 Canada is primed for a big week at the speed skating worlds | | | Canada’s collection of long track speed skaters might be as strong as ever, with legit medal contenders across multiple disciplines.
They’ll be put to the test at the world championships, which begin Thursday in the Netherlands. Live coverage of the event through Sunday will be available on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Women
Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valerie Maltais might form the most dominant team in Canada right now. The reigning Olympic team pursuit champions are unbeaten in three races this season, a feat they also achieved during the 2022 World Cup campaign. But another victory at worlds is far from guaranteed: the Netherlands placed second in the season-long standings with a pair of silvers, and Japan, which was third, crashed out of the Olympic final while holding a lead in the final lap.
Weidemann was Canada’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony in Beijing after collecting a medal of each colour. Now 27, the Ottawa native seemed prime for World Cup dominance. But it hasn’t quite played out that way, at least in individual events, with Weidemann climbing just two podiums all season, in each of her first two races. Even still, a consistent season left Weidemann ranked second overall in long distances. In case you missed it, we covered Weidemann in yesterday’s newsletter after she helped a younger speed skating Isabelle capture four medals at the Canada Games.
Blondin’s best event is the chaotic mass start, in which she finished worse than sixth just once all season and wound up leading the overall standings. You’ll likely see Blondin, who won mass-start silver at the Olympics, work alongside Maltais throughout the race, with the latter setting an early pace before the former makes her move in the final laps. Blondin and Maltais also placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the overall long distance standings.
Internationally, Dutch skater Irene Schouten is one to watch. Schouten, 30, won four medals, including three gold, at the Olympics. But she’s since admitted to mental and physical exhaustion stemming both from the buildup to Beijing and the attention she received after. Following a typically dominant start to the season, Schouten didn’t lace up her skates at either World Cup event in 2023.
Men
On the other hand, Quebec’s Laurent Dubreuil has been careful to manage expectations throughout his career. After missing the Olympic 500m podium by 3/100ths of a second despite being a favourite in the distance, Dubreuil took a bigger-picture view: “I was happy in life yesterday and I didn't have an Olympic medal so the situation for me is the same.” He maintained that perspective when he bounced back with silver in the 1,000m days later.
Dubreuil will compete in both distances at worlds, where he could line up next to good friend Yuma Murakami of Japan. The two trained together for seven weeks in Quebec over the summer, building on a bond that’d been paused due to the pandemic. “You can split my summer in two: before Yuma arrived it was bad and after it was good,” Dubreuil said. Dubreuil and Murakami are ranked 1-2 in the 500m, while the Canadian is also second in the 1,000m.
Meanwhile, Connor Howe of Canmore, Alta., is the relatively new kid on the block at 22 and without an Olympic medal. But Howe ranks second in the 1,500m — known as “the king of races” — and he won gold at the Heerenveen track in November. His role at worlds will be that of spoiler as he competes against 18-year-old American wunderkind Jordan Stolz and two-time reigning Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands.
Worlds will also be a homecoming of sorts for Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen, the two-time Olympic medallist who at 36 appears to have lost a step or two and no longer poses a major podium threat. Bloemen originally competed for the Netherlands, where he was born, before switching allegiances to Canada to escape the heavy internal competition of his birth country. | | |  | From left to right, Maltais, Blondin and Weidemann celebrate their team pursuit gold at the Beijing Olympics. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) | | | Quickly... | | | Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis resigned. The embattled executive announced his decision in the wake of a letter calling for the move from provincial and territorial leaders, which followed in the women’s and men’s national teams’ footsteps. Earlier this month, the women’s team protested for a new labour deal at the SheBelieves Cup and threatened to strike in April during its final truly competitive window before this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The Olympic champions are asking for the same World Cup backing that the men received going into Qatar last year. Meanwhile, the men’s team, which sat out a World Cup tuneup game of its own, is also searching for a new labour agreement that better reflects its rise in the international ranks. Bontis was a supporter of Canada Soccer’s deal with Canadian Soccer Business, the controversial agreement which has stifled funds coming into the organization despite unprecedented on-field success. Canadian sport minister Pascale St-Onge said she expects Bontis’ resignation to speed up labour negotiations with both teams. Read more about the ever-changing Canadian soccer landscape here.
Canada’s Megan Oldham captured silver at the ski slopestyle world championship. The 21-year-old rising star is now 2-for-2 at the marquee event after also winning bronze in her 2021 debut. Oldham, of Parry Sound, Ont., fell just 2/10ths of a point shy of her first major international victory, placing only behind 2022 Olympic champion Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland. Oldham also competes in big air, in which she placed fourth at both the 2021 worlds and 2022 Olympics. That event begins with qualification on Thursday before the medal round on Sunday at 1 a.m. ET, which will be carried live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Read more about Oldham’s silver medal here.
Connor McDavid is on another planet. The undisputed best player in the world scored his 50th goal of the season last night, marking the first time in his career he’s hit that milestone. It was also McDavid’s fourth straight two-goal game. The Oilers captain now leads Boston’s David Pastrnak by eight in the Rocket Richard race and teammate Leon Draisaitl by 26 (115-89) in the Art Ross race. He should run away with the MVP award as he continues trending toward one of the greatest non-Gretzky, non-Lemieux scoring seasons in league history. And yet the Oilers have now lost seven times in their past 10 games following a 3-2 defeat to the league-leading Bruins last night. Their playoff chances aren’t quite in peril in a weak Western Conference, but the urgency to take advantage of McDavid’s otherworldly season should not be dismissed. Meanwhile, Edmonton finally ended the Jesse Puljujarvi saga, shipping him to Carolina today. Watch McDavid’s 50th goal and read more about the Oilers’ loss to the Bruins here.
Patrick Kane is finally a New York Ranger, and the Leafs made yet another deal. The longtime Chicago forward had been rumoured for a while to be headed to the Big Apple, but salary-cap constraints meant the deal couldn’t be completed until today. The reported package heading back to Chicago is a second-round pick that turns into a first if the Rangers reach the conference final in 2024 or 2025, plus an additional fourth rounder. Armed with a no-movement clause, Kane had full control of his destination, where he’ll be reunited with ex-linemate Artemi Panarin. At 34, Kane’s no longer the superstar he once was, but he still has 45 points in 54 games on a terrible Chicago team this season. Toronto, meanwhile, reportedly traded young defenceman Rasmus Sandin to Washington for another cheaper d-man in Erik Gustafsson, plus a first-round pick. As of our publish time, neither trade was official. The trade deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. ET. Track all the latest moves here. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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