Habs’ defenceman Victor Mete and one or two World Juniors could be representing Canada at the Olympics
BUFFALO — Canada is two games away from winning gold at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. But, for Victor Mete and potentially one or two other players, there could be another reward waiting for them at the end of the tournament.
Sean Burke, the general manager for Canada’s Olympic team, arrived in Buffalo on Tuesday for one last scouting mission before naming the 25-man roster that will represent the country in South Korea next month.
Burke reportedly has 20 names already locked in, leaving just five spots open. And according to him, serious consideration will be given to the teenagers playing for Canada at this week’s world juniors.
“It would be great to sprinkle in a couple of young guys who can add some speed and some skill to your line-up, but they have to be a fit,” Burke, who was previously scouting the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, told Postmedia Network, on Wednesday. “And that’s going to be determined in these next few days.”
Though Canada went undefeated at the Spengler Cup, the bulk of the Olympic roster will likely come from the teams that competed at the Kajala Cup in November, and Channel One Cup in early December, where Canada went 2-4-0 against other countries such as Sweden, Finland and Russia.
“Only three to four guys that would be on our team were on that club,” Burke said of the Spengler Cup roster, adding that the way in which Canada played in Switzerland is something he hopes to replicate at the Olympics.
“I liked that we were hard to play against,” he said. “I think that’s probably a way to describe the way I’d like our team to be at the Olympics, just really hard to play against. You can put a lot of different line-ups together, but it’s how competitive are you, how hard are you to play against. That’s what I liked about our Spengler team.”
With ex-NHLers such as Max Talbot, Derek Roy and Mason Raymond expected to be on team, this should be a veteran heavy roster. What Canada has in experience, however, it might lack in speed. That’s where the junior-aged players come in.
“I wouldn’t say goaltending, probably,” Burke said of what he’s looking for. “But, I would think if we can upgrade with speed and skill at a forward position and a defence position, we’d definitely look to do that.”
The challenge for Burke and the rest of Canada’s Olympic team staff is that the world juniors are not exactly the perfect setting for scouts. For one, these are teenagers playing against other teenagers. And in Canada’s case, the competition has not really been that strenuous so far.
On Tuesday, Burke watched as Canada defeated Switzerland 8-2 in a lop-sided quarter-final where every player wearing a Canadian jersey looked like a superstar. A tougher challenge will come in the next two days, but even then it’s a two-game snapshot.
“It’s not ideal,” Burke said of Tuesday’s game. “Again, even in a better — or a more competitive game — doesn’t make it a lot easier, because you’re comparing apples to oranges. You’re not seeing players play against men or watching players on a big ice surface, so there’s a lot of factors that aren’t ideal. But at the end of the day, that’s been the real value in having as many events as we’ve had with as many players as we’ve had, because we do have I think have a very good handle on our players.
“And so if we were to add a couple of guys (from the world juniors), that’s manageable, providing we do our work and pick the right kids. But, again, there’s not guarantee that we will add anybody off of the junior guys. That’s something we’ll have to make a decision on in the next few days and it’s not a huge body of work that we’ll have to go on.”
It is for that reason why Mete appears to be highest on the list of hopefuls. At an Olympics that will be devoid of NHLers, the 19-year-old has something that neither of his world junior teammates — or future Olympic teammates — have: Recent NHL experience. Mete played in 27 games for the Canadiens, where he picked up four assists and averaged close to 15 minutes in ice time.
“A guy that can play half the season or more than a quarter of the season in the NHL and hold his own is definitely somebody that I think is ahead of the curve for most of these players. And that’s not lost on us,” Burke said of Mete, who missed Tuesday’s quarter-final with a lower-body injury. “Obviously we’ve watched Victor play, he’s on our radar and he’s a guy we’re going to watch closely in the next couple of games. Again, where does a guy like that fit in? Where can he play in your line-up to be effective?”
Mete and the rest of Team Canada have two more games to answer those questions. As if a gold medal wasn’t enough motivation.