Roster battles heats up for Canadian juniors
‘Difficult’ choices on horizon for coaching staff
S T. CATHARINES, ON T. • Dominique Ducharme would not say exactly how many jobs are up for grabs at this week’s selection camp, but with 33 players invited — and only 22 roster spots available — the Team Canada head coach is expecting to see a healthy competition.
“It’s going to be interesting to see the battles because we feel strongly that 33 guys have a chance at making this team,” said Ducharme. “It’s their job to make us make difficult decisions.”
It is expected the seven returning players ( forwards Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube and Taylor Raddysh, defencemen Jake Bean, Kale Clague and Dante Fabbro and goalie Carter Hart) will earn spots, as well as Victor Mete, who is on loan from the Montreal Canadiens.
Cale Makar, who was the No. 4 overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche in this year’s draft, is also considered a lock along with forwards Sam Steel, Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and goalie Michael DiPietro. After that, it’s anyone’s guess who ends up representing Canada.
“I won’t go and say we have 13 spots open,” said Ducharme, who plans on whittling down the roster after Canada plays a pair of games against a U Sports allstar team — some of the top Canadian university players — on Wednesday and Thursday before Friday’s pre-tournament game against Denmark.
“We don’t have a clear plan saying after the second game we will be cutting that many guys. I would think after the second game there is going to be some cuts, but the players will be dictating how many and who’s going to be cut.”
What is Canada looking for? Well, the usual things. Speed and skill are obviously coveted assets, but Ducharme also set up various drills during Day 1 of practice where players had to backcheck and work hard to take away time and space from the opposition.
“We want to make things happen,” said Ducharme. “And I think we have the speed and we have the skills and we have the checking ability to retrieve pucks quick and make things happen on the offensive side. We want to be hard to play against. Our speed is one thing, for sure, that can be hard to handle for the other teams.”
Nashville Predators prospect Fabbro did not participate in Tuesday’s practices because of a minor injury. He is expected to be on the ice on Wednesday, but Ducharme said the returning defenceman likely won’t get into a game until Thursday.
Dube (Flames), who wore a yellow non- contact jersey, is also battling through a shoulder injury that he suffered a couple of weeks ago. Despite the fact that he was off limits, the returning forward still wasn’t completely safe.
“Everyone was l ike almost too nervous to hit me and then something happens where I trip on a stick and go into the boards,” said Dube, who left the ice briefly, but returned in one piece. “That’s the way it goes. Luckily nothing came of it.”
A characteristic of Canadian hockey is an ability to finish checks and be aggressive. But don’t expect this year’s edition of the team to crush opponents through the glass.
While six- foot- seven defenceman Logan Stanley is the tallest player at selection camp, this could be one of the smallest teams assembled with seven players who are shorter than six-foot and two others who are less than 180 pounds.
“I just look at the things that I can control,” said Makar, who is five- foot-10 and 175 pounds. “I’m not looking at playing out of my element. Whether it’s my speed or jumping into the play and moving the puck, that’s my game.”
As t he Vegas Golden Knights’ first draft pick, Cody Glass has been paying close attention to the expansion team’s impressive start. His reaction? Surprise. “Everybody’s been surprised by it and it’s surprised even myself,” said Glass, a Winnipeg native. “They were off to a hot start there and their home record is incredible, too. They have a lot of skill on their team.
“One thing I love about the (Golden Knights’) coaching staff is they let you play hockey and have fun. It’s amazing what they’re doing up there. No one really expected it and that’s the awesome thing about it.”
Hart ( Flyers) has the inside track as the No. 1 goalie, but the plan is for all the goalies — DiPietro ( Canucks), Colton Point ( Dallas) and undrafted Samuel Harvey are the others — to split time in net during the team’s pair of games against the U Sports all-stars.
IT’S THEIR JOB TO MAKE US MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS.