Sault hockey player earns silver at World Junior A Challenge

Sault native Adam Barone has brought home a silver medal after competing on Team Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge in Cornwall, Ont. this past week.

It was the first time since 2019 the tournament was played, which featured some of the globe’s top Junior A players on Canada East, Canada West, Latvia, Sweden, and the United States.

Barone, an 18-year-old defenseman on the OJHL’s Cobourg Cougars, found out in November he had made the selection camp process, eventually earning a spot to compete on Canada East in his international tournament debut.

After losing three of their first four preliminary games last week, Canada East squeaked into the semi-finals to face a tough test in their western counterparts.

The St. Mary’s College graduate contributed an assist in the semis as Barone’s squad earned a 4-1 win over Canada West to advance to the gold medal game.

“We told ourselves going into the semis that we needed to win one game,” he says. “We played really well.”

Despite erasing a two-goal deficit in their final game, Canada East went on to lose 5-2 to the U.S. on Sunday to take home silver.

“It was super competitive,” he says. “To go down two goals and then to come back and keep it even for a while showed how well we competed.”

Although he’s not coming home with the colour of the medal he was hoping for, the experience for Barone was unforgettable.  

“It was something I’ve never experienced before,” he says. “I hope to represent Canada again at some point in my life. You’re treated like the top guys in the world. It was amazing.”