Most wonderful time of the year for hockey fans
Sitting in the family room of their Cape Breton home with hockey pictures on the wall, Matt and Kay Batherson can close their eyes and be back in Buffalo, N.Y.
That's when North Sydney couple had travelled to the United States with their family to support their grandson, Drake Batherson, who was a member of the Canadian national junior team for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
After going 3-0-1-0 in the round-robin and posting a fairly easy semifinal victory over the Czech Republic, which saw Batherson net a hat trick, Canada advanced to the championship game against Sweden.
The next day, the Batherson family was forced to wait outside in the cold before entering KeyBank Center for the championship game.
Once inside, the family was greeted in the hallway by thousands of rowdy Canadian fans, who were ready for the country to take home the gold medal.
“They were all singing the national anthem even before the game started,” said Matt. “It was an unreal feeling and an experience you’d only get if you were there.”
While some of the family, including their son Norm, attended all the games, Matt and Kay watched the first week of the tournament from their Cape Breton home on television.
“I think the crowd really makes the difference,” said Matt. "There were 17,000 fans in the rink and I’d say 16,000 were Canadian supporters, it was some kind of experience.”
During their time in New York, the Batherson family met many people, including the players' parents, as well as some surprise relatives along the way.
“We had so many cousins and relatives come up to us — they knew where we were sitting — and half of them I had never met before,” said Matt. “Although we were there for Drake, it really turned into a trip we’ll never forget.”
The Batherson family didn’t stay in New York for the tournament. They travelled back-and-forth each day from Hamilton, Ont., only an hour and 12 minutes away from Buffalo. “Our son-inlaw is an RCMP officer and told us not to say anything because he would have our passports and would answer the questions at the border,” said Kay.
“On the second day of travelling back and forth, border security asked if we were Drake’s family, and from then on, when we came to the border each day they knew us, and we talked about the game.”
On the ice, Drake would finish the tournament with seven goals and was a key factor in Team Canada’s 3-1 victory over Sweden in the final.
“Drake dug the puck out of the corner and never got a point on the game-winning goal,” laughed Matt. “He did all the work to get the puck, but in the end, it didn’t matter because they had won and that’s all that mattered.”
HOLIDAY TRADITION
Growing up as a young hockey player, Nick Ellsworth found his passion for the World Junior Hockey Championship.
“It was so relatable for me as a hockey player to want to see Canada win the gold medal each year,” said Ellsworth. “Although my competitive days are over, I continue to watch the tournament for the love of the game.”
Ellsworth, now 28, believes there are many reasons for the tournament’s popularity, some much different than other international tournaments Canada participates in.
“I think it’s because we rely on basically young teenagers to lift the nation and bring a gold medal home each year,” said Ellsworth. “There’s a lot of pressure for them, but they seem to love it and prevail quite a bit for our country.”
Ellsworth has watched the tournament for the past 23 years and recalls many memorable moments for the Canadian club.
“Jordan Eberle’s game-tying goal with seconds to play in the semifinal of the 2009 tournament in Ottawa was special,” said Ellsworth. “The John Tavares performance against the United States on New Year’s Eve 2008 was amazing and another proud moment.”
Ellsworth considers the tournament a holiday tradition for all Canadians, noting the event is extra special when Atlantic Canadian players participate.
NOT AN EASY WIN
Since 1977, Canada has won 32 medals at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship: A record 18 gold medals, nine silvers, and five bronzes.
The country’s first championship win at the tournament came in 1982 over Czechoslovakia in an event co-hosted by Canada and the United States.
Canada has won the tournament five straight years twice from 1993 to 1997 and 2005 to 2009.
Despite the Canadian success at the tournament, winning the gold medal is no longer a given.
“Back in the day, it was a given that Canada was going to win,” said Matt, who was a member of the 1978 UCCB Capers hockey team, who won the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship, the first-ever national title for a Nova Scotia team at any level.
“Some of these teams like Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the United States have all had success recently at the World Juniors, so knowing it’s not a given for Canada to win anymore makes things exciting.”
Since 2010, Canada has only won the gold medal three times (2015, 2018, and 2020). Meanwhile, the United States and Finland have each won gold three times, while Russia (2011) and Sweden (2012) also have championship victories.
The 2021 tournament will be held in Edmonton from Dec. 25 to Jan. 5. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no fans or scouts will be permitted to attend the games at Rogers Place.
Canada hasn’t won a gold medal on home soil since 2015 in Toronto.