Gold goes to Team USA at this year’s World Juniors, after the Americans were able to hand Canada their first loss of the tournament when it mattered most in a 2-0 finale.
There were great performances from across the US roster to reach the gold medal game and emerge on top, but really, it felt like an afterthought that Trevor Zegras was going to win the MVP.
From start to finish, the Anaheim Ducks prospect was a sensation at the World Juniors. We got a bit of a sneak peek at Zegras in last year’s World Juniors, when he made the roster as an 18-year-old, and he dominated this year in a starring role.
Zegras assisted on on the first goal of the game scored by Alex Turcotte and then potted one himself, raising his point total at this year’s World Juniors to a tournament-best 18 points. With a career total of 27 points across two World Juniors appearances, Zegras actually ties Jordan Schroeder (2009-10) for the Team USA record.
The craziest thing about this stat might be that Zegras recorded his 27 points in just 12 games, while Schroeder played in 19.
Only a handful of players have dominated at the World Juniors like this before — among Canadians, for example, Eric Lindros is the only player to eclipse 27 points with a career total of 31 — so Zegras will certainly go down as one of the World Juniors greats.
Selected with the ninth overall pick by Anaheim in the 2019 draft, we’re sure that fans can’t wait to see this guy in the pros. The guy is electric.
