Sometimes you lose. Even if you’re Canadian.
Sometimes you end up being a goalie. With 11 seconds left in a tied game, a shot could bounce off a stick, shinguard or post. Sometimes injuries get the better of you. Sometimes the best players of some eras remain in the NHL more than others. Sometimes all of those things happen at the same time.
Sometimes there are real excuses and luck doesn’t go your way. In some cases, even if you win four gold medals in a row, you may not make it to the fifth. Canada is not guaranteed success in international hockey. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years covering the World Juniors, it’s that hockey is unpredictable, especially on this stage. Canada might have lost in the quarterfinals a year ago in Halifax without Conor Bedard’s magical overtime goal if not for a puck on the butt of Tomas Milic’s stick. Canada also never would have gotten Kent Johnson’s golden goal two years ago in Edmonton without Mason McTavish’s miraculous goal-line save. There was talk of aiming for a three-peat this year for the first time since 2009, but Canada could have easily advanced with 0 out of 2 wins. That year, Canada regained its momentum. That wasn’t the case this year.
There may be one returnee. Next year there may be as many as eight.
Because of the pandemic, there may be 19-year-olds who don’t have an under-17 program and didn’t compete in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup or the under-18 world championships.
“This 2004 group was difficult for them,” Hockey Canada national team chief Scott Salmond said Wednesday. “Essentially, they’re learning on the job. They’re coming here and getting (their first) international experience at the most important time…We’re building a good team base going forward.” If this were to happen more consistently, I would be concerned. And I am concerned anyway.”
However, this does not mean that Canada is not responsible for how this tournament unfolded.
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