LA Kings: Twitter reactions to Alex Turcotte’s first WJC goal

LA Kings 2019 fifth overall pick Alex Turcotte scored his first goal of the World Junior Championships on Thursday in a 4-0 victory over Sweden.

In his second stint at the World Junior Championships, LA Kings 2019 fifth overall pick Alex Turcotte scored his first goal of the tournament on Thursday night. With less than four minutes gone by in the second period, fellow LA Kings draft pick Arthur Kaliyev found the puck in the slot and dished it to Turcotte on a failed shot attempt, who was standing in front of the net. A nifty spinning shot and the 19-year-old found the back of the net, extending Team USA’s lead to 4-0.

“Yeah, it was a pretty cool feeling,” said Turcotte between the second and third periods. “I watched the tournament as a kid, and to be able to score a goal is pretty cool. I’m happy to get it out of the way and move forward, so it was nice to get it.”

Turcotte finished with 16:09 time on ice, registering three shots on goal with an assist and a +3 rating. He also won 59 percent of his faceoffs and was named Player of the Game for Team USA. He’s had a strong showing at the 2021 WJC, and his performance helped the Americans enter the quarterfinals with the top seed in Group B.

Turcotte and Team USA will face LA Kings 2020 fifth-round pick Martin Chromiak and Team Slovakia on Saturday.

Following the game, USA head coach Nate Leaman spoke highly about Turcotte.

“He’s hit two posts in the tournament. He’s doing a great job of getting to the net. He’s doing a great job of driving his line, he’s usually driving the net. He’s getting back hard. It’s just nice to see him get rewarded.”