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Blackhawks’ World Juniors Update 12/28: Korchinski tallies two assists as Canada destroys Germany

Posted on by Katherine Gross

The purpose of my life is to be nothing but a witness to the Connor Bedard show.

Canada 11, Germany 2

Canada reset their lines and gave their players a rest after their 5-2 loss to Czechia on Monday. To say that they fared much better against Germany on 12/28 would be an understatement. The Canadians capitalized on the power play, scoring two goals during separate power plays in the first period as German forward Julian Lutz went to the box twice for boarding and slashing. The second period solidified the blowout, as Canada scored four goals during a five-minute power play and finished the game with seven power-play goals. The true joy to watch (as our prospect-passionate readers may know) was Connor Bedard, an unclaimed junior who has dominated this tournament— and tying the Canadian junior record for points in a game by getting three goals (here’s one, two, and three) and four assists (here’s one, two, three, and four) in this game.

Not nearly as exciting, but here’s a closer look at how the Blackhawks prospects fared in that matchup:

D Kevin Korchinski, Canada

Stats: 0 G, 2 A, 0 SOG in 15:35 of ice time

Korchinski came alive during the second period, and his skating ability really helped Canada press Germany in the offensive zone. He did a nice job stepping up to take the puck, then transitioning into an offensive player when the forwards were on a rush. He had a strong third period and took an assist for Canada’s 10th and 11th goals, which were the final nails in Germany’s coffin.

And here’s his second assist:

D Nolan Allan, Canada

Stats: 0 G, 0 A, 1 SOG in 16:55 of ice time

Like Korchinski, Allan was quiet in the first period, but really got the wind under his wings in the second. His passes began to connect, and he was on-ice during Bedard’s second goal. He did a good job holding pucks in the offensive zone and picked off a few German passes while on the penalty kill.

F Colton Dach, Canada

Stats: 0 G, 1 A, 3 SOG in 13:52 of ice time

One thing about Dach’s performance in the World Juniors so far— you will inevitably see him rushing a puck much longer than you expect. He had a great opportunity in the first period, evading German check attempts while carrying the puck in deep before losing it on the goal line. He did a great job on that big second-period power-play, netting an assist:

D Ethan del Mastro, Canada

Stats: 0 G, 0 A, 0 SOG in 15:20 of ice time

Poor del Mastro.

His physicality and strong skating couldn’t buy him a goal in the first period, as many of his passes kept getting picked off or intercepted. He was on-ice when Germany scored its first goal, and although he kept tight to his check, his pivot around the goal (possibly) screened Canadian goalie Thomas Milic and the puck slipped between Milic’s legs.

To del Mastro’s credit— he had some great poke checks, and made a few selfless passes to his D partner on the point which opened up space and allowed Canada to rush the net. His luck improved considerably later in the game, however, and he was able to maintain solid positioning and effectively killed a penalty, before taking a penalty of his own. Puck tracking data also showed his potential:

Sweden 1, Germany 0

The game truly was a battle between goalies, as a Swedish goal in the first period was the only tally on the scoreboard. Both teams played well, but Sweden was able to secure the win despite an onslaught of great chances from Germany in the third period.

F Victor Stjernborg, Sweden

Stats: 0 G, 0 A, 1 SOG in 14:32 of ice time

Captain Stjernborg played well but did little to change the goal tally this game. He only had one shot on goal, and statistics-wise, the only other number on his chart was a negative-6 after he lost six faceoffs.

Sweden faces Czechia on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (CT) and Canada plays Austria later that night at 5:30 p.m. (CT).

Talking Points