John Tavares is one of the veteran leaders of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it wasn’t so long ago that we watched him as a teenage prodigy. Tavares entered the national imagination as a 15-year-old gaining exceptional status in the Ontario Hockey League, but he truly became a household name with an outstanding performance during the 2009 World Juniors, where he was named tournament MVP. It’s been 16 years since Tavares led Canada to its fifth consecutive gold medal — the second in a row for Tavares — and the passage of time naturally allows us to revisit his iconic performance. Tavares was a man on a mission, after previously recording four goals and five points in seven games at the previous tournament. He was widely expected to be one of the best players in the 2009 event, while trying to maintain his top prospect status over Sweden’s Victor Hedman for the upcoming 2009 NHL Draft. One of the most-discussed prospects of all-time, Tavares’ time in the spotlight led scouts to look for apparent flaws, while many debated the inherent value of selecting a future All-Star defenceman over a top-line offensive threat when it came to the merits of roster construction. Before the tournament even started, Tavares scored a wondergoal against Slovakia in an 7-0 exhibition rout, collecting his own rebound at the side of the net, juggling the puck on his backhand, before batting it in.
“Let’s face it, to be able to score a goal like that is a special skill and he has that skill,” Canada head coach Pat Quinn said post-game. “I hope he has got a couple more in there that are the important ones when we need to have them.”
Quinn’s assessment was a tidy bit of foreshadowing, as Tavares was constantly clutch throughout the ensuing weeks. Tavares hit the ground running, scoring Canada’s opening two goals against the Czech Republic, while adding a primary assist on Angelo Esposito’s marker, which gave his team a 3-0 lead. He built some solid chemistry with Jordan Eberle on the power play, a connection that would pay dividends at the most crucial point of the event.
Canada mauled an overmatched Kazakhstan to the tune of a 15-0 victory, then defeated Germany 5-1, setting up a titanic New Year’s Eve showdown against the United States. It exceeded the hype, and ended up as one of the most famous games in the history of the World Juniors. At the time, the top seed from each round robin pool received an automatic bye into the semifinals, while the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds from each group would square off in the quarterfinals, providing an additional incentive to the already heated rivalry.