Canada vs. Switzerland takeaways: Logan Stankoven powers Canadians’ advance into World Juniors semis

Abraham Smith

Victory is victory, as the saying goes, and Canada did enough to secure a 6-3 quarter-final win over Switzerland on Wednesday and advance to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Junior Championship.

It appeared that the Canadian team that survived the preliminary round was missing from Edmonton’s Rogers Place. The typical relentless forecheck that made the team so effective wasn’t there, and in its place were defensive errors and turnovers.

Luckily for Canada, deep scoring and strong play from the back line were enough to claim the win. Logan Stankoven was named player of the match for his three-pointer night while linesmate Tyson Foerster had a goal and an assist.

Canada will play in the semifinals on Friday and now have a guaranteed chance of a medal. The semi-final opponents of the host country have not yet been determined; Canada will have to await the results of Wednesday’s quarterfinal match between the United States and the Czech Republic before deciding who will face off against them.

MORE: Schedule, Scores, Results for all World Juniors 2022 games

The Sporting News has three key takeaways from Canada’s win:

Three takeaways from Canada’s World Juniors quarter-final win over Switzerland

Logan Stankoven has a breakout game

While Canada’s overall performance was mediocre, this was Stankoven’s best game of the tournament. The Stars’ draft pick had two goals and one assist, and he was the most conspicuous player on the ice.

He set up Tyson Foerster in the first 67 seconds of the game to give Canada an early lead. He pulled Switzerland goalie Noah Patenaude past his circle before hitting Foerster with a pass on target. Stankoven later caught a miss from the Swiss, ripped up a quick shot from Patenaude who rang the post, then conceded the rebound and sent it into the empty net.

He hung up Förster again just before the goal: he pulled the puck to his backhand and played it around a diving defender to Förster in the back door. Foerster couldn’t quite finish the piece.

Stanloven scored an empty goal to seal the three-point performance.

What struck Stankoven most was his physicality. Despite his stature (5-8, 170 pounds), he tossed his body around and never shied away from delivering or receiving a check. Add in the fact that he entered the competition as the tournament’s top faceoff man and he was the complete package for Canada.

Canada’s defensive collapse

While Canada benefited from poor Swiss turnovers in their own zone, the Canadians were not exactly healthy in front of the net either. Canada played bad passes in their zone, turned the puck in the neutral zone and failed to get Swiss players in front of the net. In fact, two of Switzerland’s goals were direct results of underperforming defensive play.

In the final seconds of the first period, Connor Bedard fell behind in his own zone at the end of a long shift, failing to cover Attilio Biasca in front of the net. Joshua Fahrni fed Biasca who defeated Dylan Garand. In the second half, a misplaced pass from Donovan Sebrango landed in the back net when Biasca picked him up in the slot.

This isn’t the first time Canada have shown this weakness in their game. In the first five minutes of the preliminary round match against Finland, Canada struggled to get out of the zone and had a number of straight passes in the neutral zone.

MORE: Team Canada 2022 World Juniors roster, results

Canada could afford the occasional glitch against Switzerland but will have to clean up that part of their game the rest of the way. Whether it’s Finland, Sweden or the United States, Canada will be burned by more defensive mistakes.

What is Ridly Greig’s injury status?

About halfway through the first half, Greig was interrupted at the boards by Vincent Despont. The penalty was not taken. Greig seemed shaken as he kept grabbing his left arm. He went down the tunnel and didn’t come out again in the first period. It was announced at the break that he would not be returning.

The exact injury is unknown, meaning the length of any absence is also unknown. It would be a significant loss for Canada if the 2020 Senators first-rounder fails to play in the semifinals or medals. Greig was arguably the team’s most consistent player while anchoring Canada’s checkline with William Dufour and Joshua Roy.

MORE: Why is the World Juniors being played in August?

Not only would Canada need to find someone to play down that line, but coach Dave Cameron will lose one of his best faceoffs and penalty killers without Greig. Greig has also contributed six points in five games in the tournament.

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