Tourney a ‘good experience’ despite not winning gold
The reality had started to gnaw at Dougie Hamilton long before Canada had officially played itself out of contention for the gold medal.
He knew then that if he was going to take a medal home, it was going to be bronze, as was the case in 2012.
It certainly wasn’t the ending he had banked on when he left the Niagara IceDogs back in December but for Hamilton, and all but five of the players who made the journey to Russia, there will be no second chances. Their time with the world junior team is done.
After dropping a 5-1 decision to the U.S. in the semifinal, Canada met Russia in the bronze medal game.
“When the (semi) was getting out of reach, I started to feel it a little bit then. I realized that this was my last chance,” said Hamilton, a Boston Bruins prospect.
“I remember, when I was a kid, watching the team celebrate when they won the gold. You see that, and you picture yourself doing it. It’s pretty tough not being able to.”
Scott Harrington, another veteran on the blue line, is of the mind that while bronze isn’t the colour the players want, it’s still something to take pride in.
“Medalling in this tournament is something that not a lot of people can say that they have done,” said Nathan MacKinnon, who, along with Halifax Moose heads teammate Jonathan Drouin, will be at the draft in June and possibly back at the tournament next January.
In the meantime, there’s still a season to finish.
The Canadians were chartering from Ufa to Toronto on Sunday then heading out their separate ways. A handful of the players will head to an NHL camp if the league and its players association manage to get a deal done.
The majority will return to their club teams. All have been keeping track of their teams since they left to play for Canada.
“We’ve won eight straight so the guys are doing really well,” said MacKinnon. “Speaking for myself and Joe, we were happy to be here but we’re excited to get back too. This experience can only help.”
“I don’t know if they want me back,” said Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Griffin Reinhart. “They’ve only lost one game. They seem to be doing pretty well and (goaltender Laurent) Broissoit, since he was released from this team, has been unbelievable. I’m looking forward to getting back.”
Jake Paterson, the successor to the starting job in Canada’s net, spent the tournament as the odd man out but said he’ll be better for it in the end. Canada took three goalies to the tournament, in part because of the travel distance and in larger part, to give Paterson a chance to experience the event.
He couldn’t practise with the team but he got in time on the ice with goaltending coach Ron Tugnutt and he charted shots during the games. He hasn’t played since mid-December but will be back in net for the Saginaw Spirit on Wednesday.
“It was definitely a good experience to come over and get a feel for the tournament,” Paterson said. “There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes you wouldn’t know about, so that will hopefully get me ready for next year. The experience will definitely help me moving forward.”
JC Lipon, a Regina native playing with the Kamloops Blazers, said that for players like himself, who played limited minutes, it was still a special experience to play for Canada — even if the ending didn’t turn out as planned.
“We’ve only lost one game,” he said prior to the bronze medal game. “It just happened to be the most important one. We have to live with it but at the end of the day it is just a game. And we know now that if you’re not prepared to show up, you can get upset.”