WORLD JUNIOR PREVIEW
Canada starts quest for gold against Russia at the ACC.
It all started with a game of Schnarps.
Team Canada’s players at the world junior championship are crazy about the card game, a modified version of Euchre.
Assistant captain Mathew Barzal declares himself the best at it. Teammates get a laugh out of that, but that’s part of the fun — and that’s the point. Barzal and rest of the leadership group feel more off-ice bonding will help on the ice when they open against Russia at the Air Canada Centre on Monday night.
“I’m having a blast. There’s super energy with our group, so fun should be a part of it,” Barzal said as the Canadians went through their final tuneups before facing Russia.
The way Barzal, fellow assistant Thomas Chabot and captain Dylan Strome tell it, fun is an important part of the equation for Team Canada, which is facing the usual “gold or bust” pressure that is amplified when the tournament’s on home ice.
Barzal plays an important role as one of five returnees from the team that lost in the quarter-finals last time. Those core players pass along first-hand knowledge of the bitterness of finishing out of the medals.
But Barzal also brings more than intangibles. The first-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2015 appeared in two NHL games in October before the club sent him back to junior to tighten up his defensive game with more playing time, rather than sitting and watching at the NHL level as a healthy scratch most nights.
He’s in a unique position to share that wide range of knowledge in pursuit of gold.
“I think our strength is that we have a great group of guys here. We all have the same mindset — playing cards on the bus, or in practice and games,” said Barzal, a 19-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., who had two goals and 17 assists in 13 games for the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds after returning from the Islanders.
“We’ve gelled over the last two weeks since coming together as a group. I think the key thing with this group is that everyone is such a good person. We all have the same goals. We all want to win. No one is worried about personal stats. We all want gold.”
Barzal learned leadership skills at hockey’s highest level from one of the best: Islanders captain John Tavares. The Toronto-born centre is one of the very best players in the world and leads by example on and off the ice. He’s made a sizeable impression on the junior star’s approach to the game.
“Yeah, there was a pretty good leader there named John Tavares,” said Barzal, who added he phoned Strome and Chabot when all three were back in junior, rallying the group for a shot at junior gold after last year’s disappointment.
“(Tavares) is super serious. He’s the hardest working guy you will ever see. He puts in the extra work on the ice.
“He puts in the extra work in the gym . . . In practice, whether it’s flow through drills or anything, he wants to make sure it goes as good as it can. Those are some of the things you learn from him.”
Leadership will be key for the Canadians as they face a very solid Russian squad to open the tournament on Boxing Day.
A good start is crucial in a short tournament.
That won’t be easy against the Russians. Mikhail Sergachev, the Montreal Canadiens’ first-rounder this past June, is one of nine NHL draftees on Russia’s team.
Maple Leafs fans will want to watch forward Nikita Korostelev, Toronto’s seventh-round pick in 2015.
Now 19 and playing with Sarnia in the OHL, Korostelev attended the Hill Academy in Toronto in 2012 and skated with the American Hockey League’s Marlies last spring as well as the Leafs in training camp this fall.
He sits second in scoring on the Sting with17 goals and17 assists in 29 games.
For Team Canada, though, the focus will be on rolling four lines and six defencemen. With no Connor McDavid-type player this year, the Canadians want to have all 22 players contributing at the same level at all times. Barzal stressed that in the lead-up to the opener.
Strome, who might have more experience than anyone on the team, knows gold is the expectation, especially at home.
“Playing in a bronze-medal game isn’t easy for either team . . . I saw my brother (Ryan) do it twice, so that’s really helped me,” Strome said.