Canadian crew focused on recapturing hockey gold
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Alex Formenton and Maxime Comtois know what it takes to capture world junior hockey gold. Now, they’re sharing their wisdom with a whole new squad.
Both of the young forwards were part of the Canadian team that captured the championship in Buffalo, N.Y., last January.
They each keep the championship rings they earned next to their beds, a hefty memento to provide daily motivation.
“Every time I wake up, I just want to be better than I was the day before,” Comtois said Monday in Kamloops, B.C., where he’s on the Canadian roster at this summer’s world junior showcase.
Canada has 39 players at the event, a group that will eventually be whittled down to the team playing in the annual world junior tournament in Vancouver and Victoria this winter.
Comtois and Formenton are the only ones at the showcase who were also part of last year’s gold medal-winning group. St. Louis Blues prospect Robert Thomas was invited, but is reportedly recovering from an ankle injury.
Being a veteran means taking on a leadership role, Formenton said.
“I’m not a very vocal guy, but I want to lead by example out on the ice and help out my teammates as much as I can,” said the 18-year-old Ottawa Senators prospect, who got into one NHL game at the start of last season.
Formenton said tournament experience taught him that the play is faster than what most young guys are used to.
“You’re playing against top guys of every country,” he said.
Despite last year’s success, the new team starts from the bottom with a clean slate and will have to put in major work to win, said Comtois, who was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2017.
The young men playing for Team Canada at the showcase hail from across the country, from South Surrey, B.C., to Summerside, P.E.I. But many have played together previously, in development camps, junior hockey clubs and university teams.
Coming together as a group will be key to winning, said Tim Hunter, head coach of the junior national team.
This is Hunter’s first year at the helm, but he’s been an assistant coach for the last two years.
“We’re going to be a different team than the past two years where we won silver and gold and had a lot of success,” he said.
“So these guys are going to have to come together as a group, get really close — because close teams win — and write our own story.”