17 CHL Players Earn Medals at the 2024 World Juniors
January 5, 2024 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL) News Release
TORONTO, ON - Today, in Gothenburg, Sweden, 17 players from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) proudly took home medals at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. Headlining the list was Gavin Hayes (Flint Firebirds / OHL) and Sam Hillebrandt (Barrie Colts / OHL) of the United States who helped their country defeat Sweden 6-2 in the gold medal game - giving the U.S. its sixth World Junior title in tournament history. Carey Terrance (Erie Otters / OHL) was on Team USA's extended roster as an injury replacement.
Earlier in the day, during the bronze medal game, Czechia featured 12 CHL players on the ice, as they rallied from behind to beat Finland 8-5 to secure third place - giving Czechia consecutive medals at the World Juniors for the first time in 23 years. Tomáš Hamara (Brantford Bulldogs / OHL) was credited with the game-winner, Jakub Vondras (Sudbury Wolves / OHL) made 17 saves to secure the victory, all while Ondrej Becher (Prince George Cougars / WHL) led all scorers in the bronze medal game with a hat-trick and a pair of assists.
Robin Sapousek (Victoria Royals / WHL), a 13th CHL player to represent Czechia at this event, played in all of his country's round-robin games before an injury forced him to miss the rest of the tournament, including today's contest. Meanwhile, Simon Slavicek (Flint Firebirds / OHL) was on Czechia's extended roster as an injury replacement.
In total, there were 63 CHL players who either played in the tournament or were a part of their country's 23-man roster (see complete list of players below), which represented over 25% of the players who participated in the 2024 World Juniors - the most of any development hockey league in the world.
Among those from the CHL who competed in the event, Matyas Melovsky (Baie-Comeau Drakkar / QMJHL) of Czechia led the way in scoring with 11 points (1G-10A) in seven games, Czechia's Becher (Prince George Cougars / WHL) was next with 10 points (3G-7A), while both Filip Mešár (Kitchener Rangers / OHL) and Servac Petrovsky (Owen Sound Attack / OHL) tallied nine points in five games as members of Team Slovakia. Canada's Mathis Rousseau (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL) topped all CHL netminders with a 2.00 GAA (ranked 3rd at 2024 WJHC) and a .912 SV% (ranked 4th at 2024 WJHC) over five starts.
Additionally, among the top three players of the tournament chosen for each country, there were seven CHL skaters selected including: Maveric Lamoureux (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL) and Denton Mateychuk (Moose Jaw Warriors / WHL) for Canada; Marek Alscher (Portland Winterhawks / WHL) for Czechia; Niks Fenenko (Baie-Comeau Drakkar / QMJHL) and Sandis Vilmanis (Sarnia Sting / OHL) for Latvia; Petrovsky (Owen Sound Attack / OHL) for Slovakia; and Rodwin Dionicio (Saginaw Spirit / OHL) for Switzerland.
The 63 CHL players included a representative from nine of the tournament's 10 participating countries, along with featuring 25 players from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), 19 from the Western Hockey League (WHL) and 19 from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
63 CHL PLAYERS PARTICIPATED IN THE 2024 WORLD JUNIORS
*on extended roster as injury replacement
Canada (21)
G - Scott Ratzlaff (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL)
G - Mathis Rousseau (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL)
G - Samuel St-Hilaire (Sherbrooke Phoenix / QMJHL)
D - Oliver Bonk (London Knights / OHL)
D - Jorian Donovan (Brantford Bulldogs / OHL)
D - Jake Furlong (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL)
D - Maveric Lamoureux (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL)
D - Denton Mateychuk (Moose Jaw Warriors / WHL)
D - Ty Nelson (North Bay Battalion / OHL)
D - Noah Warren (Victoriaville Tigres / QMJHL)
F - Owen Allard (Soo Greyhounds / OHL)
F - Owen Beck (Peterborough Petes / OHL)
F - Easton Cowan (London Knights / OHL)
F - Nate Danielson (Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL)
F - Jordan Dumais (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL)
F - Jagger Firkus (Moose Jaw Warriors / WHL)*
F - Conor Geekie (Wenatchee Wild / WHL)
F - Fraser Minten (Saskatoon Blades / WHL)
F - Matthew Poitras (Guelph Storm / OHL)
F - Carson Rehkopf (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)
F - Matthew Savoie (Wenatchee Wild / WHL)
F - Brayden Yager (Moose Jaw Warriors / WHL)
Czechia (13)
G - Jakub Vondras (Sudbury Wolves / OHL)
D - Marek Alscher (Portland Winterhawks / WHL)
D - Tomas Cibulka (Val-d'Or Foreurs / QMJHL)
D - Tomáš Hamara (Brantford Bulldogs / OHL)
D - Matteo Koci (Kamloops Blazers / WHL)
F - Ondrej Becher (Prince George Cougars / WHL)
F - Jakub Hujer (Rimouski Océanic / QMJHL)
F - Matyas Melovsky (Baie-Comeau Drakkar / QMJHL)
F - Dominik Rymon (Everett Silvertips / WHL)
F - Eduard Šalé (Barrie Colts / OHL)
F - Robin Sapousek (Victoria Royals / WHL)
F - Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit / OHL)
F - Simon Slavicek (Flint Firebirds / OHL)*
F - Adam Zidlicky (Mississauga Steelheads / OHL)
Finland (3)
D - Arttu Kärki (Soo Greyhounds / OHL)
F - Kasper Halttunen (London Knights / OHL)
F - Rasmus Kumpulainen (Oshawa Generals / OHL)
Germany (3)
D - Norwin Panocha (Chicoutimi Saguenéens / QMJHL)
F - Luca Hauf (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL)
F - Julius Sumpf (Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL)
Latvia (6)
G - Aksels Ozols (Charlottetown Islanders / QMJHL)
D - Peteris Bulans (Chicoutimi Saguenéens / QMJHL)
D - Niks Fenenko (Baie-Comeau Drakkar / QMJHL)
F - Kristers Ansons (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL)*
F - Rodzers Bukarts (Wenatchee Wild / WHL)
F - Eriks Mateiko (Saint John Sea Dogs / QMJHL)
F - Sandis Vilmanis (Sarnia Sting / OHL)
Norway (2)
F - Casper Haugen Evensen (Victoria Royals / WHL)
F - Sander Wold (Gatineau Olympiques / QMJHL)
Slovakia (9)
D - Viliam Kmec (Prince George Cougars / WHL)
F - Frantisek Dej (Sherbrooke Phoenix / QMJHL)
F - Dalibor Dvorský (Sudbury Wolves / OHL)
F - Samuel Honzek (Vancouver Giants / WHL)
F - Roman Kukumberg (Sarnia Sting / OHL)
F - Filip Mešár (Kitchener Rangers / OHL)
F - Martin Misiak (Erie Otters / OHL)
F - Servac Petrovsky (Owen Sound Attack / OHL)
F - Peter Repcik (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL)
Switzerland (4)
G - Ewan Huet (Regina Pats / WHL)
D - Rodwin Dionicio (Saginaw Spirit / OHL)
F - Leo Braillard (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL)
F - Miles Müller (Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL)
United States (2)
G - Sam Hillebrandt (Barrie Colts / OHL)
F - Gavin Hayes (Flint Firebirds / OHL)
F - Carey Terrance (Erie Otters / OHL)*
Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2024
- Lardis Lasers a Pair But Dogs Turned Back in Sudbury - Brantford Bulldogs
- Firebirds Winners At Home Over Peterborough, 3-1 - Flint Firebirds
- Sztuska Stops 34/36 as Petes Fall Short Against Firebirds - Peterborough Petes
- Gavin Hayes Wins Gold with Team USA at World Junior Championships - Flint Firebirds
- 17 CHL Players Earn Medals at the 2024 World Juniors - OHL
- Game Preview: Spitfires Visit Erie on Saturday - Windsor Spitfires
- Bloom Reassigned to OHL by Canucks, Subsequently Signed by Saginaw - Saginaw Spirit
- Spirit Acquire Two Picks from Mississauga for Dean Loukus - Saginaw Spirit
- Firebirds Host Petes on Friday Night - Flint Firebirds
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