When asked his favourite Western Hockey League sa国际传媒 Division road destination, Ty Smith didn鈥檛 hesitate in answering: 鈥淰an and Vic.鈥�
That鈥檚 a good thing because the Spokane Chiefs blue-liner will get his fill of both, West Coast winter rain, gray skies and all.
The Canadian junior national team training camp, which opened last week at The Q Centre, continues this week at CFB Naden ahead of pre world-tournament exhibition games Wednesday against Switzerland and Friday against Slovakia, both at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Host and defending-champion sa国际传媒 headlines Pool A and opens the 2019 IIHF world junior championship on Boxing Day against Victoria Royals forward Phillip Schultz and Denmark at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. (Pool B will be based at the Memorial Centre in Victoria.)
鈥淧laying for sa国际传媒 in the world juniors has been a dream of mine since I was young,鈥� said Smith, who hails from Lloydminster, Alta.
Smith will help lead a seven-player Canadian defensive corps that is more mobile than big.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a solid, fast unit,鈥� said Smith.
It also includes Markus Phillips, Josh Brook, Red Wings-prospect Jared McIsaac, first-round Oilers draft pick Evan Bouchard, first-round Islanders selection Noah Dobson and Blackhawks-prospect Ian Mitchell.
Canadian head coach Tim Hunter wants versatility out of this group. Toward that end, he had the defencemen playing at times on their wrong shooting sides during a three-game set last week against the U Sports all-stars at The Q Centre. Hunter also had the Canadian forwards play their off positions, describing 鈥渇lexibility鈥� as a key approach when building a national team.
Hunter chose one of his own club鈥檚 defencemen, Montreal Canadiens prospect Brook, from the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL. That gives the Canadian blue line two WHLers in Smith and Brook. Both can propel the puck, as evidenced by Brook鈥檚 nine goals and 33 points this season in 25 games for Moose Jaw, and Smith鈥檚 39 points in 28 games for Spokane this season and 73 points last season.
The five-foot-11, 178-pound Smith was the first WHL player taken in the 2018 NHL draft, 17th overall by the New Jersey Devils.
鈥淚 really like his vision and ability to read the play,鈥� said Victoria Royals head coach Dan Price, whose club faces Smith and the Chiefs four times a season.
鈥淗e can slow down play to create offence and that is a huge advantage both five-on-five and on the power play.鈥�
Meanwhile, Canadian blue-liner Phillips commented on the move up from club to country and just how valuable a learning experience was the three-game set won 2-1 by the older and heavier U Sports all-stars.
鈥淵ou tend to overthink things. You just have to let it go and treat it like another game,鈥� said the Los Angeles Kings prospect, from the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League.
ICE CHIPS: Germany, with forward Yannik Valenti of the Vancouver Giants, won the Div. 1 world junior championship Saturday in Fussen, Germany, and has been promoted to the top tier for the 2020 IIHF world junior championship to take place in the Czech Republic. . . . Belarus, with forward Igor Martynov of the Victoria Royals, placed second behind Germany in Fussen and will remain in the secondary world tournament for next year. . . . With Germany鈥檚 promotion, the last-place finisher in the 2019 world juniors in Victoria and Vancouver will be relegated.
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