Canadian teens brace for spin in spotlight

Dylan Strome, Julien Gauthier, Mitchell Stephens, and on and on.

During their two weeks in the world junior championship spotlight, Canada’s teenage hockey stars will become household names.

But when the tournament, which starts Monday, ends on Jan. 5, the spotlight will be gone. The players will go back to their junior teams and anonymity, at least relative to what they will experience in Toronto and Montreal.

Gauthier went through it last year. “It was pretty weird,” he said. “You’re treated like a pro. You play in pro rinks. When you go back to junior, it’s like nothing compared to here.

“You do a lot with Team Canada. It’s a big experience. Then you go back to your routine.”

The challenge will be to make the next two weeks seem routine.

“You’ve got to block it out,” said Strome, the Canadian captain and another veteran of last year’s tournament. “There’s always people watching you, wherever you go. Every day, you’re playing for your teammates. It doesn’t matter if the spotlight is on.”

“You try to keep the same mentality no matter the game,” Stephens said. “It’s tough sometimes to go into a junior building and there’s no fans. But you find a way to pump yourself up for games.”

Stephens, a forward with the Saginaw Spirit, won’t need to look for motivation. “I love this,” he said. “Big crowds. Big games. I thrive on that.”

Canada wrapped up its pre-tournament games Friday night with a 4-3 overtime victory over Switzerland — Nicolas Roy burying the winner — and will practise through the holidays in preparation for Monday’s opener against Russia. It is the first of Canada’s four games at the Air Canada Centre. Their playoff games will be in Montreal. And then . . . “It will be a bit like returning from the NHL camp,” Canadian head coach Dominique Ducharme said. “It’s not only physical. It’s mentally that it really challenges the guys.”