A Canadian team with no match legs opened the defense of their junior world championship in men’s hockey in Edmonton on Saturday. The host team starts the preliminary round against Germany at Rogers Place.
A Canadian team with no match legs opened the defense of their junior world championship in men’s hockey in Edmonton on Saturday.
The host team starts the preliminary round against Germany at Rogers Place.
Canada has played a game against an opponent since the start of the selection camp on November 16 – the 1-0 win against Russia on the Wednesday before the tournament.
Canadian captain Kirby Dach injured his right wrist in the third half of the game and cannot take part in the tournament.
Germany will be nine players on Saturday. The players are in quarantine due to positive COVID-19 tests in the team.
In addition to the positive tests, three Germans can return to the tournament on Sunday and another five on Tuesday.
The 46 players invited to the Canadian election camp entered the center of the camp after two players tested positive for the virus and four exhibits against university teams were canceled.
An extensive quarantine for Sweden upon arrival in Canada wiped out a pre-tournament match between the two countries.
Of the 25 players in Canada’s 20, 20 haven’t played in 20 months because the pandemic has delayed the start of their leagues this season.
“It’s definitely a challenge and something we talked about because we couldn’t play that many games other than the boys (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League),” said Alex Newhook, St. Louis. John’s NL said. with Boston College this season.
“We really increased our intensity and our pace in training. No matter how many games we’ve played, I think our training will help us reach the highest level of competition we’ve played in. Long time.” . “
“Resilience” is a word that head coach Andre Tourigny and his coaching staff use a lot in the run-up to the tournament.
“During team building exercises, players had to talk about the value of resilience,” said Tourigny.
“That’s one of the reasons why our country is so special in hockey. We are resilient. We never stop. We keep up. We never stop. You have to perform in a championship. “
The Canadian won’t have a sell-out crowd that contains adrenaline at Rogers Place. All games are fanless to avoid the virus spreading.
“It’s definitely a shame (not) to have fans and have that home crowd,” said Newhook.
“Everyone wants that energy. The world’s juniors are such a big stage and we know the country behind us whether we have fans or not.
“I think we have to provide our own energy and we have a lot of people in this room who are really good at it.”
Canada is likely in the easier pool, alongside Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Germany. Pool, Russia, the US, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Austria are made up of Pool B.
The Canadians start with rugby games against the Germans and Slovakia on Saturday and Sunday.
Canada versus Switzerland Tuesday and a New Year’s Eve game with the Finns complete the preliminary round for the host country.
“I can talk to you for hours about our guys, how they work in practice, when we teach them or ask different things and how they are off the ice,” said Tourigny.
“But in terms of knowing how they will react in the game, when they ignite heat, when errors occur, where there are breakdowns or the like, I cannot tell you now that we know them very well.”
The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals on January 2nd, followed by the semi-finals on January 4th and the medal games on January 5th.
Canada has a lot of talent as all 14 forwards were drafted by NHL teams in the first round.
Six players are veterans of the 2020 championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic, where Canada scored three goals in the third half and Russia lost 4-3 for gold.
The tournament MVP Alexis Lafrenière was not released by the New York Rangers to play again for Canada.
The lack of warm-up games made it difficult to pick a starting midfielder, especially since Devon Levi, Taylor Gauthier and Dylan Garand hadn’t competed in the tournament before.
Levi, from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., Has published 23 expulsions against Russia. Tourigny stated before the exhibition game that Levi’s should lose it.
“We knew our goalkeepers wouldn’t have many games in camp,” said the head coach.
“After what we saw in practice and during the Intrasquad games, we chose Devon.”
As the home team, Canada receives the world-class locker room from the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
Forward Dylan Holloway, Edmonton’s first pick (10th overall) on the October draft, offers a sneak preview of his NHL future.
“It’s massive,” storms the wing of Bragg Creek, Alta. “There are a lot of square meters. It’s definitely the biggest locker room I’ve ever been in.
‘You have a ping pong table. The lounge looks like a hotel portal. The jacuzzi and cool bath are really nice.
“There are so many amenities and so many cool things. It’s crazy to be there and it’s super cool. “
This Canadian press report was first published on December 25, 2020.
Donna Spencer, the Canadian press
–
