Sabres at World Juniors | Johnson, USA win gold medal

Ryan Johnson is returning to the University of Minnesota with a gold medal.
The Sabres prospect skated 16:14 in Team USA's 2-0 victory over Canada on Tuesday in the final game of the IIHF World Junior Championship.
The game featured three first-round picks by the Sabres. In addition to Johnson (2019), forwards Dylan Cozens (2019) and Jack Quinn (2020) dressed for Canada.

Johnson finished the tournament with four points (1+3) in seven games. The defenseman saw his ice time increase in each game leading up to the final matchup with Canada, including a tournament-high 19:59 in the semifinal win over Finland.

Johnson had been one of the final cuts from Team USA's roster prior to last year's tournament, a decision he said was a motivating factor as he continued his freshman year at Minnesota and trained in the offseason. He has four assists in six games with the Gophers this season, already halfway to his 37-game total from 2019-20.
Cozens finished second to Team USA's Trevor Zegras in both goals (8) and points (16), the highest point total by a Canadian player since Brayden Schenn tallied 18 in 2011. He was named to the All-Tournament team, adding to a resume that already included a gold medal with Canada in 2020.
Quinn represented Canada for the first time and, like Johnson, saw his role increase as the tournament progressed. He finished with one goal and four assists.
Cozens will join the Sabres at training camp, while a decision on Quinn had not yet been announced when coach Ralph Krueger spoke to the media Monday. Krueger said then that a call was scheduled with the NHL to determine the extent to which both players would have to quarantine before joining their Sabres teammates, though the maximum would be seven days.
Minnesota, which is 10-0 to start its season, is scheduled to play a two-game set at Wisconsin on Saturday and Sunday.