up. That's the big thing with him is just how reliable and how much confidence you can put into him."  

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Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman Sawyer Mynio will draw into the lineup. It will be the first time he wears the Canadian sweater in international competition. 

"It's going to be really special," the 19-year-old from Kamloops, B.C. said. "I'm sure my parents will tear up a little bit ... It's amazing. It's a dream come true. Every kid says that, but it really is." 

Mynio, a third round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2023 (89th overall), sat out the first two games before being registered by Hockey Canada on Saturday.

"It was good," he said of watching from the press box. "I kind of got a taste of what it's going to be like out there. You learn things about other countries [and] just how competitive it is, and how anything can happen. Obviously we saw what happened last game with Latvia, so we have to be ready at all times."

Mynio will slot in on the third pair beside Kelowna Rocket Caden Price. 

"It will be good," Mynio said. "We have a good connection. We're good buddies off the ice. We know how each other play too. He plays in Kelowna, so I play him lots ... He kind of reminds me of myself. Just two-way, simple, and flashes of offence."

The top pair of Tanner Molendyk and Andrew Gibson remains together while Beau Akey continues to serve as the seventh defenceman.

Cameron called together all the blueliners for a pep talk at the end of the skate. The message? 

"Just keep playing hard," Mynio said. "We've been doing a good job, haven't given up an even-strength goal yet, so keep being positive." 

"We haven't given up a 5-on-5 goal, which they're a big part of that," Cameron said. "Move the puck up to the forwards and join them when the opportunity is right."

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Canada hasn't given up an even-strength goal, but the team also failed to scored a 5-on-5 goal against Latvia. 

"The one thing we have to do is get to the net more, get in front of the goalie more," Cameron said. "Other than that, O-zone time was good, shot attempts were good, chances were good."

Barrie Colts forward Cole Beaudoin will move up to the top line beside Cal Ritchie and Easton Cowan. What will the Ottawa native bring? 

"Net presence," Cameron said. "He plays in all the hard areas. He knows what he is. He's a helluva hockey player, but his biggest strength is he knows what he is. He drives the net. He opens things up, and he's physical."

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Rehkopf, one of four returning players on the roster, sat out the first two games. 

"It's tough," he admitted. "Obviously disappointing not playing ... Coaches talk to you. I won't say anything really about that. You respect their decision. It's a very good tournament. It's the best players in Canada so you try and stay humble and wait for the opportunity." 

That opportunity comes on Sunday night. What does he bring to the lineup? 

"Good shot and not scared to shoot," said Cameron. "He doesn't need many chances to score."

Rehkopf has 72 goals in his last 87 games in the Ontario Hockey League. 

"He's probably got the best shot in the OHL," said Dickinson. "One of the best shots in the OHL and one of the best pure goal scorers I've ever seen, and along with that comes a hard play style. I think you saw that in the first couple pre-tournament games. He's been hard on the forecheck. He's a hard guy to play against so that's a big thing he'll bring for us tonight." 

Rehkopf has scored in more games (14) than he hasn't (13) so far this season. 

"It's something I've worked on my whole life," Rehkopf said. "I've liked to score goals my whole life. I shot a lot of pucks as a kid and something I take pride in, just learning different ways to score, watching guys."

In particular, Rehkopf has studied Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews. 

"His pull and drag is something that I've really taken," Rehkopf said. "That's something that he brought into the league and started scoring a lot with. It messes with goalies so it's something I've worked on a lot."

Rehkopf's mom paid a price for all her son's fine tuning growing up. 

"Mom kicked me out of the basement when I was maybe eight or nine," he said with a laugh. "Broke her washing machine and have a plywood up around the basement. It's always something I've loved to do."

Rehkopf's parents will be in the stands on Sunday night. So will the billet family he lived with in Kitchener, Ont. prior to this summer's trade. 

"Billet families are one of the most under-appreciated things in junior," he said. "I came in at 16 and never lived away from home and got super close to them. There for three years and they mean a lot to me. Kind of like second parents to me, honestly."

Brian and Caitlin Daub also travelled to Sweden last year to watch Rehkopf make his World Junior debut. He scored twice in five games as Canada finished fifth. 

Rehkopf's teammate in Brampton, Porter Martone, will be a healthy scratch on Sunday. 

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Rehkopf will also slot in on the flank of Canada's second power play unit. Canada is 1/7 in the tournament. The message on Sunday is simple.

"Shoot the puck," Cameron stressed. "Sometimes we over pass and we're looking for something better. You're not going to break PKs down until you shoot the puck. It's off shots and rebounds that stuff happens so you have to establish the shot, that's first and foremost."

"We got to attack more," Rehkopf said. "We're sitting back too much. We have a lot of weapons so if we use them and shoot the puck we'll be good." 

Dickinson will take over as the quarterback of the top unit. His mindset? 

"Dave said, 'Shoot the puck,' so I'll go with that," he said with a grin. "When the opportunity is there I like to let'em fly with the one-timer that I've got."

Nine of Dickinson's 15 goals this season have come on the power play. 

With Dickinson taking over up top, Bonk will move to the bumper where he plays in London. It's a rare position for a defenceman, but Bonk has thrived in that spot. 

"It's how smart he is on the ice," Dickinson explained. "It seems like when he's in that spot he's always in the perfect spot for an outlet pass for that bumper play."

Easton Cowan remains on the flank of the top unit, which means Canada now has three Knights together on the power play. London has been clicking on 28.5 per cent of its chances this season, which is second in the OHL behind only Cameron's 67s. 

"The natural feel for all of us kind of playing together for a while will come," Dickinson promised.

Germany is 7/7 on the penalty kill. They are one of only two teams at the tournament that hasn't allowed a power-play goal with Finland being the other. 
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Saturday was a quiet day for Team Canada as players visited with friends and family. It was a chance to regroup after a surprising loss to Latvia. 

"Obviously it's tough, but it's not something you can hold onto the whole tournament," said Rehkopf. "That's how tournaments spiral and go downhill. I think we've responded really well. Positive day yesterday. Spent time with family so I think the boys are ready to go today."

Cameron also feels refreshed. 

"Contrary to belief, coaches have to recover too," the veteran bench boss said. "I had the pleasure of addressing some minor league, tier-two coaches, and have some banter with them. I love talking hockey so that was real good for me ... There was no hype yesterday. It was just all genuine."

Cameron defended his team's effort in the immediate aftermath of Friday's loss and took issue with some of the coverage of the game. 

"Everybody says, 'Oooh, what went wrong? Latvia beat ya.' Well, hey, give Latvia credit. Like, give them credit. It was more what Latvia did than what we didn't do. The goalie had the game of his life. The team bought in like crazy, which is what this tournament does when you play for your country. That's why there's no easy games. So full kudos to them. It's a great thing for us to learn from. The sun did come up after we lost that game and we're moving on."

Canada gets an immediate chance to show what they learned as they face another lower-ranked opponent. Canada is 17-0-0 against Germany at the World Juniors. 

"They're going to play us the exact same way Latvia played," Cameron said. "They're going to play the underdog role. They've seen how Latvia beat us, I expect a much similar game as Latvia played."

Last year in Sweden, Germany played Canada tough. The game was actually tied in the third period before Canada pulled away for a 6-3 win on New Year's Eve. 

"They play hard," Rehkopf recalled. "You see that with Latvia, all those teams that people maybe don't give as much respect to, they're hard to play against. As a player you realize that as soon as you play them. They're committed. They're playing for their country, so anyone brings their best when they're playing for their country."
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After stopping 55 shots and eight more in the shootout against Canada, Linards Feldbergs got a shout out from legendary Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price. 

"Actually that's really crazy that like the popular players saw me playing and also saying good words for me," the Sherbrooke Phoenix goalie said. "I'm really excited about it."

The 19-year-old tapped his chest.  

"It's really to my heart," he said. 

After facing 41 more shots in a 5-1 loss to the United States on Saturday, Feldbergs was still beaming about the historic win over Canada. 

"Still I'm thinking about it," he said. "Probably be happy about it for the next years. I'm going to remember this moment when we win against Canada. It's really big. Really big."

It was Latvia's third ever win at the World Juniors and, of course, the first against Canada. 

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Lines at Sunday's skate: 

F

Beaudoin - Ritchie - Cowan
McKenna - Catton - Pinelli
Nadeau - Yager - Howe
Cataford/Rehkopf - Luchanko - Gauthier 
Martone  

D

Molendyk - Gibson
Dickinson - Bonk 
Mynio - Price 
Akey

G

George starts
Ivankovic
Bjarnason

Power play units at Sunday's skate: 

PP1

QB: Dickinson 
Flanks: Cowan, Ritchie 
Bumper: Bonk 
Down low: Catton 

PP2

QB: Molendyk 
Flanks: McKenna, Rehkopf 
Bumper: Yager 
Down low: Nadeau