| Benjamin Gaudreau | North Bay Trappers Midget | GNML | G | 6’2″ | 165 | Sarnia Sting | 2019 | Corbeil, ON | 2003 | 2020-2021: C+ |
U18 World Championships: Canada vs Russia, May 2021: Gaudreau faced twenty nine Russian shots in the Gold Medal game and most of them were coming at him through screens. As usual the Russians showed puck poise and tried to out wait Gaudreau by forcing him to get on his toe and lean, but he stayed focused keeping his hips square to the puck and his center of balance low. He was quick laterally and showed excellent anticipation on Royal Road attempts. There were times that the Canadians were scrambling in their defensive zone coverage, but Gaudreau was a calming presence and was able to get timely whistles to help his teammates settle down and secure the Gold Medal.
U18 World Championships: Canada vs Sweden, May 2021: It looked as though Team Sweden had a scouting report that recommended shooting from poor angles on line rushes to generate secondary scoring opportunities off of rebounds, but it never seemed to happen. Gaudreau was excellent at controlling his rebounds by sending them to the corners or not allowing them at all. He communicated well with his defensemen on dump-ins to ensure clean breakouts, often times passing the puck to his left so his defensive core could utilize an “D to D to the weakside” to avoid pressure. The lone goal came while Team Canada was killing a penalty on a perfect one time feed on a cross box pass. Gaudreau looked quick and composed while fighting to see through traffic.
OHL Gold Cup, May 2019: The top rated goaltender in the tournament, Ben Gaudreau (G, Team NOHA, 2003), a first round draft pick of the Sarnia Sting was a standout in game 1 of the tournament but was injured and did not play after game one.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images