Gangwon 2024: Western Hockey League top draft pick Daxon Rudolph ready for gold chase with Canada

It may come as a surprise, but Canada has never won ice hockey gold at a Winter Youth Olympic Games with two bronze and one silver in the three tournaments held to date.
Dixon Rudolph Gangon is set to change that in 2024.

The top draft pick last year in the Major-Junior Western Hockey League (one of three leagues at the top level for under-21 players in Canada), the 15-year-old aims to be part of the first Canadian team to win hockey gold at the Youth Olympics. .
"We saw it," Rudolph told Olympics.com's official podcast in an interview before departing for Gangwon. "Our goal here as a squad is just to be the first to win gold. That's what every team wants to do, so we've got to do whatever we can to get it."
It may be an under-16 tournament, but the setup is second to none in Canada's quest for the coveted top step of the podium. "We're treated like professionals," Rudolph says. "There are a lot of mental performance coaches, things like that. Everyone's got the information they need (to be successful).

"Offensive defenceman" Rudolph on Canada's obsession with ice hockey

Ice hockey is about as close to a national religion or obsession as you can get in Canada. Sidney Crosby's famous overtime winner in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games final, a literal golden goal, is still talked about as a seminal memory in Canadian hockey history.

"This is a historic moment for hockey in Canada," Rudolph says of an event that occurred when he was not yet two years old but still has a lasting impression on him, like many other Canadians. Is.

"I mean, it's the golden age, right? Everybody knows about it, everybody talks about it, it's a huge moment for our country."

So despite the fact that Canada hasn't won a Youth Olympic Games title, even at the under-16 level, Rudolph would love to finally go gold.

"I'm just looking forward to more moments like this (Crosby's winner)."

The blueliner, listed at 6-foot-1 (1.85m) and 185 pounds (84kg), aims to contribute on both ends of the ice in his team's quest for its first gold medal.

“I'm an aggressive defenseman, so I like to move the puck, move my feet, and get involved in some kind of offense, because that's the fun part of hockey, right?

"Everyone likes to score goals and that's what I try to do, set up my team-mates and score some myself."

As his stats show this year, the Alberta native has 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 21 games in his U-18 Pre-League this season, despite playing on the blue line for three of his years. Playing against bigger players. .

"Surreal" YOG call brings together first-time teammates

Wearing a maple leaf on his chest will be something special for Rudolph, who is one of 18 junior players from across Canada to make the final roster.

Therefore, there will also be an opportunity to visit Asia and the Republic of Korea for the first time.

"It's going to be great. I'm excited, I think we all are," he says. "Most of us haven't been there. I certainly haven't, so it's going to be cool and it's going to be different. Taking it all in and just taking it in and really enjoying the Olympic Village and just the atmosphere. Yes it's going there.

"It's almost surreal to this moment. There are so many top players in Canada, and to be selected in the top 18 is just an incredible feeling."

As big a country as Canada is, it's no surprise that many of the team's players will be playing against each other for the first time in Gangwon. The mannerisms and quarrels before their departure may have been the first time many of them had met.

“There are seven Western (Canada) guys on the squad, so these are guys I knew before I came in,” Rudolph says of his new teammates. "It's nice to see what different talent is out east, in Ontario, in the Maritimes and things like that. It's nice to meet new people."

And, even if Canada leaves Gangwon with the gold – to do so, they have to come through a group with Finland and host Korea Republic before the semi-finals and final – there's even a chance to pull off a sweater. In which it is said. Good enough for Canada Rudolph on this one.

"Every kid wants to wear a maple leaf on their chest," he reflects. "Everyone is proud of him. And it's a huge moment for everyone in the squad.