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The good-natured celebratory headlock that Canadian head coach Dave Lowry applied on equipment manager Matt Auerbach, after an exhibition victory over Sweden this week, highlighted the extraordinary Victoria Royals connection to the 2016 world junior hockey championships in Finland.
The unlikely journey, which began with a gold medal last year for Lowry and Royals blueliner Joe Hicketts at the 2015 world junior hockey championships, continues today in Helsinki when sa国际传媒 opens against arch-rival the United States at the 2016 world juniors (TSN, 11 a.m. PT).
Joining Lowry and Hicketts this year, as Canadian assistant equipment manager, is Royals head equipment guy Auerbach.
This moment is a major achievement in the careers of all three Royals.
Neither as a high-scoring junior, then as a 19-season role player in the NHL, did Lowry wear the Maple Leaf national team jersey. This is why he so cherishes these moments as a coach 鈥� last year as Canadian team assistant at the world juniors and this year as head coach.
Hicketts, who has been coached on the Royals of the Western Hockey League by Lowry for the past 31脷2 seasons, was overlooked in the 2014 NHL draft. Even being considered for the national junior team at that point was a laughable proposition.
The undersized, but mobile, Hicketts was encouraged by Lowry not to get down and to keep plugging away. Hicketts did just that, taking his longshot dreams and making the 2015 Canadian team as a dark horse, while also signing a pro contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
Now Hicketts and Lowry are crucial components of sa国际传媒鈥檚 bid to win its first gold medal in Europe at the world juniors since 2008.
Hicketts is one of only four returning players on the Canadian roster, along with Brayden Point of the Moose Jaw Warriors, Lawson Crouse of the Kingston Frontenacs and Jake Virtanen, now an NHL rookie with the Vancouver Canucks.
Point has been named Canadian captain and Hicketts and Crouse assistant captains.
鈥淭hese three players have set a tremendous example for the rest of our team from the start of our camp,鈥� Lowry said in a statement.
鈥淭he leadership, work ethic and attention to detail shown by Brayden, Lawson and Joe are the standard for their teammates.鈥�
Lowry is also a returnee, but, stepping up to head coach, he brings his highly-disciplined coaching style, which he has used to good effect in Victoria, to the international stage.
Canadians, to a degree other nations find peculiar, follow the world junior hockey championships with a passion not seen anywhere else. Not even in other hockey-playing nations is this tournament considered such a big deal. So it puts a unique obligation on the Canadian team to perform well each year.
鈥淭here is lots of pressure,鈥� Lowry said before he left Victoria.
鈥淟ast year, it was the pressure of playing at home [in Montreal and Toronto]. This year, it鈥檚 the pressure of not having won gold in Europe since 2008.鈥�
The latter includes sa国际传媒 having to adapt to the bigger ice sheet used in Europe.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about managing the ice,鈥� Lowry said.
鈥淚nside the [face-off] dots, the ice is the same size as here.鈥�
The defence is especially under greater pressure on the wider ice sheet.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about being mindful of stick positioning,鈥� Hicketts said.
鈥淭he forwards have more time on the wider sheet, so you have to keep things to the outside.鈥�
That鈥檚 an issue both North American rivals will have to deal with in their opener today.
鈥淲e face our arch-rival first,鈥� Lowry said.
The Americans, led by projected No. 1 overall 2016 NHL draft pick Auston Matthews, are among the world junior tournament favourites this year.
sa国际传媒 versus the U.S. has, in past tournaments, been the traditional New Year鈥檚 Eve match-up.
鈥淚t might be good for us to get thrown into the fire right away, and not just dip our toes into the tournament,鈥� Hicketts said of meeting the Americans right off the start.
Hicketts is among seven Canadian team players from the WHL 鈥� fellow rearguards Haydn Fleury from the Red Deer Rebels and Travis Sanheim of the Calgary Hitmen and forwards Point, Mathew Barzal from the Seattle Thunderbirds, Rourke Chartier of the Kelowna Rockets and John Quenneville of the Brandon Wheat Kings 鈥� while Virtanen is a WHL alumni.
Hicketts is also part of a starry list of Island players, or Victoria-based juniors, to have played in the world junior championships. He follows in the skate grooves of 2011 silver-medallist blueliner Tyson Barrie of Victoria, whose style Hicketts resembles, and 2009 gold-medallist Jamie Benn of Central Saanich.
The tradition extends back to WHL Victoria Cougars players and hometown products Mel Bridgman and the late Rick Lapointe winning silver with sa国际传媒 in 1975 and former Cougars Curt Fraser (1978) and the late Gary Lupul (1979) also capturing silver medals.
Mark Morrison of the Cougars, still the all-time Victoria Cougars/Royals leader in career WHL points, and the late Port Alberni-product Paul Cyr of the Cougars were part of the historic 1982 gold-medal victory in a drafty old rink in Rochester, Minnesota, when the tape machine jammed and the players launched into an impromptu and heartfelt rendition of O sa国际传媒. Morrison, as captain, and Cyr returned in 1983 to win bronze in Leningrad.
Kent Manderville of Victoria, one of the Island鈥檚 most under-rated players, won back-to-back world junior gold medals with sa国际传媒 in 1990 and 1991 en route to the silver medal at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.
Former NHLers Russ Courtnall of Victoria and Rod Brind鈥橝mour of Campbell River are also world junior championship alumni, from 1984 in Sweden and 1989 in Anchorage, Alaska, respectively.
Both went on to agonizing and respective fourth-place finishes at the 1984 Sarajevo and 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
Former NHLer Matt Pettinger of Victoria, who went on to a pro career in Germany, took bronze with sa国际传媒 at the 2000 world junior tournament in Sweden.
