<p>And now, the real fun begins.</p>



<p>Canada and the United States capped off pre-tournament play for the 2024 World Junior Championship with the United States taking home the 6-5 win. It was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams hold the lead, but it was as good of an exhibition game as you’d find at this level.</p>



<p>Both teams are projected to play for a medal, so this could be a preview of what’s to come. It was wild, physical and had no shortage of highlight moments. </p>



<p>But now, the games are set to mean something.</p>



<p>Here’s a look at the top standouts from both teams before the WJC kicks off on Dec. 26:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lines for Canada vs. USA in the final <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> pretournament game. <a href="https://t.co/pBrX4dGtup">pic.twitter.com/pBrX4dGtup</a></p>— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEllisHockey/status/1738595755189735490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Canada</h2>



<p><strong>#7 Jorion Donovan, D (Ottawa Senators): </strong>Talk about a wild debut. Just hours after flying from Ontario to Sweden, Donovan helped make the first goal happen after he took a hard shot on Jacob Fowler, only for Macklin Celebrini to score on the rebound. This didn’t look like an effort from a tired, jetlagged teenager – it mirrored more of what we’d expect from someone trying to prove he deserves to be on this team. If Tanner Molendyk and Tristan Luneau become available, that’s not likely, but Donovan made a big impression early.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="220"></div>



<p><strong>#17 Macklin Celebrini, C (2024 NHL Draft):</strong> After avoiding a suspension from his hit from behind Friday, Celebrini made his mark with two goals today. The first one shouldn’t have counted due to a kicking motion, but there’s no video review for exhibition play. He then scored again early in the third, but it was waived off because Celebrini batted the puck out of the air over the crossbar. Celebrini answered back by scoring on the next play, getting the puck off Seamus Casey’s skate and in. Yet again, Celebrini was Canada’s most active forward today.</p>



<p><strong>#21 Owen Allard, RW (Undrafted): </strong>Allard did the work to help set up Matthew Savoie’s power-play goal and then scored the equalizer midway through the third after battling for a loose puck in front. It was his first in a Team Canada uniform, which, given his long-shot status to make the team heading into camp, is incredible. He’s the exact bottom-six defensive forward Canada needed in the lineup, but it was his offense that allowed him to step up today.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="176"></div>



<p><strong>#20 Carson Rehkopf, LW (Seattle Kraken):</strong> For the 13th forward, Rehkopf didn’t waste any opportunity today. He made some great passes, brought the work ethic and nearly scored at one point. It’s often that the 13th guy ends up playing a big role at a tournament like this as lines get shuffled and injuries arise, but Rehkopf played his best game I’ve seen from him in a Canadian uniform to date this year.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-usa">USA</h2>



<p><strong>#9 Ryan Leonard, RW (Washington Capitals)</strong>: Leonard finished the game with two goals and nearly had the go-ahead breakaway marker late in the third. As we’ve typically seen from him internationally, Leonard kept getting into the right position, especially in front of the net and creating some havoc. Expect more of the same from the U-18 World Championship golden goal scorer.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="134"></div>



<p><strong>#34 Gabe Perreault, LW (New York Rangers):</strong> Perreault’s vision was on display today, making two very smart plays that led to goals. For someone with skating issues in his draft year, Perreault hasn’t struggled on the bigger ice, and seems to like the extra room to make plays. Leonard scored twice, but Perreault was the one buzzing and making things happen.</p>



<p><strong>#22 Isaac Howard, LW (Tampa Bay Lighting)</strong>: The first thing I noticed about Howard was how deceptive he was today. At least a few times, he showed patience on a play that drew defenders toward him, and it paid off by setting up Sam Rinzel for the 2-2 goal. He was more of a shoot-at-all-costs forward with the USNTDP back in the day, but I like how he has slowed his game down to make better decisions since then.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="140"></div>



<p><strong>#20 Lane Hutson, D (Montreal Canadiens):</strong> It wasn’t a shining net for the United States’ defensemen, but Hutson made a nice play on the opening goal and then snagged the game-winner. His offensive game never seems to be an issue, as you’d expect. But today, he was forcing turnovers and making good heads-up plays from his own zone.</p>



<p><strong>#29 Jacob Fowler, G (Montreal Canadiens): </strong>He only played the first half of the game as planned, but besides the giveaway to Conor Geekie, Fowler looked great. He was pressured early, but he kept cool and collected and allowed the United States to have the lead by the time he was swapped out. Fowler helped change the momentum against Sweden, too, which could help him have a better chance at stealing the No. 1 gig from Trey Augustine. We’ll see what happens.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="140"></div>



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