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At the end of the group stage, the top-scoring defenceman from the Bratislava Group was Canadian Calen Addison with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points. After the group’s last game, a 6-1 win over Slovakia, he spoke about his own game, the team, and looked ahead to Friday’s semi-final against Sweden.
Addison doesn’t seem like the likeliest candidate to put up those kinds of offensive numbers on a team that includes players ranked as first rounders in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft such as Jared McIsaac, Ryan Merkley, Ty Smith and Jett Woo. However, Addison credits the talent around him for his success.
“We have such a great team out there,” the Lethbridge Hurricanes d-man gushed. “My teammates are the most skilled in the country and you can’t do it without them. The way they set me up out there just makes it possible to happen. Obviously I’m having a strong tournament, I feel personally, but again, it wouldn’t be able to happen without such skilled players on my team.”
Both of Addison’s goals in the tournament and two of his assists have come on the power play, which shows that coach Brent Kisio thinks highly enough of Addison to put him on the ice in those situations.
“When your power play’s going it can win you games, that’s just how it is in hockey,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s good to see the chemistry come so quick for our group in this tournament, where you’ve gotta be ready so fast … Yeah, our power play’s going and I’m just glad to be on, honestly, with such a great group of guys.”
After a day off on Thursday, Canada faces Sweden in the semi-finals. The game will be played in Bratislava, meaning it’s the Swedes who have to travel to meet the Canadians.
“For sure it’s a relief that we don’t have to travel to Bøeclav,” he admitted. “This is basically our home rink for the tournament, but we know they’re a strong team and we can’t take them lightly. We get a day off now and that’s good for us to get ready for the next day, but yeah, we definitely can’t take them lightly. They’re a good team and have a lot of good players, but we’ll be ready to go.”