Canada Still Has Questions in Net at the World Juniors

Unfortunately, those three games didn’t clear anything up and may have made the field even muddier. Although there were some strong overall performances, no goalie stood out during pre-tournament play, leaving Canada without any clear answers. So, if no one earned the spot, who should it go to? All three goalies have a valid claim to the job, but only one can lead the team onto the ice in Gothenburg.

The Case for Ratzlaff

Ratzlaff entered the tournament as the expected starter, and for good reason. At the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he went undefeated in four games and put up an astounding .976 save percentage (SV%) and a 0.50 goals-against average (GAA). The next best goalie to start more than one game at the tournament was Finland’s Eemil Vinni, who finished with a .927 SV% after four games. It’s no wonder that Canada came away with the gold medal.

On top of his international success, Ratzlaff is the only drafted goalie on Canada’s roster. Following a strong 2022-23 season with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Seattle Thunderbirds, in which he posted a .918 SV%, five shutouts, and 25 wins in 34 starts, the Buffalo Sabres selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 Draft. Since then, he’s been compared to fellow Sabres’ prospect Devon Levi not only for his size and current NHL team, but also for their similar approach to the game. Both goalies are very studious in their approach, watching and studying other goalies in order to become better themselves. Ratzlaff had the perfect mentor in Seattle with former World Junior star Thomas Milic, which forced each to earn every start they got and prepared them for success wherever they went.

The only problem is that, if Ratzlaff is chosen as the starter, he’ll be coming into the tournament cold. He was supposed to start against the United States on Dec. 23, but a last-minute change put Rousseau in the net instead. Although Finland doesn’t have the strongest roster this year, it would be a tall order to begin the tournament against them without any reps beforehand.

The Case for Rousseau

There is no question that Rousseau wants the starting job more than anyone. After being told that he would sit for Canada’s third pre-tournament game, commentator Mike Johnson said on the TSN broadcast that he asked the coaching staff to put him in anyways so that he could get some more work in before the tournament kicked off. The team must have been impressed by the request because they made the last-minute change to let him start the game, making him the only Canadian goalie to play in every pre-tournament game this year.

Rousseau was never a long shot to start, though. Heading into the selection camp, he had some of the best numbers of any goalie in Canada with a .934 SV%, three shutouts, and a 16-3-2 record with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He kept that momentum throughout Canada’s selection camp, earning praise from head coach Alan Letang following the team’s two exhibition games before the final cuts were made. He may be undrafted, but he’s athletic and aggressive, making him a popular underdog choice to be Canada’s starter.

However, despite his assertiveness, Rousseau’s pre-tournament numbers don’t exactly scream starting goalie. He stopped all six shots against Denmark’s U25 team while splitting the game with St-Hilaire and allowed just three goals on 29 shots after playing the entire 60 minutes against Switzerland. Against the USA, however, he allowed three goals on just 15 shots before both teams switched their netminders. That left him with a .880 SV%, and while not all the goals he allowed were his fault, there were a few soft ones, leaving his performance so far as a mixed bag.

The Case for St-Hilaire

St-Hilaire had the biggest hill to climb to earn a starting spot on Team Canada, but he may have made enough of a name for himself so far to do it. He was one of the best goalies during the selection camp and was a big reason that Dominic DiVincentiis was sent home. His QMJHL numbers have also been strong and, in most cases, just short of Rousseau’s. His .920 SV% with the Sherbrooke Phoenix sits third in the league and his three shutouts are tied with Rousseau for second. He’s also Canada’s biggest goalie, standing 6-foot-2, giving him a slight advantage in his ability to cover the net.

St-Hilaire has also got in plenty of action before the start of the tournament. Aside from Rousseau, he’s the only one to have played in the pre-tournament games, and although he never played a full 60 minutes, he was solid in his brief appearances. Against Denmark, he was arguably better than his partner in the crease, stopping all nine shots in 29 minutes. Against the USA, he finished with a worse save percentage, but of the three goals he allowed, not all were his fault – just watch the game-winner against the USA from Lane Hutson. Whether it’s enough to upset both Ratzlaff and Rousseau is another matter, but there’s little more he could have done to make Canada’s decision difficult.

No Easy Answers for Canada

Right now, it doesn’t look like there’s a wrong answer between Ratzlaff, Rousseau, and St-Hilaire, but there also doesn’t look like a right answer. Throughout the selection camp process and pre-tournament games, no one has truly stood out as a goalie that can steal Canada some games if needed. That might be more important than ever this year as Canada’s stars haven’t blown anyone out of the water either; Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Savoie look solid, but others haven’t been quite as noticeable so far. The team’s defence is also showing some gaps that Team USA was able to exploit, leading to their dramatic 6-5 victory. But, as the old adage goes, anything can happen at the World Juniors, and the Canadians are hoping that one of their goalies can somehow catch lightning in a bottle on Boxing Day.

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