Leivo Leads the Way
After completing a four-game round robin format at the JUNIOR CLUB WORLD CUP in Omsk, Siberia, the Sudbury Wolves emerged as the top scoring team in the tournament. The Wolves have scored the most number of goals – 20, due in large part to their convincing 9-1 thrashing of Team Finland in the opening game of the tournament. JOSH LEIVO is a big reason that the Wolves have had so much success offensively. The 19 year old Leafs prospect has 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points. Of note, three of Leivo’s four goals are short-handed. All three short-handed goals were scored against Team Denmark in the Wolves 7-3 victory.
MICHAEL KANTOR and MATHEW CAMPAGNA finished tied for 7th place in tournament scoring with five points each. KANTOR got off to a great start in the tournament. CAMPAGNA, 18, is showing the skill and vision that made the Mississauga native the Wolves’ 1st round selection in 2010. CAMPAGNA has five assists to lead that Wolves in that category. LEIVO, also leads the tournament with a +6 rating. The Wolves will need all of the offence that they can muster as they play the best defensive team in the tournament. TEAM BELARUS only allowed 5 goals against in four games.
“We watched TEAM BELARUS play in the opening game of the tournament and they are a very quick team” notes Wolves’ Head Coach Trent Cull. “They have lots of speed up front and they back-check very well. They will be buzzing our defence with an aggressive forecheck so we will have to counter that with some quick outlets and smart plays by our defencemen. They have one of the best goaltenders in the tournament so we will also need sharp around the net and create some traffic in front.”
It will be the best offensive team playing against the best defensive team as the Wolves represent Canada against Belarus Saturday afternoon at the OMSK ARENA.
