Canadian opponents continue to lay it on thick
Captain and coach say team not looking past Czechs in world junior semifinal
OK, OK, the Canadians get it.
They’re regarded as an awfully difficult opponent at the 2018 world junior championship.
But no, they’re not feeling much pressure heading into their semifinal against the Czech Republic tonight at the KeyBank Center.
Czech coach Filip Pesan was the latest to dip his skate into the hyperbole, saying Wednesday that “miracles can happen” when discussing his team’s chances of beating Canada with a berth in the gold-medal game on the line.
This after Switzerland coach Christian Wohlwend earlier this week didn’t give his team much of a chance against Canada in the quarter-final and was proved right as Canada trounced the Swiss 8-2.
“I don’t think they are giving themselves enough credit,” Canada captain Dillon Dube said after being told of Pesan’s proclamation.
“I think they are trying to go pressure-free throughout this whole thing. Everybody is putting pressure on Canada this year because we are a dominating team. They are trying to put the pressure on us and wanting us to crack.”
Fat chance of that happening, Dube indicated.
“We don’t have any pressure,” Dube said. “It’s just hockey. I know it’s an elimination game, but it’s 60 minutes. If we play (our) way we should be fine.”
Canada’s lone loss was to the United States in a shootout in the outdoor game on Friday and the team has not trailed at any point in the tournament. One might argue head coach Dominique Ducharme has no superstars at his disposal and that’s fine, but he has four forward lines that can score and that have been intact from the opening faceoff.
“I know it sounds cliche, but every line is deadly, it truly is with this team,” Dube said. “It’s such a short tournament and you get frustrated when you move lines around. I think leaving them together, you build that chemistry and all of us, we are good enough that we can figure it out.”
The strong defence corps has been backed by goaltender Carter Hart, and it appears Ducharme’s team will get an unneeded boost in the semifinal in the form of defenceman Victor Mete. All 22 Canadian players were on the ice for a 30-minute practice on Wednesday afternoon at the KeyBank Center including Mete, who has been nursing a lowerbody injury and did not play in the quarter-final.
“He looked good,” Ducharme said. “I talked to him after and he felt good. It’s positive.”
Is there a better-than-good chance Canada rolls over the Czechs to meet the winner of the U.S.-Sweden semifinal in the championship game on Friday night? Yes.
This Czech group, however, is capable and has talent. It has a power play that has produced at a 50 per cent clip, second in the tournament to Canada, which goes into the game at 52.6 per cent. Martin Necas is second in tournament scoring with nine points, while Filip Zadina has five goals in five games.
Still, Pesan knows his Czech team will have to be close to perfect to win.
“We have to play an active way and not just be waiting for what they are going to do to us,” Pesan said. “We cannot just play defence because if (we) are under pressure the whole game, it’s not the way to win. We have to have confidence on the puck.”
Ducharme, having been through the tournament last winter in Toronto and Montreal, was as cool as the temperatures outside. Whether the Czechs need a miracle to beat Canada was not something that held his interest.
“Another one?” Ducharme said, referring to Wohlwend’s earlier claims. “That’s not really original. We’re thinking about ourselves. We take care of our business. We heard that often.”
And the idea that Canada, trying to win gold after doing so just once in the past eight tournaments, might be overconfident?
That didn’t wash with the head coach.
“No,” Ducharme said. “We have a mature group. We know exactly where we are at. We know what we need to do. We know the kind of mindset we need to have to have success. We will bring that (tonight).”
Only a miracle will prevent that from happening.