This years Canadian World Junior squad is very different from some star studded teams that have been put on the ice during Hockey Canada's recent spree of dominance over the last decade. They return just four players from last years gold medal winning team. John Tavares, the most high profile of the four, Zach Boychuk, P.K Subban, and Thomas Hickey. Tavares and Boychuk will be relied heavily on to produce a lot of the teams offense this winter and production is one thing you can count on with regards to Mr.Tavares. Tavares is the 2nd youngest player on the team next to Windsor Spitfire defensemen Ryan Ellis. He is however, a leader on the team and will be leaned on not just for point production, but for his leadership and ability to make others around him on the ice raise their games to his level. With such an unproven team internationally speaking, he will need to just do that. Which begs the question, who will step up for this team so that Tavares and Boychuk don't carry the full load of offensive production on their shoulders. Brett Sonne of the Calgary Hitman is the WHL's leading scorer and would be the logical person to step into that roll. Sonne has 55 points in just 34 games with the Hitman this season and could make for a terrific powerplay partner for Tavaras. Inevitably, someone, likely multiple players, will rise to the occasion, as players of years past have done.
As we have come to expect that, is there any doubt that Chet Pickard, the apparent front runner for the roll of starting goaltender will end up standing on his head and single handily winning the team a few games leading up to the medal run? I don't believe so. This team is one of Canada's more pint size groups in recent memory, only 4 players top the 200 pound mark on offense, and they weight in at 203,202,201, and 200. So size upfront is simply not there. The average size of a team Canada forward is actually 5'11 186 pounds. Will it be a huge issue? It depends really. Can a team that's built on purely speed dominate the tournament like years passed? They can, yes. Despite their size, this is a team I still see as being able to play physical.
Packed Scotia Center crowds in Ottawa will give these players every push they need to play bigger then they are. Which truly is the reason why Hockey Canada has had so much success at this tournament. Us. You and I. That's why these young men travel the globe each Christmas, to be away from their families. To play for you and I, and the love for this game we share with them. As a young man who shares his birthday with the first puck drop of this tournament every year that I can remember: 24 of them come next week. I have, like many others I'm sure, received the hope of that feeling you get watching these young men get golden symbols of our love for Hockey, dropped around their necks each year. It is the one Birthday, Christmas and New years present I can count on, each, and every year!
Go Team CANADA!
No comments:
Post a Comment