Canada's quiet quarterback

The pain Brandon Gormley felt a year ago had little to do with the feeling in his right knee.

Like many other Canadians, Gormley was fixed to his television set in early January, watching as a Russian team celebrated an improbable third-period comeback over his native country's representatives. The sick feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach only intensified when he thought of the disappointed players wearing the maple leaf, many of whom he considered friends.

"You never want to see that," Gormley says of Russia's 5-3 win over Canada in the gold-medal game. "As a hockey fan, it's one thing, but to know all the guys and to not be there to help them out, it was kind of a different situation. Obviously, everyone was very disappointed, but it did cut a little deeper knowing you were kind of helpless. You couldn't do much to help them."

Gormley was rendered helpless due to what he now calls a "fluke accident." Weeks before he was set to compete for a roster spot on Canada's world junior team, Gormley suffered a dislocated right knee cap in league play. In a game against the now-defunct Lewiston Maineiacs in late November, a Lewiston player tripped on a Moncton player after a faceoff, losing his balance and falling on the side of Gormley's right leg.

It wasn't a serious injury -- he feels no ill effects now, a year later -- but it was serious enough for him to miss the tournament. Only around the time his hockey-playing friends were preparing to play for gold in Buffalo did Gormley finally commence skating. His first game back was on Jan. 7, two days after the gold-medal game and around the same time many of those Canadian players would have suited up in league play anyway.

Fast forward a year and Gormley is chomping at the bit to represent his country once more in the most prestigious junior tournament. He's not new to international competition, nor is he in attending a December selection camp, but he is hoping his junior career comes full circle in Alberta.

Gormley represented his country in four previous tournaments, winning gold in the Ivan Hlinka under-18 championship in the summer of 2009. Prior to that, he accomplished a rare feat by playing in three consecutive under-17 tournaments, first as a member of the team from Prince Edward Island in the 2007 Canada Winter Games as a 14-year-old.

"Not too many guys get a chance to do that," he says. "I was very blessed to be able to do that."

Two years later he was the first pick overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft, by the Moncton Wildcats.

Yet for all of Gormley's success, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. His island roots are still present in his modest demeanor, a trait that endeared himself quickly to his new teammates in Moncton after being drafted first in 2008.

"He came in the first year, and you wouldn't have known if he was the first-overall pick or a free agent that hitchhiked to camp," says Danny Flynn, head coach and director of hockey operations for the Wildcats. "He was so quiet and unassuming."

Since then, Gormley has been compared to Nicklas Lidstrom for his playing style and was a first-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010. His all-around game and versatility make him a desirable player to don the maple leaf later this month in Edmonton and Calgary.

"He's not going to wow you with an end-to-end rush, and he's not going to run anybody through the boards," Flynn explains. "But he's going to impress you with his intelligence and his poise and his ability to be effective inside his game."

A reliable defensive player, Gormley excels in his own zone, even if he won't make the crushing check. As Gormley's game matured, Flynn noted this quiet and unassuming youngster began adding an offensive repertoire to the package.

Whether Hockey Canada wants offence or defence from Gormley, Flynn can see his player fitting the bill in either category.

"We tell him he's a quarterback, not a running back," Flynn says. "His job is to try and move the puck up efficiently and try to join the rush."

Gormley is on pace for his finest season yet in Moncton. His 26 points in 25 games are good for fourth in the league scoring race among defencemen, but he's willing to put the point race on hold for the next month.

Having watched this tournament from home throughout his youth and again unexpectedly last year, Gormley would love nothing more than to live out the dream of playing in it.

"I'm feeling good this year," he says. "It's been a good year so far, and I'm really looking forward to the camp coming up here and hopefully earning a spot."