By The Numbers: McTavish’s world junior dominance

Seventeen-year-old Connor Bedard was the focus of Canada’s roster heading into the summer edition of the World Junior Championships in Edmonton. Following an undefeated round-robin, Bedard’s linemate Mason McTavish has stolen the spotlight, leading the tournament in points and spearheading a Canadian offence that has scored 27 goals over four games.

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McTavish, selected third overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft, has seven goals and 13 points through four games. While the 19-year-old likely won’t catch Peter Forsberg’s all-time tournament record of 31 points, his current pace puts him among the best Canadian performances in tournament history.  

At a current pace of 3.25 points per game, McTavish is on pace to reach 22 points, if Canada is able to reach the gold medal game and play a full seven-game schedule. 22 points would place McTavish fourth all time in tournament scoring, behind Forsberg (1993), Markus Naslund (24 points in 1993), and Raimo Helminen (24 points in 1984).

The Swiss-born Canadian’s current pace gives him a chance to catch Naslund’s all-time record of 13 goals in seven games, which he set in 1993. McTavish is averaging 1.75 goals per game, putting on pace for 12 goals over a full seven-game schedule, which would equal Pavel Bure (1991) and Vladimir Ruzicka (1982) for second most all-time.

McTavish’s next chance to vault up the all-time tournament rankings comes tonight in a quarterfinal game against Switzerland.