Fraser Minten scores as Canada downs Latvia at world juniors, improve to 2-0
By Steven Ellis
6 months agoFraser Minten scored his first goal for Canada in a meaningful tournament game, with the captain scoring the sixth goal in a 10-0 win over Latvia on Wednesday.
The goal came at 42:14, with Minten taking Ty Nelson’s feed to score from a distance to help Canada extend their advantage. It was the first goal by either Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, with Easton Cowan still seeking his first goal after two games.
It was a solid night for Minten, who is more of the defensive specialist on his line. Conor Geekie scored a pair of goals, while Jordan Dumais was one of Canada’s best play drivers. Minten had a shot in the first and then scored on his first chance in the third period, adding to an overall solid two-way game from the 19-year-old.
“He’s not flashy, and he’s never going to be a big point-producer,” a scout told The Leafs Nation during the game. “But he’s not going to get you killed in your own zone, either. There’s a reason he’s on a line with two goal-scorers.”
Cowan had nothing to show for on the scoresheet for a second straight game, but had three shots and played some decent shutdown hockey while alongside Matthew Savoie and Matthew Poitras on Canada’s second line.
Other Canadian goal scorers came from Geekie (two), Brayden Yager, Matthew Wood, Carson Rehkopf (two), Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Poitras.
Canada will get Thursday off to get some rest before a big game against Sweden on Friday at 1:30 PM ET. It’s an important game, with it possible that the winner could take top spot in Group A when everything is said and done for the preliminary round on Sunday evening. The Canadians will wrap things up against Germany on Sunday at 1:30 PM, but as the Germans showed in their 4-3 win over Finland today, they’re no slouches.
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