National Post (National Edition)
WORK FOR JUNIOR GOLD BEGINS.
It’s one of the better indicators of the passion/madness that Canada has for the World Junior Hockey Championship that the announcement of the training camp roster is nationally televised.
That announcement is to be followed by a prime-time special and what will be frequent updates on which of the 34 teenagers will attempt to defend the gold medal won last year.
Canada remains nuts for this thing.
But other countries are catching up: witness the five countries that have won the gold medal over the last eight tournaments, or the fact the Swedes were so devastated by losing the final last year that the captain fired his silver medal into the stands.
Canada no longer holds a monopoly on emotional investment in the world juniors, but it’s still the only country that has a title sponsor for its training camp.
So, what was learned at the announcement of the National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp roster?
THE BIG O
Of the 19 forwards invited to camp, 10 of them are playing in the Ontario Hockey League.
Head coach Tim Hunter said on a conference call on Monday that junior leagues ebb and flow in terms of available talent.
“Right now the cycle is there are a lot more skilled forwards in the OHL than anywhere else,” he said, of a group that includes Montreal Canadiens prospect Nick Suzuki (Owen Sound) and Alex Formenton (London), who played nine games for the Ottawa Senators this season before returning to junior.
Hockey Canada head scout Brad Mcewen said the management group didn’t worry about league balance when assembling the roster, which includes three forwards from the WHL and four from Quebec.
“We’re not really looking regionally at all,” he said.
Evidence of that: There are just seven players in total from the WHL, despite the tournament being played in Vancouver and Victoria.
FRESH TURNOVER
Formenton and Maxime Comtois are the only two returnees from last year’s golden team, and Hunter said they are not anticipating any late additions to the roster as NHL teams decide what to do with their young talent.
The coach said it will be helpful to have at least two players who have been through the world junior ringer before, not just because they are familiar with the level of competition but also due to their experience with the media and fan attention that far exceeds what players normally see in their junior careers.
Notably, none of the defence invitees have played in the world junior, where last year’s squad was anchored by four returning defenders, including tournament MVP Thomas Chabot, now starring with the Ottawa Senators.
NHL CONNECTIONS
In addition to Suzuki and Formenton, the Canadian training camp roster includes another half-dozen players with links to this country’s NHL teams.
Forward Shane Bowers will be joined by fellow Ottawa Senators prospect Jacob Bernard-docker, a defenceman who, like Bowers, plays in the NCAA.
Defenceman Josh Brook was a second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2017 and defenceman Evan Boucher was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers.
Two of the three goaltenders are from Canadian NHL organizations: Michael Dipietro (Vancouver) and Ian Scott (Toronto). Dipietro is the likely No. 1 goalie, but in the WJC that usually doesn’t mean much until the medal round. Scott, who didn’t take part in Team Canada’s summer exhibition games, played his way onto the team. The goalie for the WHL’S Prince Albert Raiders is 22-1 this season with a 1.61 goals-against average.
“He’s really steady in the net,” said Hunter. “No doubt he’s a capable goalie.”
MEN AGAINST BOYS
As has become custom in the pre-tournament run-up, the Canadian team will have a series of games against an all-star team of university players, almost all of whom will have completed their major junior careers.
Hunter said the management team likes to see their prospects go up against the “older, smarter, heavier” university-level players who play a style closer to the AHL than junior hockey.
“Playing the medal round (of the world junior) is like playing in an AHL playoff game,” Hunter said.
HOME ICE ADVANTAGE
Whomever are ultimately chosen for the Canadian side, they will be expected to again have the benefit of a raucous home crowd after attendance challenges at the under-20 tournament over the past few years.
Ticket sales were slower than expected in Montreal and Toronto the last two times the tournament was held in Canada, and they plummeted last year in Buffalo, where an anticipated crossborder deluge didn’t happen.
Hockey Canada executive director Tom Renney said Monday the games in Vancouver and Victoria are almost all sold out, even those not involving the home team. Once the roster is pared to 22 by mid-december, Canada and the other competing teams will take part in a series of exhibition games in nine B.C. communities. That tour, of course, also has a title sponsor.