One of the results of this is that instead of hitting the ski slopes and ending the day at the chalet watching a World Junior match – the Gauthier tradition – Kaylen and the whole family will hit the road from Ottawa to support Ethan in his quest for gold.
With the hope, of course, of seeing him shine as he usually does in big moments. Will he be the one to score a goal that will be remembered years from now?
“I stopped surprising myself with that,” Kaylen said when asked. I’ve seen him go for quite a long time. When there is a big moment, he always manages to find a way to make a difference. That’s just the type of player he is. »
From father to son
The father is also aware of his son’s ability to “deliver the goods on demand”, and he knows better than anyone the importance of this quality in a tournament like this. He won the gold medal there in 1996, notably alongside Jarome Iginla.
He would obviously be very happy to see Ethan make the difference and imitate him by adding this title to his list of achievements. But what matters to him is seeing him live this unique experience.
“It’s the entire work that stays in our minds,” Denis explained. These are the memories, the friendships that we created at that moment. I hope my guy comes close to what I experienced. It had a major impact on my career. I learned to win, to play a specific role and to sacrifice myself for the team.
“It gave me incredible confidence for what came next: the end of the junior season and my arrival in the professionals. I wish he would experience the same scenario. »
Twenty-nine years have passed since his participation in the traditional holiday tournament. But he says that even today, people talk to him about his hits in the final against Sweden and José Théodore’s spectacular performance in the semi-final against powerful Russia.
“What struck me was the intensity of the moment,” he concluded. All the attention of Canada and the hockey world is focused on this tournament. It’s the only time I’ve worn the colors of Canada in my career. I appreciated this pressure and the sense of responsibility that comes with this privilege. »
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