This is the question that all Canadians have been asking since Thursday evening, following Canada’s embarrassing defeat against the Czech Republic at the 2025 World Juniors.
How could the Canadian team crash so miserably?
The plane piloted by Dave Cameron never flew very high in the sky. The victories acquired in preparatory matches were interesting, nothing more, but the preliminary round gave us a series of red flags.
The most optimistic people kept repeating that we must not give in to panic, that Canada could still finish first in Group A.
The flight they hoped for on December 31 never took place. The engine never took off and the doubts at the start of the tournament proved to be justified.
As a result, Canada lost for the second year in a row against the Czech Republic, which brings the famous question to the forefront.
For what?
Controversial choices
Dave Cameron on his bench giving instructions to his players. (Patrick Woodbury/Archives Le Droit)
Let’s look at the composition of the team, deprived of four players from the top-10 of the last National Hockey League draft, forward Beckett Sennecke and defensemen Carter Yakemchuk and Zayne Parekh, Tij Iginla having been taken out of action just before the selection camp.
The selection of only two Quebecers caused discussion among us, but there is no more controversial choice than the non-selection of Michael Misa, the second highest point scorer in the Ontario Junior League, despite his 64 points in 33 meetings.
The bet was on versatility, role players who could fulfill very specific missions. The problem is that the scorers chosen by Canadian leaders did not score.
For a team that scored a measly 13 goals in five games — compared to 29 for the Czech Republic and the United States! — we are talking about a fairly resounding failure.
Short of explanations
Canada led by Dave Cameron lost in the quarter-finals for the second year in a row on Thursday evening. (Patrick Woodbury/Archives Le Droit)
Frozen behind his bench, head coach Dave Cameron failed to convince anyone during the tournament. He first struggled to explain his team’s poor performance against Latvia and then the narrow victory against Germany.
The indiscipline of his training? The Ontarian’s response was astounding, as was the energy level and cohesion of his men during the meetings.
“It’s an individual question, a question of character,” he limited himself to saying at the start of the storm. They [les joueurs] have to decide how to behave and I am sure they will.”
As the “outside noise” grew louder, Dave Cameron said he couldn’t afford to leave players out, that the competition was too short for reprimands.
Exhausted players?
Rather than giving an electric shock to his flock, who would have really needed it, the coach opted for rest, judging his players exhausted, even though they were playing at home, in front of their supporters, without having to adjust. to the time difference.
To remedy the situation, Cameron decided to cancel workouts, a choice that surprised just about every coach in the country.
The forced landing began to look like a regular crush, even if the club’s goalkeeper, Carter George, really had nothing to reproach himself for.
Pointed out by many, Cameron said he had “no regrets”, he who was betting a lot on Mike Johnston, 67, another veteran of the national program.
Favreau in the press gallery
The Franco-Ontarian, Sylvain Favreau, was one of Dave Cameron’s assistants in the tournament. (Patrick Woodbury/Archives Le Droit)
While the general manager of the Portland Winterhawks — he hasn’t managed for a year — was behind the bench, Sylvain Favreau, the next generation of the profession at 46 years old, watched the game from the press box in a limited role as eye-in-the-sky.
No, for those who ask, the Franco-Ontarian of the Drummondville Voltigeurs was not responsible for the protests, which led to the Czechs’ winning goal on Thursday evening.
Cameron, a good man
Behind the scenes, Dave Cameron has a spotless reputation. His peers say he is attentive, funny and affable, human qualities that we look for to make a hockey club a “family” for a tournament like the World Juniors.
Could it be, however, that the former Senators pilot no longer had the enthusiasm and the grip necessary to push young hockey players of junior age who are in the eye of all hockey fans in the country during the days of Holidays?
The World Juniors have become an exciting tournament where easy matches hardly exist anymore.
Almost as rare as Dave Cameron’s defenders for two weeks.
