(Edmonton) Nathan Gaucher is having a pretty special summer.
Posted yesterday at 8:10 p.m.
In early July, the 18-year-old from Chambly heard his name called 22e overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL Draft in Montreal.
Now he’s working towards another dream as he and Team Canada battle for gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton.
“We focused a lot on hockey,” he said. Sometimes, in summer, we want to change our minds. But I can’t complain about this summer. He is very pleasant. »
In order to have a shot at gold, however, Gaucher and Team Canada will need to defeat a familiar, if unexpected, opponent in Friday’s semifinal.
The Czech Republic stunned defending champions USA in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The Canadians beat the Czechs 5-1 in the preliminary round, but that result won’t count for anything on Friday, Gaucher said.
“We were watching their game [mercredi] – a very big team victory, with huge sacrifices, he said. We have to go back to simple things and forget what we did against them before. »
While Canada (5-0-0) went unbeaten in five games, the Czechs (2-2-1) struggled in the round robin, losing to Latvia, Slovakia and Canada.
The Czechs haven’t won a World Junior Championship medal since 2005 when they won bronze.
Silver medalist last year, Canada takes nothing for granted.
“They’re a great team,” said captain Mason McTavish. They work very hard and they clog the middle. We’re going to have to focus on that, to create scoring opportunities. »
Every team is a good team at this point, said Maple Leaf head coach Dave Cameron.
“It’s all about us,” Cameron said. We have to make sure we’re true to our system, so we don’t fight ourselves. »
Canada outscored their opponents 33-10 in five games, while the Czechs have a minus five differential (15-20).
However, the Canadians could be deprived of a key element on Friday.
Forward Ridly Greig left in the 6-3 quarter-final win over Switzerland with a shoulder injury.
He didn’t practice with his teammates Thursday, and Cameron isn’t sure if he’ll be available for Friday’s game.
Greig, an Ottawa Senators prospect, had three goals and six points in the tournament. He was also a key player on the penalty kill.