Who will captain Team Canada?
Year’s roster full of strong prospects
Many have the official ‘C’ and ‘A’ sewn into their club jerseys. Others are leaders in many different ways.
But to be the captain for Canada’s world junior team — to wear this particular ‘C’ stitched three inches above the heart — is a short-term assignment that forces one particular teenager to carry the pressure of a nation.
And, as Jaden Schwartz was forced to do last Christmas, his duties may include looking the nation in the eye and admitting defeat.
Dougie Hamilton, a return- ing defenceman from the 2012 squad, saw it with his own eyes when Canada was relegated to the bronze medal game after an impressive comeback against the Russians in the semifinal clash fell short.
Following the game, Hamilton saw the faces of last year’s veterans including Schwartz, Brett Connolly, Quinton Howden, and Mark Visentin. All were experiencing a second round of heartbreak and deja vu, having lost in the 2011 gold medal final after unsuccessfully mounting a comeback against Russia.
“Coming back a second time, I think those guys wanted to win so much more,” said Hamilton, a towering defenceman from the Niagara Ice Dogs. “Just getting the silver medal (in 2011) and coming back (against Russia) — they wanted the gold medal.
“That’s kind of how I feel this year. Last year, it felt really good to just make the team and go through the experience. This year, for me, I want the gold pretty bad.”
Canada’s 2013 world junior team was officially Thursday and the captaincy is still yet to be determined. Head coach Steve Spott said those decisions will be made when the team arrives in Europe this weekend.
But there a few obvious favourites to think about — and, clearly, Edmonton Oilers centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is one of them.
His experiences alone in the last few years — cut by Team Canada as a 17 year old, drafted first overall in 2011, a season in the NHL, the world championships, half a season in the AHL — indicates he would have the composure on the ice, in the dressing room, and outside of it.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot from the older guys, especially going to Edmonton and going overseas to the world championships,” Nugent-Hopkins said on Thursday. “I’ve learned a ton and played with some of the best leaders in the game.”
But don’t count out Hamilton or any of his five pals from 2012.
“It could be any of the returning guys,” said the softspoken Scott Harrington, a returning world junior defenceman and captain of the London Knights. “Obviously a lot of the guys at camp, the majority of them wear letters. Huberdeau is a great guy and Jenner. Obviously, Dougie Hamilton is a leader in Niagara. It could be any one of those guys. I’m sure whoever it is, the rest of the guys will be happy for him.”
And they’ll all have the same gold-themed goal in mind.
“I think good leaders in situations like this, they find ways to bring the team together,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “The best leaders always find a way to do that. Whoever is wearing the ‘C’ and the ‘A’s are going to have different responsibilities, but so are all the other guys.
“That’s the way a team should be.”
ICE CHIPS ... Past Team Canada captains include: Ryan Ellis (2011), Patrice Cormier (2010), Thomas Hickey (2009), and Karl Alzner (2008).