Defence leads Canada offence in Hlinka Gretzky Cup tournament opener

Photo credit: Andy Devlin / Hockey Canada

There was no shortage of offence Monday night for Canada in its 10-0 win over Switzerland at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

And while Victoria’s Cole Reschny paced Canada with a five-point (2G, 3A) effort, it was Canada’s defencemen who stole the headlines.

The team’s blueliners scored five of the first seven goals as Canada built a healthy lead in their tournament opener.

“It’s great to get offence from the back end,” said Chicoutimi d-man Alex Huang. “I certainly wasn’t expecting that right off the bat.

“We have great defencemen and forwards that compliment each other really well and today it was the defenceman that got great scoring chances and we were able to bury them.”

Canada captain and Erie blueliner Matthew Schaefer had two goals and an assist while Huang and Guelph’s Quinn Beauchesne also had three points (1G, 2A) each. Swift Current’s Peyton Kettles scored while Everett’s Jackson Smith tallied an assist. In all, Canada defencemen contributed 11 points in the win.

“We have a pretty good offensive d-core,” Schaefer said. “We know our D can get involved in the offensive zone if we need but we were really good offensively [tonight].”

Schaefer’s first goal – that made it 5-0 Canada 7:01 into the second – was a thing of beauty as he skipped around two Swiss defencemen before burying a backhander past Matia Birchler.

“I remember getting the puck and going down the wall and backhanding it and it went in and I look up and I see my brother jump out of his seat,” Schaefer said with a smile.

Captain Schaefer with the moves! 🕺 #HlinkaGretzkyCup | @ErieOtters pic.twitter.com/7232i0gC1g

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) August 6, 2024

Schaefer has created a bit of a knack of finding offence for Canada. In his rookie OHL season he scored three times with Erie – and will certainly have a much bigger offensive impact in 2024-25 – but has scored four goals internationally across his last three tournaments.

Huang’s offence is no secret on the other hand; among QMJHL rookie defencemen, the 17-year-old ranked tied first with eight goals and second with 36 points in 2023-24. His 19 power play assists were also tied first among all Q rookies.

And while the focus was on goalscoring Monday night, both Huang and Schaefer were quick to praise goaltender Jack Ivankovic who turned away all 20 shots he faced in the win.

“He’s exceptional every single game,” Huang said of the Brampton goaltender. “He’s a wall for us and we try to do our best to make the job easier for him but we know that in the most important moments he’s going to step up for us.”