Hockey Canada is doing things differently this year.
After naming a record 25 players to the selection camp roster, which concluded Sunday in Toronto, head coach Brent Sutter announced all 25 players would head to Europe for pre-competition games. The three cuts – two forwards, one defenceman – won’t know their fate until days before Christmas, which ultimately allows Hockey Canada the opportunity to easily fill a spot should an injury occur before the tournament begins on Boxing Day.
“All these guys deserve to continue to push to try to be on the team,” Sutter told reporters on Sunday. “They’re going to get a few more days to do so. It’s a moving target when that day will come to get down to 22.”
It’s another different approach from Hockey Canada, whose last gold medal came in Ottawa in 2009. Normally, the camp roster would include another 12 players and cuts would come in the early hours where red-eyed teenagers whose dreams just ended faced the media gauntlet, a scenario many likened to corporate layoffs in the business world.
It’s a novel approach bringing all 25 players to Europe for an extended look, but one would be remiss not to note the impact injuries have on the decision. Jonathan Drouin, who suffered a concussion a week ago, didn’t participate in the camp. Defenceman Josh Morrissey also missed Saturday’s exhibition game against a team of CIS all-stars due to injury.
Hockey Canada is still waiting to hear if Sean Monahan or Morgan Rielly will be loaned for the tournament before Thursday’s NHL roster freeze, though he noted it’s unlikely either will be in Sweden.
Connor McDavid scored during Saturday’s exhibition game, another ho-hum performance that barely registered with the teen.
McDavid is looking to become only the sixth 16-year-old to play for Canada in tournament history.
Meanwhile, Sam Cosentino has his take on Darnell Nurse and Max Domi’s omission at the camp and whether or not their performances at the recently completed Subway Super Series accounted for their absence.
TICKET PRICES ESCALATING
Hockey fans in Toronto and Montreal who are anxiously awaiting their chance to host the tournament next year may need to start saving their money now. The highest price point for a ticket package is just shy of $3,000, at $150 per game for games in Toronto, where the medal round will be hosted.
Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson told the National Post’s Sean Fitz-Gerald the 2012 tournament, split between Edmonton and Calgary, brought in $22-million, a number Nicholson hopes the 2015 tournament achieves once again.
“There’s no question it’s more money,” Nicholson told the Post. “But if you’re looking at premier events in this country, it’s not a lot. The demand has been there.”
DROUIN INJURY DRAWS IRE OF MOOSEHEADS
The Halifax Mooseheads may be without Drouin for the next few weeks as he attends the world juniors, but Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell feels the Quebec Remparts should be without Adam Erne after his hit on Drouin that left the star forward out with a concussion. Erne, a candidate for Team USA at the world juniors, escaped suspension for the hit, although he was handed a game misconduct.
The dust has yet to settle on the controversial hit and Russell can’t help but feel there’s a lack of integrity in the decision-making.
“I feel that when I was a kid I was brought up by my parents to be held accountable for my actions,” Russell told Yahoo’s Sunaya Sapurji. “If I broke the rules I was punished and I don’t feel that this punishment was enough.”
Erne threw lighter fluid on the already blazing fire in an interview with Metro’s Andrew Rankin.
“He wasn’t far from the boards and I pushed him pretty hard,” Erne said. “I thought it was a dive and I thought everybody else did, too. I wouldn’t have even gotten a penalty if he didn’t dive into the boards.
“If he dives and goes head first he’s going to hurt himself.”
Quebec head coach and GM Philippe Boucher had no comment, other than to say it’s normal the Remparts and Mooseheads have different opinions on the play.
WINTERHAWKS ACQUIRE DUMBA
The defending Ed Chynoweth Cup champion Portland Winterhawks rolled the dice on Mathew Dumba’s immediate future.
The Winterhawks acquired Dumba’s Western Hockey League rights from the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday in exchange for 18-year-old forward Presten Kopeck. Dumba played in 13 games with the Minnesota Wild before being loaned to Canada’s world junior team, making it a risky move for the Winterhawks.
The risk, however, is slightly mitigated by the fact the Winterhawks are owed a 2014 third round pick if Dumba isn’t returned to junior following the tournament. Kopeck, who was drafted in the third round of the 2010 bantam draft, would remain in Red Deer. Should Dumba report to Portland, the Rebels would retain the third round pick and also receive second round picks in 2014 and 2015, along with a conditional second or third in 2016.
“I talked to (Red Deer GM) Brent Sutter and asked what his plans were if Dumba came back,” Portland head coach and GM Mike Johnston told the Oregonian. “He felt they were in a rebuilding mode, so they wanted to move him to a contending team.”
Johnston also told the Oregonian’s Scott Sepich the decision to use the first overall pick in the 2009 draft came down to Derrick Pouliot and Dumba. The Winterhawks made Pouliot the top pick, while the Rebels took Dumba fourth behind Morgan Rielly and Griffin Reinhart.
– The BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game rosters were announced on Friday. Calgary’s Jake Virtanen will suit up for Team Orr in front of the home fans alongside projected lottery pick Aaron Ekblad.
– First overall OHL pick Travis Konecny is quickly making a name for himself in Ottawa. So much so that Konecny could achieve something even the biggest names in franchise history have not: lead the 67’s in scoring at 16.
– Meanwhile, Konecny (or Rudolph) and his teammates shared their Christmas video.
– Renovations to the arena in North Bay went over budget by some $4-million, causing one scribe to dramatize about whose head should be fitted for a guillotine.
– Brendan Gaunce is still getting used to his new digs in Erie by referring to his GPS. Safe to say he doesn’t need one on the ice.
– Ontario Junior Hockey League player Kevin Shier helped save the life of a soldier whose car was burning in a single-car wreck in New York State last week. A surreal story indeed.
– A captain in the Canadian army, meanwhile, surprised his twin daughters with an unannounced trip home to Victoria prior to a Royals game on Saturday.
– Vancouver defenceman Mason Geertsen was suspended three games for this head shot on Tuesday:
– Portland forward Brendan Leipsic will likely sit this hit:
– The OHL Outdoor Game on Dec. 29 is fast approaching.