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09 Jan

CANADA CAPTURES GOLD AT WORLD JUNIORS

For the second straight tournament Canada captured gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship thanks to an overtime winner by a Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) alumni.

Former Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX) forward Dylan Guenther scored the ‘Golden Goal’ 3:38 into overtime as Canada defeated Czechia 3-2. At the 2022 event in Edmonton, AB this summer, former BWC Academy forward Kent Johnson was the hero for Canada with an overtime goal of his own against Finland.

The 2023 World Juniors, which took place in Halifax and New Brunswick from December 26, 2022-January 5, 2023, saw nine CSSHL alumni play for Canada.

Among the 22 players on Team Canada included 2 NAX alumni:

  • Dylan Guenther – Arizona Coyotes/NHL (Northern Alberta Xtreme)
  • Zack Ostapchuk – Winnipeg Ice/WHL (Northern Alberta Xtreme)
Ostapchuk represented Canada at the 2022 World Juniors, taking home a gold medal after defeating Finland in overtime in the Gold Medal game. Guenther was part of the 2022 World Junior team during the initial December 2021 based tournament that was eventually shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to an injury, he was unable to participate in the re-run this past summer.

Guenther finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists, including two goals in the gold medal game.

Ostapchuk, a forward from St. Albert, AB, scored two goals and one assist while playing key role on the penalty kill.