BY PATRICK KING
sportsnet.ca
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- One of hockey’s greatest rivalries will renew when the Canadians take on the Russians in the opening game of the World Junior Hockey Championship on Boxing Day.
The cachet may not be the same as in previous years with Canada’s biggest rival now south of the border, but remnants of this historic rivalry should be on display.
The Canadians’ invincibility against the Russians was stripped during this year’s Subway Super Series. For the first time in the Series’ eight-year history, the Canadian Hockey League teams did not prevail.
According to the Canadian Press, Olivier Roy will start in goal Sunday afternoon. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender got the nod over Mark Visentin of the Niagara Ice Dogs.
The Russians have something to prove in this tournament after an embarrassing sixth-place finish in Saskatoon last year. The country has not stood atop the world junior podium since the 2003 tournament and now has three fewer gold medals than Canada. Russia continues to lead the overall medal standings with 28 to Canada’s 25, which includes medals won as the Soviet Union.
Can Canada keep the ball rolling?
The Canadians wound up on the winning side in each of their three pre-tournament games against Switzerland, Sweden and Finland. However, with the exception of the win over Switzerland, none of the wins were picture perfect. The Canadian team would be the first to admit it has room for improvement in spite of the wins. It is encouraging, however, that a less than perfect performance against two strong nations still turned into victories.
Historically, Canada is a strong starter in this tournament. The Canadians have won their first game of the tournament 28 of 34 times. The last time Canada did not win its first game was in 1999 when it tied Slovakia 0-0.
Canada eventually lost to the Russians in the gold-medal game of that tournament.
Will Russia’s experience translate into success?
It’s often said the world juniors is a tournament for 19-year-olds. No one seems to be following that mantra more than the Russians whose team features all but one player born in 1991. Their youngest player is Washington Capitals first-rounder Evgeni Kuznetsov, who was born in 1992.
Sixteen of Russia’s 22-man roster also played in the recently-completed Subway Super Series. Many of the players who didn’t play on that team that are on this team are the most notable Russian players, particularly: Kuznetsov, Vladimir Tarasenko and Dmitri Orlov.
Perhaps more valuable than age and experience is the perceived lack of a classic Russian head case. Nikita Filatov tried taking last year’s team on his shoulders, but couldn’t handle the pressure on a team with a ‘me-first’ attitude. If nothing else, this year’s Russian team will not be a pushover.
How crucial are special teams?
In a word: very.
It’s not a stretch to say this game could be decided by a power-play goal. While the Canadians appeared to have shored up some of the extra man deficiencies as their pre-tournament games wore on, there still seems to be room for improvement. Some of the team’s defencemen were mishandling the puck, most notably returning player Calvin de Haan. Tyson Barrie and team captain Ryan Ellis will need to anchor the power-play even more and produce more opportunities from the back-end.
Far too often the Canadian players looked for the perfect pass in pre-tournament games, rather than the simple, efficient play. Canada began getting results with the hard-nosed style by developing screens and using the point shot. This team seemingly accepts it is not the most creative or offensively-gifted, so now it’s time to put that theory to the test by getting the greasy goals.
There’s no denying the Russians have plenty of star power at forward and more than competent defencemen. While it lacks the superstars of tournaments past, it is a well-rounded group with offensive flair. International games are more prone to penalties than league play, which could give either team the opportunity with the extra man.
Is Canada’s offence ready for the test?
The Canadian players’ egos aren’t taking a hit with all the talk that this team does not boast a superstar. But if this team is going to become complacent or happy with the underdog label then it could be a disastrous finish. Canada started the pre-tournament games with an impressive 8-0 shellacking over the Swiss, but weren’t able to generate as many opportunities against Sweden and Finland.
The pre-tournament games are important for the team to begin to gel together, but too much can be read into the last two outings. If scoring isn’t a problem, now is the time for this team to prove its critics wrong against a tough opponent.
How big are the opening game implications?
You never want to overstate the importance of a single game, but the implications are immense. The Russians have the toughest schedule to begin the tournament with Canada then Sweden in the first two games. Those three teams are the top three from their group and a loss all but takes one of those teams out of contention to earn the bye to the semifinals.
The Americans are the front-runners to finish first in their pool, meaning the second- or third-place team in the group stage could meet the host nation in a semifinal.
