By Mark Janzen /
When Team Canada general manager Mark Messier assembled this year’s rendition of the maple leafed ones for the World Championships, the goal was clearly two-fold.
First, as with every team that ever dons the red and white, the goal was to win gold and, in reality, anything short of top spot would be a Great White disappointment.
But second, the Moose was putting together a group of youngsters who are all on the cusp of leading Canada’s next generation of hockey talent.
It doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to realize what Hockey Canada had in mind.
With 12 players on the 2010 roster under the age of 24 and seven of those players under the age of 21, this team had more than its share of youth.
But they also had talent, heart, and exuberance.
Welcome to a pretty big stage, kids—make yourself comfortable.
Come 2014 in Sochi, Russia – assuming the NHL goes to the Olympics – the U21 group of John Tavares, Matt Duchene, Steven Stamkos, Evander Kane, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Myers and Michael Del Zotto might just litter Canada’s roster and this year’s world championship will be remembered as the foundation.
“We’re a pretty young team but there are a lot of familiar faces from Juniors and the like,” said Kane, who, as the youngest of the bunch, doesn’t turn 19 until Aug. 1. “It’s nice to have guys who are going through the same things as you: the first NHL seasons, the first worlds. It’s a lot of firsts.”
But for this lot of fresh-faced Canadians, the World Championships are hardly the first in terms of good old-fashioned red and white pressure.
No, no. These kids know pressure. You ever heard of that little international Junior tournament just after Christmas? Yea, for many of these guys, it’s still what would be called a ‘very recent memory.’
And especially so for Eberle. Not five months ago, he was Canada’s darling hero at the World Juniors and then, in his first game at the worlds – after coming in when a few players went down with injuries – he had a goal and three assists.
No big deal, right? That’s what these kids do.
“We don’t have experience at the World Championships but we have other experience at the international level, whether it be U18s or World Juniors,” Kane said. “It’s going pretty well so far. As a team we’re not getting the results but we’re well on our way.”
You bet they are. While the NHL playoffs roars down the stretch toward Lord Stanley’s mug, this unprecedented gathering of young Canadian talent is getting quite the barrage of invaluable experience across the pond.
Just think, Ray Whitney – who through six games actually led the team with eight points – recently turned 38. Add Tavares and Kane’s ages together and you get 37. And between the two of them, they have eight goals and two assists.
The stage is theirs and these kids are proving the next generation is now and they’ll be plenty ready in four years time. |