Image courtesy from the Canadian Press

Devon Levi shocked the world with Team Canada; now it is his time to take on the NCAA.

The goaltender was not a household name in Canada going into the 2021 World Junior Championship, but he certainly left as one. Levi put up more than remarkable numbers, shattering record after record. Levi left the tournament as the second Canadian goaltender ever to record three shutouts in a tournament. He was also the first ever Northeastern player to join the Team Canada squad. 

“It’s not something I think about a lot or get too caught up in,” Levi said, “I wasn’t playing to break any records. I was playing for the team, I was playing for the country…but it is still pretty cool.”

A deeper dive into his statistics further supports his impressive play, as he registered a .964 save percentage and a 0.75 goals against average. In hindsight, playing the Quebec native gave the Canadian squad the best opportunity to win. However, going into the tournament, he was rather unknown. Levi understands that the coaches took a risk in playing him.

“I have to give a huge thanks to my coaches for believing in me. It definitely wasn’t an easy move for them to be able to believe in a guy that’s coming from college and… has been under their radar,” said Levi.

But, any sporting experience is not defined by its statistics. It is created by the memories of the time, on and off the ice. In the midst of a global pandemic, those happy memories are far more infrequent.

Levi’s time at the tournament was kicked off with a quarantine, something not especially conducive to athletic training or fond memories. Once he was able to get out of quarantine, the good times started rolling for the Canadians.

“Once quarantined ended, I think everyone was just so excited to see each other and get back to being a team,” Levi said, “everyone got super close.”

The connection shined in their on-ice product.

In Canada’s first appearance in the tournament, they faced off against the Germans. Canada was the clear favorite, but their victory was far more extreme than expected. They ousted the German team 16-2, a score that resembles a strange football game more than a hockey game.

Levi and the Canadians would continue on a fantastic run. During the entire tournament, the netminder would let only five pucks past him; on average, he allowed approximately one goal per 80 minutes.

The chatter about Levi’s fantastic play even reached the NHL community.

I remember shooting on a 14 year old @DevonLevi33. Kid would take hundreds of shots and breakaways from nhl players after skating with his own team. He had a great attitude and competed like hell. It’s no wonder he’s doing so well. I couldn’t even score on him then!!@lsllionsaaa pic.twitter.com/D8Tm2XMmTy

— Alex Killorn (@Akillorn19) January 5, 2021

“I was super lucky that they came to our training at our rink,” Levi said of the experience taking shots from the Lightning forward. “My coaches asked me to come on the ice and it was a great challenge to be able to face those shots at 14-years-old.”

Levi’s next challenge is college hockey. This upcoming season, Levi will be joining Hockey East’s Northeastern Huskies.

However, due an injury sustained in the tournament, Levi will not be able to join the Huskies squad immediately. According to Levi on January 22, he’s taking his injury “day by day.”

John Smark