No longer under the radar

EDMONTON -- There was a time when Scott Wedgewood needed an introduction.

It seems silly to think now, in hindsight, after a crowd of 16, 417 would chant his name following his 26-save shutout performance over the Czech Republic, he wouldn't be among the more recognizable Canadian players.

Maybe it's his demeanor or the fact he's never afraid to laugh at himself, but Wedgewood could still poke fun at his anonymity just a day before his first start on the biggest stage of his career. Hockey Canada's director of communications, Andre Brin, announced Wedgewood's name, as he does every other player, when they enter the mix zone for interviews with the media.

"Who?" Wedgewood promptly replied, before chuckling to himself.

It's safe to say he won't need a name tag anywhere he goes for the remainder of this tournament. Wedgewood was as good as advertised against a tough Czech squad that had some quality scoring chances in the first two periods, before Canada opened it up en route to a 5-0 win.

---

More at Buzzing the Net: WJC2012: 5 reasons why it’s perfectly Canadian to loathe the world juniors | Read it here

---

It's not a big mystery as to why his name floated under the radar for so long. A career Plymouth Whaler, Wedgewood plays for a team with fewer local press clippings than bus trips and is as quiet and unassuming as they come.

His sense of humour is one of his best traits. Wedgewood knows when to make a joke just as he knows when to take things seriously and a memorable part of Wednesday's win was a perfect time to start chirping.

After spotting Freddie Hamilton loose near the opposing blue line, Wedgewood hit him with a perfect pass from his own end. Hamilton failed to score on the breakaway, but gathered the puck and sent it across to Ryan Strome who would conserve the assist.

Wedgewood got the point, but even he wasn't ready to let his teammate off the hook for missing the first chance.

"He said he was wishing I was burying the first one so it would make the pass look even better," Hamilton said.

The pass looked great, and few will hold the fact Hamilton failed to score on the first opportunity against the goalie, who would settle for the second helper.

Wedgewood had one more point than any Czech player, whom he would stymie whenever tested. He's also not the lowest on the Canadian scoring chart, a stat he was quick to point out to a teammate.

"He was bugging (Jamie) Oleksiak he has more points than him now," said forward Brendan Gallagher.

"He does have a sense of humour," adds Hamilton.

Among the few topics Wedgewood takes seriously is the starting goaltender position. He made no attempt to hide the fact he wasn't going to settle for the backup role immediately upon meeting with the media after being named to the team.

Although he's battling with Mark Visentin, a returning player from last year's silver-medal winning team, he speaks candidly about pushing Visentin to earn the starts when the games matter most.

It seems apparent which goalie the fans want to see. Many are knocking their knees at the prospect of having Visentin leading the charge after allowing five goals in the third period of last year's gold medal game against Russia. As if sending a message to head coach Don Hay, fans chanted "WEDGE-wood" repeatedly following the final buzzer.

Asked if he was winning a popularity contest, Wedgewood smiled before perhaps endearing himself even more by showing his humility.

"I don't know about that, but that chant there at the end was pretty cool," he said. "Mark's done great for this team last year and this year. I don't know if I've caught up to him yet."

No, but maybe he's passed him. After all, they weren't chanting Visentin's name after Canada's 8-1 win over Finland on Monday.

Not surprisingly, Hay wouldn't name his starting goalie for Canada's next game on Thursday against Denmark in his post-game press conference, but did recognize the fans' praise for Wedgewood.

"I thought Scott played very well," he said. "I can see why the fans would be excited for him. He did well and I feel both our goalies played well in their two starts."

Wedgewood's popularity grew so much during the game he could hardly turn to take a sip of water in between plays without a positive reaction from the fans behind the glass.

As the fans chanted his name, some of his teammates suggested he smile widely with the spotlight clearly fixed on him. Others weren't so sure what the commotion was about.

"We couldn't tell what they were saying," Gallagher said. "Were they saying 'Wedgewood'?"

Yes, they were. It may be his last introduction.