Canada faces rough road in round robin games
Canada faces torturous road to gold at world junior championship
There is no sugar-coating it. This won’t be easy. Canada’s official world junior finish last year in Vancouver — their first medal-less performance on home ice — was sixth place. That doesn’t earn you any freebies.
That fluky last-minute goal and overtime loss to Finland in a quarter-final still casts a shadow.
So welcome, now, to what’s being called the Group of Death.
This time, they draw the United States and lanky Florida first-rounder Spencer Knight in net. Then, the Russians and 17-year-old puck-stopping phenom Yaroslav Askarov are on deck.
The early difficulty setting is off the charts.
“We have two stiff games right away,” said Mark Hunter, the lead for Hockey Canada’s management group. “You’ll find out where your team’s at. We’ve got to be ready to go right from the start.”
Last year, Canada eased into it with a 14-0 win over Denmark. Frankly, they will be in good shape if they score 14 times in their first four games.
This U.S.-Russia one-two punch is new for Canada, the historic betting favourite.
But it’s not the only difficult path in tournament history.
Twelve years ago in Sweden, Canada beat the host country and the U.S. in their first two games. Incidentally, that was the last time the Swedes have lost in the preliminary round (their current 48-game win streak in pool play is one of the most incredible runs in sports).
The Canadians went on to win it all, thanks in large part to a legendary semifinal shootout over the Americans. It didn’t hurt to have Carey Price in net, either. Now, things are a little different. The Canadians are clearly contenders, as usual, but they can just as easily be 0-2 three days into their Ostrava stay.
If they don’t start well, it isn’t impossible to recover. But let’s face it, it would be an uphill climb.
And once that pair of heavyweight tilts end, their final two pool opponents are no pushovers, either.
The Germans have enough skill on board to cause problems and know they need to beat at least one established power to stay out of the relegation round. So there will be some inherent urgency. Canada’s seeding will almost certainly be determined by their fourth game, a New Year’s Eve tilt with the Czechs, in what will surely be a hostile and energetic environment. Nothing would get the city buzzing more than a victory over the world’s most famous hockey country.
So there are some significant barriers to overcome, even before the playoffs begin.
They picked a team designed to handle the early stress and build up toward the do-or-die moments.
“I think we’ll be a hard-working hockey club,” Mark Hunter said. “I think we’ll have good speed. I think our (defence) is going to be very solid and mobile. They’ll be skilled and move the pucks up quickly to the forwards, which is what we want to do.
“I think we’ll play a high-speed game.”
Most of the top countries got some help from above. There were four Canadian NHL first-rounders eligible for loan and half of them were granted.
The middle of the ice was bolstered by the Coyotes’ timely gift-wrapping of rookie Barrett Hayton, while the Red Wings have Joe Veleno from his American league duty in Grand Rapids.
Chicago wouldn’t part with third-overall pick Kirby Dach, who had built some strong chemistry on a line with Veleno and Alexis Lafreniere at the summer showcase. The Islanders opted to keep infrequently-used rookie D-man Noah Dobson, which stings twice as much since they sent fellow 19-year-old forward Oliver Wahlstrom to play for the Americans.
The Canadians have five returning players and seven who are eligible to come back next year.
It’s one of the country’s more exciting entries in terms of NHL draft prospects. Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield are the best two players available and defenceman Jamie Drysdale isn’t far behind.
“I’m sure the pro scouts are all happy about that,” Mark Hunter said.
There will be lessons learned from last year’s defeat, but not much gained from dwelling on it.
“I’m not a big believer about looking in the past,” Mark Hunter said. “We’re looking at our group here and I think we’ll have a style we want to play and every coach has their style. I think we have a good coaching staff who will put a style in here that will help us win hockey games. Some of these players weren’t here. It’s something that happened last year.
“Bad bounces played a part in them losing. You can analyze everything to death.”
That was with Canucks prospect Mikey DiPietro in net.
This team doesn’t have anyone with his winning pedigree or that of Carter Hart the previous year.
The great uncertainty is how the goaltenders will hold up on the big stage. Someone has to grab the No. 1 spot and run with it.
Nico Daws and Joel Hofer don’t have any international experience, but they did enough in Guelph and Portland, respectively, to earn this look. Olivier Rodrigue is a better-known Hockey Canada entity who went through an up-and-down half-season in Moncton.
Coach Dale Hunter has a history of quick hooks if a stopper struggles early. But the last thing he wants is to be playing goalie roulette.
Another big Canadian issue is preparation. Defenceman Jared McIsaac, a future Detroit Red Wing, played in only three games before arriving at Canada’s selection camp. He spent six months recovering from a shoulder ailment, so he hasn’t had a lot of time to get his game ready.
Owen Sound captain Aidan Dudas hurt his hand blocking a shot and is willing himself back into the lineup. There is no telling how it will affect him and what he can contribute, but the Canadians didn’t want to let the L.A. Kings property go.
“He was at our summer camp and he’s vocal,” Dale Hunter said. “He’s a real team player. He never stops. We’ve seen him through the years. He’s a worker who can score and plays both ends of the ice. We want a complete player.”
The Canadians boast enough premier scoring. Lafreniere, London’s Connor McMichael and Lethbridge’s Dylan Cozens led their respective leagues in points at the time they left their club teams. Oilers property Raphael Lavoie scored 20 goals in 23 playoff games last spring for Halifax and defenceman Bowen Byram (Avalanche) provided 26 tallies for the Vancouver Giants.
If they reach a shootout, it’s a pretty good bet Nolan Foote (Lightning) will be up first. He’s really good at it.
The back end is an interesting blend with three Western leaguers, two OHLers, one from the Quebec league and Ottawa Senators first-rounder Jacob Bernard-Docker, who plays at NCAA No. 1 ranked University of North Dakota.
Kevin Bahl, of course, stands out with his six-foot-seven, 240-pound frame. The Ottawa 67’s workhorse loves to use the body, too.
It’s a versatile roster that knows all the steps.
Now, it just has to dance through the Group of Death.