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World Juniors: Thomas Chabot helps lead Canada to semifinal

2015 NHL Draft - Portraits

SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 26: Thomas Chabot poses for a portrait after being selected 18th overall by the Ottawa Senators during the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center on June 26, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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After a disappointing showing at the 2016 World Junior championships that saw them fail to get out of the quarterfinals, Canada is headed back to the semifinal in 2017 thanks to a 5-3 win over the Czech Republic on Monday night that probably was not as close as it seemed.

Canada will play Sweden on Wednesday in Montreal. The winner of that game will play the winner of the United States-Russia game in the Final. The United States advanced to its semifinal with a close win over Switzerland.

Ottawa Senators prospect Thomas Chabot, a first-round pick in 2015, was probably Canada’s best player on Monday with a goal and an assist, while Julien Gauthier, a first-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016, added a pair of goals in the win.

Chabot was especially dominant from the blue line logging a game high 25 minutes and finishing as a plus-three. His assist on Gauthier’s second goal came after he made a fantastic play at the top of the slot to gain control of a loose puck, hop over a sliding Czech Republic defender, then move the puck to Kale Clague.

Chabot started the season with the Senators and appeared in one game before being sent back to the Saint John’s Sea Dogs of the QMJHL in early November. He has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 15 games since returning. If he develops the way the Senators hope they could have one heck of a puck-moving tandem on their blue line with him and Erik Karlsson.

Even though the Czech Republic managed to keep the game close on Monday this still never really felt like one that Canada was in any serious danger of losing.

They dominated the game territorially from the start and more than doubled the Czech Republic on the shot chart, owning a commanding 41-19 advantage by the end of the game.

Canada goalie Connor Ingram had a tough start to the game allowing two goals on the first six shots he faced, including one that was the result of a fortunate bounce for the Czech Republic when the puck hit a referee in front of the net. That, more than anything else, kept the game closer than it probably should have been given the way the two teams played.