Five Canucks who made a name for themselves
Every year, the world junior championship introduces a new crop of hockey talent to the world.
As such, meet five players who impacted Team Canada. They are sure to be names to watch in the near future.
Brendan Gallagher
If armchair fans didn’t notice the Vancouver Giants winger, every goaltender Canada faced certainly did. Just five-foot-eight and 178-pounds, Gallagher’s play in front of the net annoyed netminders and created energy for the Canadian squad.
Counted on time and again by head coach Don Hay to provide a spark, he did just that — with a grin the whole time. He was especially effective in the final minutes of Canada’s monster thirdperiod comeback against Russia, scoring a goal and adding two assists.
A late fifth-round (147th overall) pick of the Montreal Canadiens, the 19-year-old showed all heart and zero quit all tournament. Maybe the masses outside the Western Hockey League didn’t know his name before the tournament — but they might now.
“That’s not what I came here to do, but I was just trying to play the same way I always do,” said the Tsawwassen, B.C., native following Canada’s bronze-medal game. “If people notice, that’s a good thing and if they didn’t, it’s not something I worry about.”
Mark Stone
A man of few words, the easygoing Brandon Wheat Kings captain was brought onto Canada’s roster to put up big numbers and he did not disappoint.
He scored in all three exhibition games and opened preliminary-round play at Rexall Place with a hat trick against Finland. In all six games, which included Tuesday’s 6-5 semifinal loss to Russia and Thursday’s bronze-medal win over Finland, he paced Canada with seven goals and three assists.
Stone’s nightly presence on the scoresheet was not a big surprise, considering he led the WHL with 27 goals and 38 assists in 33 games prior to the world juniors.
Plagued with injuries during the year leading up to his draft, the Ottawa Senators selected the Winnipeg native in the sixth round, 178th overall.
“People are sometimes concerned about his quickness and his speed, and I think he makes up for it with his willingness and his smarts and his stick,” said Team Canada assistant coach George Burnett. “I think he’s going to have a tremendous future as a pro in the National Hockey League.”
Ryan Strome
He was the middle man with Mark Stone and slick leftwinger Jonathan Huberdeau for most of the tournament and did a stellar job making their lives easy.
A hockey stats junkie who normally suits up for the Niagara Icedogs of the Ontario Hockey League, Strome had a big impact on the Canadian lineup each night. With three goals and six assists in six games, the six-foot, 183-pound Mississauga, Ont., native was dynamite with the puck and showed flash in the corners.
Strome is a skilled player who went fifth overall last summer to the New York Islanders.
“To me, he’s a throwback a little bit,” said Icedogs head coach Marty Williamson. “A lot of kids nowadays have this entitlement thing. They just think that they should be handed everything. Ryan is not that way.”
Brandon Gormley
After a knee injury kept him off last year’s world junior roster in Buffalo, Gormley was given a second chance this year. He provided a solid, calming presence on the back end and was the glue of a heavily criticized blueline heading into the tournament.
The pride of Murray River, P.E.I., and the Moncton Wildcats was awarded an ‘A’ on this year’s group for a reason. A defensive anchor who was steady all tournament, Gormley cleared pucks, made sharp passes, and delivered hits. He also shouldered the blame after the team’s 6-5 loss to Russia.
“We didn’t support the (goalies) enough,” he said. “There were careless mistakes we made. It’s not their fault. It’s a team game and we gave them Grade A scoring chances.”
In six games, the 13th overall pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010 also chipped in offensively with three goals and three assists.
Freddie Hamilton
Maybe a bit unknown to the Western world, Canada’s wise elder statesman won’t be in a few years.
The San Jose Sharks will soon realize they cashed in when they drafted Hamilton in the fifth round (129th overall) back in 2010.
Hamilton showed nothing but hard work and responsibility all tournament — whether it was behind the net, in front of it, or in either zone. The St. Catharines, Ont., product who graduated high school with a 99 per cent av- erage, worked smoothly on a line with Brett Connolly and Quinton Howden.
One of four Icedogs on the squad, including his younger brother Dougie, the Boston Bruins’ ninth overall pick from last year came into the tournament flying relatively under the radar. He was the architect behind six of Canada’s goals and did it with very little flash.