James Boyd had a lot more leeway this time.
Moved to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the postponed and redesigned 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship presented unique challenges.
For the head of Hockey Canada’s management group, it was a daily battle simply to determine which players would show up in Edmonton for an ill-seated tournament — held after the NHL Draft and a few weeks before the start of the new season.
We had players who weren’t available, we had players who were injured after playing a long season. We ended up with 15, 16, 17 unavailable players. In June, we had players retiring every day.
The 2023 tournament is much simpler, as the next step in the process begins on Friday, when the 32 invited players from Team Canada’s junior selection camp take to the ice in Moncton, New Brunswick.
“It was an easier process,” said Boyd, who is the general manager of the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL.
The on-ice process will be led by head coach Dennis Williams, who coaches the Everett Silvertips of the WHL and was an assistant on Canada’s gold medal-winning staff this summer.
We weren’t really sure what was going to happen after the draft and how the tournament went, he said of the event. What I learned from my time with Hockey Canada is that everyone is in place to do a great job and you have access to all the resources. We want to deliver a great product that Canadian fans will enjoy.
Dennis Williams, head coach of Canada
The initial roster of 29 players for training camp was announced last week and features talented center Connor Bedard.
PHOTO JASON FRANSON, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Connor Bedard
The 17-year-old Regina Pats star leads the WHL with 27 goals and 64 points in just 28 games, further cementing his status as the top prospect heading into the upcoming NHL Draft.
The list also includes University of Michigan Wolverines forward Adam Fantilli, who would be in the conversation for the first overall pick if Bedard weren’t there.
And then, reinforcements from the NHL will head to the Maritimes.
The Los Angeles Kings announced Wednesday that they will loan defenseman Brandt Clarke to Hockey Canada before the team gets Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright.
PHOTO STEPHEN BRASHEAR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shane Wright
Wright did not play for the national under-20 team this summer, but he was part of the squad that took part in the postponed tournament due to COVID-19.
“If the Kraken calls and Shane is available, we’ll be jumping for joy,” Boyd said ahead of Thursday’s official announcement.
Canada then got another boost from the NHL when the Arizona Coyotes announced forward Dylan Guenther, who had three goals and eight assists this season, would also be loaned out.
With the tournament once again taking place on smaller North American ice in Halifax and Moncton, the focus is clearly on talent and size among the players in camp, including 10 who will be returning after won gold this summer.
Nine of the 10 defensemen in attendance are six-foot-one and taller while 15 of the 18 forwards are at least six-foot.
But as in any international tournament, the players will have to accept their role in the final formation of 13 attackers, seven defenders and three goalkeepers.
Everyone is a top player in their team and everyone plays a key role. We will need them to adjust and accept the role that is defined for them. We are excited to start working with this new group.
James Boyd, Head of Hockey Canada’s Management Group
This group has no connection to Hockey Canada’s spring, summer and fall scandals, which led to scathing criticism, funding cuts and the resignation of its management, but the players will always be in the spotlight as the national organization looks to move forward.
“We want to make sure we stay focused on how we do things on and off the ice,” Williams said. We want to minimize distractions, whether due to pressure or anything outside. Our guys come in excited, our guys come in determined. They know the expectations.
“We’re here to coach hockey and put the best product on the ice by keeping them high on and off the ice. »
And after the roller coaster that preceded the last World Junior Hockey Championship, Hockey Canada officials are hoping for a smoother ride on the country’s Atlantic coast.
“We weren’t sure there would be a tournament,” Boyd said of August’s event. It’s been an interesting year and a half here. There is a pandemic, restrictions, cancellation of the tournament, the summer tournament. It was different. But it was great — the whole tournament. »