Letdowns on ice
If some Atlantic Canadians appeared more bleary-eyed than normal Wednesday morning, blame the combination of a late-night gold medal hockey game and a disappointing result.
Canada's seemingly unstoppable march to another men's world junior hockey title ran into a hiccup — their U.S. opponents — as Tuesday became Wednesday in this part of the country. The result, a bitter 2-0 loss to their cross-border rivals in the tournament's final game, ended all talk that this Canadian junior squad might be the best this country had ever iced.
But that's the nature of a one-game-takes-all format. And silver is still an accomplishment to be proud of; just ask the Russians, who finished out of the medals after losing to Finland in the bronze medal game, if they'd like to switch places.
For many Canadians, watching the world juniors at this time of year — though obviously not with the desired end result — did at least feel like a bit of normalcy.
Kudos to all the competitors who put on an entertaining two weeks of excellent hockey. And congratulations, in particular, to the tournament's Edmonton organizers, who ensured the games could go on despite the not insignificant challenges of doing so in the midst of a pandemic.
GENDER EQUALITY MISSING
In fact, seeing what can still be done when people put their minds to it, we have to wonder why a first-class, under-20 men's world junior hockey championship could be put on, but the International Ice Hockey Federation back in September decided to completely cancel (among other events) the under-18 women's world junior hockey championship set to be hosted by Sweden this month.
The IIHF spoke of concerns about illness and financial risk, but those applied equally to the men's competition.
As hockey analyst Leah Hextall rightly asks in a recent column, if Sweden was not as well prepared as Edmonton, why couldn't the IIHF switch venues and hold the women's tournament in the Alberta city, already all set up with approved COVID protocols, right after the men's competition concluded? Or perhaps postpone the event until Sweden could be ready?
As Hextall rightly points out, these tournaments are supposed to be about player development for the sport's most promising young athletes. The IIHF's decision sends a message that young male hockey players are more deserving than young female hockey players.
There's long been a huge discrepancy in the amount of television coverage the men's — massive — and women's — none — junior hockey teams get. That's a big advantage for building fan recognition.
Those in charge often talk a good game about the importance of gender equity, but actions speak louder than words. Don't think that young female athletes, regardless of the sport, don't notice.
We need to do better.