‘Great challenge’ confronts Canadian juniors in Sochi
Many under-18 players still involved in playoffs
Canadian coach Don Hay hopes the players patched together for the IIHF world under-18 hockey championship can bring back some unexpected gold.
The annual tournament is always a test for Canada because many top players are still involved in playoffs with their junior clubs.
A team led by Kootenay Ice forward Sam Reinhart and 16-year-old phenom Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters will be seeking Canada’s first gold since 2008.
The tournament begins Thursday at the two 2014 Olympic rinks in Sochi, Russia, with the United States seeking a fifth straight gold medal.
“It’s a great challenge,” said 59-year-old Hay. “You start with one group, then you add players as teams get eliminated from the playoffs. The challenge is to continue to grow as a team and to embrace the new players coming in.”
The most recent additions were Owen Sound Attack stars Zach Nastasiuk and Craig Bigras, both ranked in the top 33 for the June NHL draft by NHL Central Scouting.
Madison Bowey of the Kelowna Rockets, Carter Verhaeghe of the Niagara IceDogs and Nicolas Baptiste of the Sudbury Wolves are to arrive this week but won’t be available for Canada’s first game Thursday against Slovakia.
Hay did not want to discuss the players who couldn’t come because of playoff duty, including top juniors like Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads, Aaron Ekblad of the Barrie Colts and Max Domi of the London Knights.
A finger injury has also deprived the team of 6-foot-5 defenceman Darnell Nurse of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, considered to be a top 10 or even top 5 draft prospect.
With its full cast of players for the under-18 Ivan Hlinka tournament in August, Canada won gold with MacKinnon scoring a hat-trick in the final against Finland.
Reinhart, who is only eligible for the 2014 draft, was captain of that team and will wear the C again in Sochi.
Hay prefers to focus on the players on hand, who are a promising group in themselves.
Some key players could be defencemen Josh Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders, returning from last year’s team, six-foot-six Samuel Morin of the Rimouski Oceanic and Shea Theodore of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Up front, soft-handed 6-foot-5 centre Frederik Gauthier of Rimouski, ranked seventh in North America by NHL Central Scouting, Morgan Klimchuk of the Regina Pats, and Laurent Dauphin of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens can do some damage.
The speedy McDavid is the early favourite to be drafted first in 2015.
Whether he is ready to play a prominent role against players two years ahead of him on the world stage at the U18 remains to be seen. The Newmarket, Ont., native is the second youngest to play in the tournament for Canada after John Tavares in 2006.
With Erie this season, McDavid had 25 goals and 66 points in 63 games and was named OHL rookie of the year. Not bad for a guy who was 15 when the season started.
“I hope he learns a lot and it turns into a prominent role,” said Hay. “He’s shown in the Ontario Hockey League that he’s a real talented player who can be counted on.”
Hay will need to decide the starting goaltender among Philippe Desrosiers of Rimouski, Austin Lotz of the Everett Silvertips and Spencer Martin of the Mississauga Steelheads.