Celebrini's 5 points power Canada to blowout win over Latvia at world juniors
CBC
Macklin Celebrini knew there would be lots of eyes on him in Sweden.
The presumptive top pick at the 2024 NHL draft hasn't blinked.
Celebrini had a goal and four assists in a dominant performance from start to finish as Canada hammered Latvia 10-0 at the world junior hockey championship on Wednesday.
"Making this team, it was an honour, a childhood dream," said the 17-year-old from Vancouver. "I'm just trying to enjoy it and do whatever I can to help us win."
Celebrini's five points were two short of the national record for a single game at the under-20 tournament — a mark held by six players, including Connor Bedard at the 2023 event in Halifax.
"Really special doing this at a young age," said Matthew Wood, whose goal and two assists were overshadowed by his linemate. "His habits are unbelievable, his skill's unbelievable.
"The real deal."
Conor Geekie and Carson Rehkopf, with two each, also scored for Canada, while Fraser Minten and Brayden Yager both had a goal and an assist.
Owen Allard and Matthew Poitras rounded out the deluge, while Denton Mateychuk and Ty Nelson had two assists apiece.
Mathis Rousseau made 22 saves for the shutout less than 30 hours after leading the Canadians to a 5-2 victory over Finland in their opener.
Linards Feldbergs allowed seven goals on 31 shots for the overmatched Latvians, who dropped their first game 6-0 to hosts Sweden, before getting chased early in the third period. Aksels Ozols made seven saves on 10 shots after Feldbergs got the mercy pull.
Canada is in Group A with the Finns, Swedes, Latvians and Germany. Group B consists of the United States, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Norway.
Looking for a third straight gold medal despite missing an impressive list of NHL talent, with Bedard right at the top, Canada entered Wednesday's game with a 3-0 record against Latvia all-time with a combined 31-4 scoreline, including a 16-0 victory on Dec. 26, 2009.
Things weren't quite that bad on this night. The Latvians, unsurprisingly, were also never close.
