Leaf prospect covets junior spot
‘ Life goal’ to play for Canada, says Hitmen’s Pogge Brampton star Wolski fails to impress selectors
When Canada takes to the ice against Finland to begin defence of its world junior championship title on Boxing Day, there’s a chance the goalie at one end of the ice will have a maple leaf on his chest and the one at the other end will have a maple leaf in his future. Maple Leafs prospect Justin Pogge was one of four goalies and 34 players named yesterday by Hockey Canada to the final selection camp for the world junior team. Should the 19- yearold stopper for the Calgary Hitmen make the team and emerge as Canada’s No. 1 goalie, he’ll undoubtedly face Tuukka Rask, the Leafs first- round pick last June, when Canada opens the tournament against the Finns on Boxing Day.
“ I want to be there,” said Pogge, who was selected 90th overall in 2004. “ It has been a life goal. I’m kind of an underdog in this one. It’ll be nice to be there.”
There are a number of scouts and observers who maintain Pogge is the best goalie in junior hockey right now. He’s been in net for 21 of the powerful Calgary Hitmen’s 22 wins this season and has a 1.52 goals-against average and .929 save percentage. As always, goaltending will be an important element for Canada, but could be more so this year given the youth and lack of experience on this team, particularly on defence. For just the third time since the Program of Excellence was established in 1982 the team has just one player returning from the previous year. Returning defenceman Cam Barker played three games before contracting mononucleosis and being sent home.
Director of player personnel Blair Mackasey said anyone looking for a cookie- cutter of last year’s dominant outfit will be disappointed.
“ Last year’s team was arguably the best one ever put together by any country,” Mackasey said. “ But we don’t have to be better than last year’s team. We just have to be better than the teams we’re playing against.”
They’ll certainly be younger than most of their opponents. With an average age of 19 years and two days, the Canadian team has the potential to be one of the youngest ever. In fact, two of the Canada’s most promising offensive players are 16- yearold Angelo Esposito and 17year- old Jonathan Toews. Esposito, who is putting up Sidney Crosby-like numbers for the Quebec Remparts, promises to be an intriguing candidate.
“ I expect we could have 10 to 14 players (on a 22-man roster) who are 18 years old and younger on our team,” Mackasey said. “ We have to be careful with our expectations. When you look at 16- year- olds who have played in this tournament before, I wouldn’t say they’ve underachieved, but I think they’ve found it difficult.” The team selection was certainly not without its controversies. Among the players selected — and a likely candidate to make the team — was Steve Downie of the Peterborough Petes. Earlier this year, Downie was embroiled in a scandal with the Windsor Spitfires after an onice altercation in practice with then teammate Akim Aliu in which he cross- checked Aliu in the face. Downie received a fivegame suspension from the team, but left shortly after and demanded a trade. On the other end of the spectrum, the Canadians decided against selecting Brampton Battalion star Wojtek Wolski, who scored six points in nine games for the Colorado Avalanche before being returned to Brampton. Mackasey said neither he nor the coaching staff agonized about not including Wolski.
“ The knee- jerk reaction would be, ‘ Here’s a guy who played in the NHL. Why isn’t he here?’ ” Mackasey said. “ But when you analyze like we have and you look at his play the past couple of years and his international play . . . and you look at where he generates his offence and his 5on- 5 play . . . when you look at that and you add it all up, I don’t think it’s that difficult a decision.”