Marner opens up about Canada's play in World Juniors

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: CLAUS ANDERSON / GETTY IMAGES
Knights' captain Mitchell Marner gives the Interrobang the inside scoop on what went wrong in the World Juniors Tournament.

While team Canada traditionally has a reputation of emerging victorious at the World Junior Tournament, this year they fell short of that expectation. For the first time in 18 years, Canada did not make it past the quarterfinal round after being defeated by Finland 6-5.

Over the course of the game, team Canada took numerous penalties, consequently struggling to combat the ensuing powerplays. That paired with poor goaltending, resulted in team Canada’s elimination from the tournament.

Despite the underwhelming outcome, London Knights’ centre Mitchell Marner acted as team Canada’s spark, being one of only three players to average more than one point per game.

Although the team suffered as a whole, Marner was more concerned with his individual performance.

“I thought we had chances. We could of played a lot better, personally I could have played a lot better myself, and I take a lot of blame. I should of played better in most of the games but that’s how tournaments go sometimes.”

In regards to the style of hockey experienced at the World Juniors, Marner admitted that he felt some necessary adjustments to the Olympic- sized ice, as playing with the Knights has made him accustomed to an NHL-sized rink.

Resuming the season with his OHL team in London, it is apparent that Marner feels comfortable to be playing back on home ice in front of his devoted fans.

“Our crowd is very electric every night, so it’s fun playing in front of them…we’re lucky.”

After the 7-goal victory against the Saginaw Spirit on Jan. 15, it is evident that the Knights had exhibited superior chemistry, which Marner was more than willing to comment on.

“Our team chemistry has been amazing. Everyone’s been buying in and it’s been a lot of fun.”

The Knights managed get on the board four times in the second period alone in the game against the Spirit and continued to dominate their opponents into the third, holding the Spirit to just 13 registered shots on net after 40 minutes of play.

Knights’ Aaron Berisha, Max Jones and Christian Dvorak each had a pair of goals, while Leafs prospect Marner had a goal and an assist of his own.

This was the fourth game back and third home game for the Knights’ captain Marner, after returning from playing with team Canada.

And both his time at the World Juniors and his numbers achieved on the Knights reinforce his value as the fourth overall pick in the NHL’s 2015 draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. With only 30 OHL games played this season, Marner is averaging more than two points per game, with 25 goals and 39 assists so far. His 64-point total puts Marner in second behind centre Christian Dvorak, who has put up 75 points over the course of 32 games.

The Knights are currently in second in the Midwest division behind the Erie Otters, and they take on the first place team at home on Friday, January 29th. The Fanshawe Student Union has reserved special box seats for this game. Tickets can be purchased at the Biz Booth at Fanshawe.