It is often said that a champion team bonds for life. That may be true, but for the 12 players who won gold with Junior Team Canada last January and are taking part in the Memorial Cup, friendship will be put aside for ten days.
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Of this dozen, six come from the Seattle Thunderbirds, three from the Kamloops Blazers, two from the Peterborough Petes and one from the Quebec Remparts, Nathan Gaucher, although three of their members had been cut in the final camp, namely Zachary Bolduc, William Rousseau and Evan Nause.
All these players therefore have the opportunity to conclude their season with another title.
“From now on, we don’t really talk to each other. We are no longer in friendly territory. It will be competitive and we may be able to talk about it after the tournament, but for now, we are focusing on our teams, ”said Blazers defender Olen Zellweger.
Battles to be expected
If there’s one advantage these 12 players have over the rest, it’s probably that they already know the tendencies of their national team mates.
“We don’t really know each other as a team, but we know the players. It allows us to know that they are not that extraordinary and that we are on the same level as them. We have players as good as them,” noted Gaucher.
The latter, because of his physical and surly style, risks giving headaches to his former teammates.
“I know what to expect and I’m going to have to play hard when I face him,” said Kamloops Blazers captain Logan Stankoven. He’s bigger than me but I can’t afford to back down from him.”
For Brennan Othmann, of the Peterborough Petes, who was Gaucher’s roommate when the 2022 tournament resumed last August in Edmonton, one thing jumped out at him when he saw the Quebecer again.
“He has a whole beard! I had never seen him with a beard like that. It was good to see him again. Gauch is a very good guy and he is very funny.