The
2023 IIHF World Junior Championship was held at
Scotiabank Centre in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and at
Avenir Centre in
Moncton, New Brunswick which began on December 26, 2022 ended on January 5, 2023. Eighteen current and former OHL players were on eight rosters in this tournament, including six on
Canada, three on
Switzerland, two on
Czechia,
Slovakia and the
United States, and one on
Austria,
Germany and
Latvia.
Austria Team
Austria had one OHL player on their roster, as
Vinzenz Rohrer of the
Ottawa 67's was named to the team. In five games, Rohrer finished in third in team scoring, as he recorded a goal and two assists for three points. Austria finished the preliminary round of the tournament in last place in Group A with a 0-0-0-4 record. In the best-of-three relegation round, Austria lost to
Latvia in two games to finish in tenth place in the tournament.
Canada The
Canadian team had six current and former OHL players on their original roster. The players on the Canadian team who currently played in the OHL are:
Ethan Del Mastro,
Mississauga Steelheads;
Ben Gaudreau,
Sarnia Sting;
Jack Matier,
Ottawa 67's and
Brennan Othmann,
Peterborough Petes. Two former OHL players were also on the team: former
Barrie Colts player
Brandt Clarke, who played on the
Los Angeles Kings and former
Kingston Frontenacs player
Shane Wright of the
Seattle Kraken.Wright and Clarke both where sent down to the OHL after the tournament. Wright was named
captain of the team. Later in the tournament, Canada added
Owen Beck from the
Mississauga Steelheads as an injury replacement. In seven games, Clarke led the Canadian defense with two goals and eight points. Wright scored four goals and seven points in seven games. Othmann scored two goals and six points in seven games, while Del Mastro earned three assists in seven games. Beck earned an assist in three games and Matier had an assist in seven games. Gaudreau earned a record of 1-1-0 in two games with a 3.38 GAA and a 0.828 save percentage. Canada finished second in Group A during the preliminary round with a record of 3-0-0-1, earning nine points. In the quarter-finals, Canada defeated
Slovakia 4-3 in overtime. In the semi-finals, the Canadians defeated the
United States 6-2, advancing to the championship game. In the Gold Medal game, Canada defeated
Czechia 3-2 in overtime to win the tournament.
Czechia Team
Czechia had two OHL players on their roster. The players named to the team were
Tomáš Hamara of the
Kitchener Rangers and
Matyáš Šapovaliv of the
Saginaw Spirit. Sapovaliv earned seven assists in seven games to finish tied for fifth in team scoring. Hamara earned an assist in seven games. Czechia finished in first place in Group A during the preliminary round, earning a record of 3-0-1-0 for ten points. In the quarter-finals, Czechia defeated
Switzerland 9-1 to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-final game, Czechia defeated
Sweden 2-1 to earn a berth in the Gold Medal game. In the final game of the tournament, Czechia lost to
Canada 3-2 in overtime to win the silver medal.
Germany Team
Germany had one OHL player on their roster.
Ryan Del Monte of the
London Knights was the lone OHL player that made the team. Del Monte was held to no points in two games during the tournament. Germany finished in fourth place in Group A during the preliminary round with a 1-0-0-3 record, earning three points. In the quarter-finals, Germany lost to the
United States 11-1 to be eliminated from the tournament. Germany finished in eighth place in the tournament.
Latvia Latvia had one OHL player on their roster.
Sandis Vilmanis of the
Sarnia Sting was named to the team. Vilmanis scored a goal and added an assist for two points in six games. Latvia finished the preliminary round of the tournament in last place in Group B with a record of 0-0-1-3, earning one point. In the best-of-three relegation series against
Austria, Latvia swept the series in two games. Latvia finished the tournament in ninth place.
Slovakia Team
Slovakia had two OHL players on their roster, as
Filip Mešár of the
Kitchener Rangers and
Servác Petrovský of the
Owen Sound Attack were named to the team. Mesar finished tied for the team lead in points, as he recorded two goals and four assists for six points in five games. Petrovsky scored two goals and three points in five games to finish tied for fifth in team scoring. Slovakia finished the preliminary round of the tournament with a 2-0-1-1 record, finishing in third place with seven points. In the quarter-finals, Slovakia lost to
Canada 4-3 in overtime. Slovakia finished the tournament in sixth place.
Switzerland Team
Switzerland named three OHL players to their team.
Alessio Beglieri of the
Mississauga Steelheads,
Rodwin Dionicio of the
Niagara IceDogs and
Brian Zanetti of the
Peterborough Petes represented their country at the tournament. In five games, Dionico scored a goal, while Zanetti earned an assist in five games. Beglieri earned a record of 0-2-0 with a 6.07 GAA and a 0.831 save percentage in two games. Switzerland had a record of 0-3-0-1 in four games during the preliminary round, earning six points and fourth place in Group B. In the quarter-finals, Switzerland lost to
Czechia 9-1. Switzerland finished the tournament in seventh place.
United States The
United States had two players of the OHL on their roster. The players were
Tyler Boucher of the
Ottawa 67's and
Andrew Oke of the
Saginaw Spirit. Boucher finished the tournament with three goals and four points in six games. Oke earned a record of 1-0-0 with a 3.00 GAA and a 0.875 save percentage in one game. The United States finished in first place in Group B with a 3-0-0-1 record, earning nine points, during the preliminary round. In the quarter-finals, the United States defeated
Germany 9-1 to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-final game, the United States lost to
Canada 6-2 to advance to the Bronze Medal game. The United States captured the bronze medal with a 8-7 overtime win over
Sweden. ==References==