Hofer wins gold at World Junior Championship

Joel Hofer is bringing home a gold medal!
The St. Louis Blues prospect backstopped Canada to a 4-3 win over Russia on Sunday afternoon in the World Junior Championship gold-medal game. Hofer made 35 saves in the game and was named the tournament's Best Goaltender and to the Media All-Star Team.

Hofer finished the WJC with five wins and one shutout in six games. He led all goaltenders with a .939 save percentage and 1.60 goals-against average.
Even more impressive is Hofer's path to the team and a medal. He was not invited to Canada's World Junior Summer Showcase, but earned his way onto the final roster as one of three goalies. He took over the top job partway through the tournament and won all five of his starts.
He was selected by the Blues in the fourth round (107th overall) at the 2018 NHL Draft.

Another Blues prospect is also leaving Ostrava with some new hardware, as Nikita Alexandrov captured the silver medal with Russia.
Alexandrov, who opened scoring in the gold-medal game, finished the tournament with eight points (two goals, six assists) in seven games. The forward tied for most assists and second-most points on his team.
He was selected by the Blues with the 62nd overall pick at the 2019 NHL Draft.