Vancouver Giants forward Cameron Schmidt had three goals and one assist in five games as Canada won their 25th all-time gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup on Saturday night, Aug. 10 in Edmonton, defeating Czechia 2-1.
Canada's win represented a three-peat, after winning gold in 2022 and 2023, their 25th all-time gold medal.
Schmidt scored the first goal of Canada's game against the U.S.A. on Friday, Aug. 9, on the way to a 5-1 team victory.
He also scored twice in a span of 4:07 to help Canada to a 5-1 win over Slovakia on the second day of the 2024 Cup on Tuesday night, Aug. 6, When Schmidt was named player of the game.
The kid doesn’t just score goals, he scores BIG goals!
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) August 10, 2024
Schmidt’s 3rd of the tournament gives @HockeyCanada a 1-0 lead in the semis!#HlinkaGretzkyCup pic.twitter.com/IxCJzdbhVe
Schmidt opened the scoring under four minutes into the contest when he banged home a rebound off a point shot from Tri-City Americans defenceman Jackson Smith.
With exactly 12 minutes remaining in the first period, Caleb Desnoyers of the Moncton Wildcats fed Schmidt a pass on the power play from behind the net that Schmidt one-timed home to make it 2-0 for Canada.
In the gold medal game, in the last minute of the opening frame, Schmidt set up Caleb Desnoyers in front of the net to extend Canada’s lead to 2-0.
It was an impressive performance, and well-timed.
The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is an annual summer U18 tournament that is the first opportunity for scouts to see NHL draft-eligible prospects in their draft year, 10 months ahead of the draft.
Schmidt was selected seventh overall by the Vancouver Giants in the first round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
In 13 games with the Rink Academy Kelowna U15 program, the 5'8" Prince George, B.C. native recorded 25 goals and added 16 assists for 41 points, and added 38 penalty minutes. He also appeared in one game for the U16 team and three games with the U18 team, recording two goals with each team.
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