Glass, picked No. 6 in the 2017 NHL Draft by Vegas, played in the Golden Knights' first preseason game this season, against the Arizona Coyotes on Sept. 16. It was the first home game for the Golden Knights since making it to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, and the atmosphere from the sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena had coach Gerard Gallant and several players comparing it to playoff games from the previous spring.
Glass, 19, expects a similar atmosphere at the 2019 WJC, which runs Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. He believes he's better for having played in such an atmosphere already.
Canada will play its group games at Rogers Arena, home of the Vancouver Canucks, where the medal-round games will also be played.
"It felt like a playoff game and it gives you more energy, pretty much lights a fire in your stomach, gives you adrenaline, you get excited and get butterflies," said Glass (6-foot-2, 178 pounds). "I'm really looking forward to having world juniors in Canada this year. I know the crowd is going to be electric out there."
As Canada's No. 1 center between Owen Tippett (Florida Panthers) and Max Comtois (Anaheim Ducks), Glass will have a chance to bring those fans out of their seats at the elite under-20 international tournament.
"Cody is a crafty, composed offensive playmaker," Canada coach Tim Hunter said. "He's a guy that can make the big play."
Glass is fifth in Western Hockey League scoring and first in points-per-game with 54 (12 goals, 42 assists) in 26 games for Portland. The Winnipeg native is on pace to surpass his totals from last season, when he had 102 points (37 goals, 65 assists) in 64 games.
Glass was one of the final cuts from Canada's team that won the gold medal in Buffalo last year.
"It was a tough pill to swallow early on," Glass said. "You want to play in this tournament since you were a little kid, but since last year I have matured. I'm more confident and bigger physically, but I feel like maturity is the biggest thing, especially going against older guys.
"Realistically you are going to be playing against guys who are 35 years old if you are playing in the NHL, so it's just a mindset. The compete level has to be there. When you compete hard, play hard, the skill level will kick in."
Hunter, who was an assistant with Canada at the 2018 tournament, noticed those improvements as coach of Moose Jaw in the WHL and at Canada's selection camp.
"A year older, a year more mature, a year more composed," Hunter said. "Last year he was light with the puck, he got pushed off the puck a lot. Now he's stronger on the puck, stronger on his stick."
Hunter has provided Glass with finishers on each wing. Tippett has 33 points (19 goals, 14 assists) in 23 games with Mississauga in the Ontario Hockey League this season, and Comtois had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 10 games with the Ducks and 203 points (95 goals, 108 assists) in 185 games during four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"We are still trying to figure out our chemistry but he's really fun to play with," said Comtois, the only returning player from last year's gold medal-winning team.
If they connect, Glass could quickly become a fan favorite. That would be somewhat ironic, because a lot of observers going into the 2017 NHL Draft expected the Canucks to select Glass with the fifth pick. Vancouver selected forward Elias Pettersson instead, but fans there will be happy to cheer on Glass with Canada.
Thanks to his time with the Golden Knights during the preseason, Glass is ready to handle that atmosphere.
"You just have to keep your mind right, focus on the right things," Glass said. "[NHL players] are all there for one thing and that's to win a Stanley Cup, and they all have a laser-focus mentality."
