(Ottawa) Brayden Yager received a visit this fall.
Posted at 7:02 p.m.
Joshua Clipperton
The Canadian Press
Hockey Canada player development coach Scott Walker was in town.
And after the country’s fifth-place finish at the World Junior Hockey Championship last year, the points the program’s masterminds emphasized couldn’t have been simpler.
“You can’t take anything for granted,” Yager said. You have to deserve everything you get. »
The Winnipeg Jets prospect is one of six returning players from the 2024 tournament in Sweden – seven including defenseman Tanner Molendyk, who missed the tournament due to injury after being part of the initial roster – so that the selection camp is underway this week at TD Place.
Part of the message is that we’re not building an all-star team. Everyone has a lot of talent to win this tournament. You have to have players who can play roles. We cannot take this for granted.
Brayden Yager
There are absolutely no guarantees in the nation’s capital, even for players who bear the scars of that disastrous quarter-final exit to the Czech Republic in Gothenburg.
“They’ll have to do what it takes to make the team,” Peter Anholt, who heads Canada’s under-20 program, said of the veterans. There will be no gifts. »
PHOTO SPENCER COLBY, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Peter Anholt
Canada collapsed before the medal round last year, losing 3-2 to the Czechs, with a group that never really got into second gear.
Defenseman Oliver Bonk – another returning player – also met with Walker, who is on head coach Dave Cameron’s staff, this fall.
“We only gave the bare minimum,” said the son of former NHL player Radek Bonk. I couldn’t agree more…just need to make sure the team is better prepared this year.
“We have to take a step forward and be ready to play. »
Yager, Molendyk, Bonk and forward Easton Cowan – who did not practice in Ottawa as a precaution this week after being tackled hard last Friday – appear to be assured of making the 2025 team.
“We sat down, we went through the process,” Cameron said. This guy does this. This guy does this. Now show it off. »
Goaltender Scott Ratzlaff, as well as forwards Carson Rehkopf and Matthew Wood, must show that they have their place in a team that will begin the tournament at home, at the Canadian Tire Centre, against Finland on December 26.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Scott Ratzlaff
“It’s earned, not given,” said Ratzlaff, who was the third goalie last year and who was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres. I’m going to do what made me successful and we’ll see how it goes. »
Rehkopf said there isn’t much time for both returning and new players to make an impression with a series of practices and two exhibition games against a team of Canadian university stars this week at TD Place.
“It’s about playing your game,” the Seattle Kraken pick said. You are here for a reason. Everyone brings something different. »
Cameron said that any player’s task is ultimately simple.
Their job is to make our job difficult, he said. This is a tough team to build…don’t take anything for granted.
Dave Cameron, head coach of the Canadian team
The returning players have something to prove after last year’s debacle.
“We need to be more competitive,” Yager admitted. We didn’t just forget about it. »
Canada let Czechia have its way in last year’s quarterfinals before a shot deflected off Bonk, off the post and into the goal with just 11.7 seconds left in regulation, to surprise the power of hockey.
“We finished on a tough bounce,” Yager recalled. We put ourselves in a (bad) position… too close a game, but that’s in the past. We are focusing on this year. This sounds like a pretty special group.
“It’s exciting to come back and have a chance to go for gold. »
A battle in front of the net
Canada’s goaltending quartet has no World Junior experience other than Ratzlaff, who watched last year’s tournament.
Los Angeles Kings prospect Carter George said goalies, including Carson Bjarnason and Jack Ivankovic, are supporting each other during a stressful week.
“We hope the best for the guys,” he said. Me and (Bjarnason) we joke, we have fun.
“It’s not like we hate each other. »
