JUNIOR MISS
What went wrong for Team Canada at the world juniors? Pretty much everything. Here are seven reasons why Canada didn’t earn a medal for the first time on home soil
VANCOUVER — In the end, the image that was splashed across newspapers was of Michael DiPietro face down as a group of Finnish players celebrated behind the Team Canada goalie.
It made it look as though DiPietro might have been the problem. In truth, he was by far the best thing about a team that failed to advance past the quarterfinals for only the second time in 21 years.
DiPietro, who had two unlucky goals beat him in a 2-1 overtime loss to Finland, finished the world junior hockey championship having allowed five goals in five games.
As forward Barrett Hayton said of the goalie: “He was the star of the game, really. He played unbelievable. He was the backbone of our team.”
In other words, if you’re going to point fingers as to why it all went wrong this year, look elsewhere. Here are seven reasons why the team failed to medal for the first time on home soil:
1 THEY LACKED SUPERSTARS
There was no Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid on this year’s team. There wasn’t even a Mitch Marner or a Dylan Strome.
Barrett Hayton, who was selected fifth overall in 2018, was Canada’s only top-five pick. Among the forwards, only Cody Glass (sixth overall in 2017) and Owen Tippett (10th in ’17) were selected in the top 10.
You don’t necessarily need a wealth of top-end talent to win, as the blue-collar group that won gold in Buffalo showed last year. But it certainly helps, especially in a close game. When Canada needed a goal against Russia and Finland, it lacked a game-breaker who could take over on his own and generate something.
There was hope Alexis Lafreniere, whom scouts believe will be the No. 1 pick in 2020, would have emerged in that role.
But with limited minutes as a 13th forward, the 17-year-old was never really given the opportunity to shine. Speaking of which ...
2 THEY DIDN’T GIVE THE KID A CHANCE
Alexis Lafreniere had scored 42 goals last year in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League — the most by a rookie since Sidney Crosby scored 54 in 2003-04 — and was ranked third in scoring this season with 54 points in 31 games. So when 17-year-old made Team Canada’s roster, becoming only the ninth player his age to do so, most figured he wouldn’t be watching from the stands.
“The story is going to be Alexis Lafreniere,” North American Central Scouting’s Mark Seidel said. “This kid is a special player.”
We’ll have to take Seidel’s word for it. Though Lafreniere began the tournament slotted on Canada’s second line, he was quickly buried down the depth chart. Logging around five minutes a game — and perhaps too scared to showcase his offensive gifts — Lafreneire’s impact was minimal. He scored a goal against Switzerland, but was not noticeable in the games that mattered.
And to those who suggest he was too young to make an impact, consider that Lafreniere led Canada to a gold medal at this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, finishing first in scoring with five goals and 11 points in five games — including the game-winner in the championship final.
3 THEY WERE MISSING KEY PIECES
Whether it was Sweden’s Rasmus Dahlin, Finland’s Miro Heiskanen or Brady Tkachuk of the U.S., every team was without a player or two who could have made a significant difference.
So you won’t get much sympathy over the absences of forwards Alex Formenton, Michael Rasmussen or Robert Thomas.
Rasmussen and Thomas are both playing in the NHL, though it’s questionable whether they would have benefited more from playing in the best-on-best tournament than limited minutes on non-playoff teams. Rasmussen has six goals and 13 points in 40 games for the 14th-place Detroit Red Wings, while averaging less than 13 minutes per game. Thomas has three goals and 12 points for the last-place St. Louis Blues, averaging a little more than 12 minutes per game.
Of course, the bigger absences had to do with injuries. Formenton, who hurt his knee in a pre-tournament exhibition game, was a member of last year’s team. Canada desperately could have benefited from his experience and leadership.
4 THE DEFENCE WASN’T MOBILE ENOUGH
It’s one thing to have a forward group that struggles to score. But when the bulk of the defence is challenged to get the puck out of its own end, the problems are magnified.
Canada didn’t have someone like Quinn Hughes of the U.S., who could move the puck out of danger and up the ice. They didn’t have an Alexander Romanov of Russia, who has made a habit of jumping up in the rush, having scored seven points in five games.
Aside from Evan Bouchard, who had three assists, and
Noah Dobson, who scored a goal, the majority of Canada’s defencemen played a safe game. They chipped pucks off the glass, thought twice about venturing into the offensive zone, and played as though they were more concerned with being scored on than in scoring.
Maybe the team should have gone with more offensive defencemen, such as Nicolas Beaudin and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who were among the final roster cuts, or San Jose Sharks first-rounder Ryan Merkley, who wasn’t even invited to camp despite having scored 42 points in 32 games this year.
5 THEY WEREN’T TESTED EARLY ENOUGH
When Canada started the tournament with a 14-0 win against Denmark, some assumed it was a taste of things to come.
In truth, it was a mirage. Denmark was the worst team at the world juniors. Canada’s next two opponents (Switzerland and the Czech Republic) were marginally better. So when Canada played Russia on New Year’s Eve, it was a wakeup call. For the first time in the tournament, Canada was challenged. By then, it was too late.
The lack of pushback from opponents resulted in some bad habits from the Canadians early on. The power play suffered during the entire tournament, the team relied too heavily on its goaltender to cover up its defensive errors, and when the games got tighter, Canada didn’t know how to dig deep and prevail.
The same cannot be said of Finland, which had been battled-tested against Sweden and the U.S.
6 THE COACH WASN’T TOUGH ENOUGH
We’re not going to pick apart the many ways that Tim Hunter failed behind the bench. But we will point out that it was surprising that Canada’s head coach didn’t practise at all during the tournament.
After all, the power play (3-for-18) certainly could have used some attention.
When asked why the team was continually off the ice, the answer that kept coming back was that with the early game starts made it difficult to hold morning skates. As for not practising, well, the players needed to rest.
But other teams practised and skated regularly. And though it was a condensed tournament with Canada playing on back-to-back days, it’s not like this was a veteran team that had already played 82 regular-season games. These are teenagers, who have played half-a-season. If they lacked the energy to practise, then it’s no wonder they seemed to tire out as the game become tighter.
Add it up and it’s no surprise that Canada seemed to get worse — not better — as the tournament went on.
7 THE CAPTAIN WAS LEANED ON TOO HEAVILY
It’s disgusting how Maxime Comtois was attacked on social media following the quarterfinal loss to Finland. He was just one player on the team. And though his performance in the tournament was far from perfect, he wasn’t the reason Canada failed to medal.
That being said, the fact that a winger known more for killing penalties and finishing checks was not only playing on the top line but also picked to take an important penalty shot in overtime spoke to a greater problem.
Comtois, who was the team’s captain, was Canada’s only returning player. At times, he seemed to be the only player Hunter trusted. When the chips were down and Canada needed a goal, Hunter kept leaning on Comtois because of the winger’s experience. While Comtois started the tournament with four goals in a blowout win against Denmark, he ultimately lacked the topend skills to get the job done when the team needed it the most.
That was seen on Comtois’ failed penalty-shot attempt. In hindsight, it would have made more sense for someone such as Morgan Frost or
Glass to take the shot. But that’s not Comtois’ fault.