Nic Petan is now a world champion.
The North Delta native, and member of the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL), played a huge role for Canada at the recent World Junior Hockey Championships in Toronto and Montreal while helping the host nation to the gold medal.
Canada edged Russia 5-4 in the gold medal game Monday night before more than 19,000 fans at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. It was Canada’s seventh win in as many games at the 10-team tournament.
Petan was one of seven players on the Canadian team who played at last year’s World Junior Hockey Championship in Malmo, Sweden, a squad which settled for fourth place after a 2-1 loss to Russia in thye bronze medal game.
Goaltender Zach Fucale of the Halifax Mooseheads, defenceman Joshua Morrisey of the Kelowna Rockets, and forwards Frederik Gauther of the Rimouski Oceanic, Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters, Curtis Lazar of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice were the other returnees.
Petan tied for the team scoring lead with 11 points, including four goals, in seven games. McDavid and Reinhart were the other Canadians to total 11 points.
Listed as five-foot-nine, 170-pounds, Petan had his most productive game in the semifinal round, scoring three goals in a 5-1 victory over Slovakia while playing on a line with Lazar and McDavid.
“Obviously, with those two, you have to work hard,” Petan told TSN after the game. “They’re fast players. I played a little bit with them last year on the powerplay. So there was a bit of chemistry, so when I was moved up there I was excited and got going right away.”
The 19-year-old forward will rejoin the Winterhawks this week. In 26 WHL games this season, Petan has six goals and 27 assists for 33 points. He missed Portland’s first seven games of the season while in camp with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. He was drafted by the Jets in the second round, 43rd overall, in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft after netting a career-best 46 goals and 120 points in the 2012-13 season when he shared the WHL scoring title.
