In the hockey world, the ultimate prize is the Stanley Cup. Every hockey player, young and old, dreams of one day hoisting Lord Stanley, but the dream isn't attainable for everyone. That's why these young players hold onto every opportunity they get to compete for gold. In the end, some will never understand that feeling.
We've covered a lot of bases during the first three parts of this series on the World Junior Championships. Most of the stories end the same, with players coming just short of reaching the top of the mountain. However, for these four Hurricanes, they know what it's like to make it to the end of the line and come out on top.
Gostisbehere, Reilly and the Americans' dream run in 2013
Group B at the 2013 World Juniors was a who's who of future NHL stars. Canada boasted a pair of future #1 picks in Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Russia had one too (Nail Yakupov), but a pair of Lightning greats, Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy, are better examples. The Americans had plenty of familiar names, but their star power was dwarfed by the other two.
Among the Americans present were future Carolina teammates Shayne Gostisbehere and Mike Reilly. Representing Philadelphia and Columbus, respectively, the U.S. knew they had their work cut out for them in the group stage. The United States split their games in the group stage, losing to Canada and Russia by 2-1 finals, forcing them to win their way through the playoffs.
Paired against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, the Americans dominated, 7-0, setting up a rematch with the Canadians. This time, the U.S. got the jump on them, easing into the Gold Medal Game with a 5-1 win. To wrap it up, they beat Group A winner Sweden, 3-1, to capture the gold. Gostisbehere finished with a goal and an assist, while Reilly added a goal and two helpers.
In front of his home country, Sebastian Aho achieved a dream
With the 2016 World Juniors being played in Finland, there was added pressure on the group to bring home the gold. This Finnish team had a few future Hurricanes on it. They were captained by Mikko Rantanen. The tournament's leading scorer was Jesse Puljujarvi, who suited up for a few games, as did Aleksei Saarela. However, the big fish, pun intended, for the Canes is, obviously, Sebastian Aho.
Playing on a line with Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine, Aho was in a perfect spot to thrive. In group play, Aho had three goals and six assists, helping the Finns to a second-place finish in the group behind only Russia. His good times kept rolling in the quarterfinals. In a highly entertaining game against Canada, Aho had a goal and two helpers, including the secondary assist on the game-winner, to win 6-5.
After Rantanen, Roope Hintz, and Kasperi Kapanen led them to victory over Sweden in the semifinals, Finland skated into a rematch with Russia for the gold. Avenging their 6-4 loss in group play, Finland put it together. Aho scored a goal and added an assist, and Kapanen scored the OT winner to win the gold. Aho finished second in the tournament with 14 points, and his five goals were tied for third.
Logan Stankoven's journey is twice as nice
Before his time as a Hurricane, Logan Stankoven had the distinction of representing Canada twice at the World Juniors. Each time, the result was the same. Not only did Stankoven win gold twice. He was a major part of both victories for the Canadians, combining for seven goals and 21 points during his appearances in 2022 and 2023.
Canada faced little resistance from their group in 2022, winning it with ease. In the playoffs, Stankoven was in the thick of it. He had two goals and an assist against Switzerland in the quarters. Stankoven added a goal and a helper in the semis, too. His only point in the Gold Medal Game ended it, setting up Kent Johnson in overtime to claim the gold. His ten points were tied for fourth.
The path to repeating in 2023 was bumpier. After losing to Czechia in their opener, the Canadians won out, including a pair of overtime victories in the quarters and the Gold Medal Game. He earned points in both the quarterfinals and the semifinals before the Canadians topped Czechia to take home the gold again. Stankoven recorded 11 points in this tournament, tying him for fourth again.