THE CANADIAN PRESS
Canada’s recent record at the IIHF World Hockey Championship underscores the challenge that lies ahead.
Despite going 25-2 over the past three years at the tournament, the country only has one gold medal to show for its efforts — capturing the event in 2007 before losing consecutive finals to Russia by one goal each time.
If Canada had received a couple timely saves or a little more offence, it would likely be gunning for a fourth straight world championship gold starting this week in Germany. Instead, it enters in the midst of a stunning run of success that has tasted a little bit sour.
The Canadian team once again looks as strong as any other at the event, but recent history has kept it from feeling overconfident heading in.
“We’ve seen enough of this tournament now that we won’t get fooled into thinking that they’re going to be easier games over there,” said coach Craig MacTavish.
MacTavish has experienced the disappointment first-hand, serving as an associate coach with the 2005 and 2008 world championship teams that lost in the gold-medal game. This will be his first crack at being the head man and he’s found himself drawing up line combinations in recent weeks while general manager Mark Messier assembled the roster.
Coming on the heels of Canada’s victory at the Vancouver Olympics, there’s been a clear emphasis on youth and skill with Messier’s selections. The Olympic cycle is essentially beginning anew with a number of fresh-faced players who hope to find themselves in the mix come the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
Steven Stamkos is at the top of that list after a season in which he tied Sidney Crosby for the NHL’s goal-scoring lead. He’s back at the world championship for a second straight year, but feels just as much pressure to make an impression.
“You really want to show that you can do it at an international level,” said Stamkos, one of six players on the team who are 20 or under. “Obviously, your goal is to eventually make that Olympic team. These are the steps that lead you there.”
Canada takes its first steps at the tournament with a game against Italy on Saturday in Mannheim, Germany. It will also face Latvia and Switzerland in the preliminary round — games that will be important for a collection of players from all over the NHL who are trying to grow into a cohesive unit.
Chris Mason will start as the No. 1 goaltender and be backed up by Chad Johnson, a 23-year-old with just five NHL games under his belt for the New York Rangers. If Messier decides to make any late roster additions, they will likely include a goalie.
There should be an edge to this Canadian squad. The skill of Stamkos, John Tavares and Matt Duchene will be balanced by black-and-blue workers Corey Perry, Steve Ott, Steve Downie and Ryan Smyth, the veteran famously dubbed “Captain Canada” who is back for his eighth world championship after a five-year hiatus.
Above all, Messier wanted to build a team that is hungry and driven.
“I think you need to be able to win with offence, you need to win with defence and you need to be able to win in the alley — you need to be able to win in the streets,” he said. “Hockey’s hockey no matter where it’s played or what rules it’s played under. You’ve still got to fight for space, you’ve still got to want to win.
“We tried to put a team together that we felt was capable of doing all those things.”
The toughest challenge should come from the Russians, who have Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and several other top players that will be looking to make amends for a disappointing sixth-place finish in Vancouver. They’ll also have the opportunity to win a third straight world championship gold — something the country hasn’t accomplished since the dominant days of the Soviet Union.
The Finns, Swedes and Americans will also be hoping to compete for a medal, but have hinged their success on less-proven players than they brought to the Olympics. Like Canada, those countries are also looking to the future and turning to youth.
The variety of players is one of the most interesting aspects of the world championship, an event that will always live in the shadow of the NHL playoffs for North Americans. However, the people that attend the event frequently rave about how good it is.
“A lot of times you times on the outside you don’t have the level of respect or appreciation for the quality of hockey in other countries,” said MacTavish. “Like Norway, Switzerland, Latvia, Belarus — people don’t realize just how far these programs have come and how passionate their fans and players are about hockey.
“It’s a tough tournament. The level of competition is sometimes underappreciated.”
Smyth, a two-time world champion, agrees: “It’s not just an average tournament, it’s an excellent tournament. It’s well run, there’s great players and you get better when you get over there.”
He’s a good bet to wear the ‘C’ once again for the Canadian team.
The 34-year-old made a habit of attending the world championship back in the days when most NHLers begged off and is pleased to see how much the level of commitment has grown from Canadian players in the years since. He’s looking forward to playing alongside some of the country’s most promising young talent.
“It’ll be a thrill for me,” said Smyth. “I hope they can learn a little bit from me and I can learn from them too.”
A trip to the world championship requires a player to give up a month of his off-season — the kind of sacrifice a Canadian can usually only justify if he ends up wearing a gold medal at the end of the tournament. That will be front and centre in the minds of every man in the team’s dressing room for the next three weeks.
“It will be a hungry group,” said MacTavish. “My experience over there is that it always is. I just remember the quality of the practices — the speed and pace and tempo and the work. Everybody is on heightened alert in terms of their preparation and their effort.
“I love the enthusiasm of the Canadian players when they go over there and put that jersey on.”
