Team Canada received some harsh criticism for failing to make the gold-medal game at the World Junior Hockey Championships for the first time since 2001.
After falling behind 6-1 to Russia in the semi-finals on Tuesday, Canada put forth a valiant comeback attempt, but fell just short. Canada ended up losing 6-5 and saw their dreams of a gold medal dashed.
Any form of hockey failure is magnified tenfold in Canada, but it doesn’t mean the players on the team can’t go on to do great things in the National Hockey League or in other international competitions.
The last Canadian junior squad that failed to reach the gold-medal game at WJHC was the 2001 squad. Like any Canadian hockey team competing in an international tournament, the 2001 edition of Team Canada had high expectations both inside and outside the dressing room.
That team couldn’t snag the gold medal, but ended up defeating Sweden and winning a bronze medal. This year’s edition of the team also has a chance to take home the bronze as they battle Finland on Thursday.
Despite the criticism the players from the 2001 team faced after failing to make the final, many have gone on to have stellar NHL careers.
Up front, forwards like Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Mike Cammalleri have become stars that consistently put up big numbers.
In 669 NHL games, Heatley has 325 goals and 689 points. The 30-year old is a multiple-time all-star and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2002.
Spezza has also averaged over a point-per-game in his career with 532 points in 526 games. On Thursday, he was voted in as a starting forward for the 2012 NHL All-star Game.
Cammalleri has developed into one of the more dangerous goal scorers in recent years. After leading the American Hockey League in goals in 2004-05, he’s gone on to have four 20-goal seasons in the NHL.
Players like Brad Boyes, Steve Ott, Raffi Torres and Jarret Stoll went on to become household names in the NHL, while the rest of the forwards (Jason Jaspers, Jamie Lundmark, Derek MacKenzie, David Morisset, Brandon Reid and Mike Zigomanis) have had some success in the NHL, AHL and in leagues overseas.
The team had a solid blueline as well, led by Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Hamhuis and Barrett Jackman.
Bouwmeester is a two-time all-star and is the current ironman in the NHL. He has not missed a regular season game since prior to the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season.
Hamhuis and Jackman are solid forces on the backend for their respective clubs too. Jackman won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2003, while Hamuis has put up solid numbers in 547 career NHL games.
Rounding out the blueline was Nick Schultz, Jay Harrison, Mark Popovic and Steve McCarthy, who all went on to play in the NHL.
Although goalie Maxime Ouellet never had success at the pro level, Alex Auld has become a solid NHL netminder and currently is the Ottawa Senators backup goaltender.
There is no way of knowing for sure if any of this year’s players will have an impact in the NHL. But if history repeats itself, players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Brett Connolly, Mark Stone, Ryan Strome, Mark Scheifele and the rest of Team Canada could end up having memorable hockey careers wherever they land.
