Big WHL blueliners gear up for Canada Russia Series
Wednesday November 4, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
After an unforgettable gold medal victory in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Toronto and Ottawa last January, Hockey Canada enters the evaluation process for their defence of international junior hockey supremacy with a gold standard in place.
With standout WHL blueliners in Shea Theodore (Seattle Thunderbirds), Josh Morrissey (Kelowna Rockets), Madison Bowey (Kelowna Rockets) and Dillon Heatherington (Swift Current Broncos) moving on to pro careers, jobs have opened up on Canada’s back end.
As has been recent custom, the WHL will open the series on home ice, playing host to Russia in Kelowna on Monday November 9th before heading two hours northwest to Kamloops to square off on Tuesday November 10th. Those two games should give Hockey Canada’s brass a glimpse at a 19 year-old blueliner that has quickly ascended to the top of his WHL club’s depth chart.
Red Deer Rebels rearguard Haydn Fleury, who made it to the final cut of Canada’s Selection Camp last December, is currently producing at a point-per-game clip with four goals, seven assists and 11 points in 11 contests. The Carlyle, Saskatchewan native was selected with the seventh overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Along with Fleury is fellow 19 year-old blueliner Travis Sanheim of the Calgary Hitmen who won’t compete in either of Monday or Tuesday’s encounters against Russia after suffering an upper-body injury this past week. The 17th overall pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2014 has blossomed into a versatile, multi-dimensional blueliner and currently leads the WHL in scoring by defencemen with six goals, 16 assists and 22 points in 17 games.
After being cut in their bid for a spot on the National Junior Team last December, both Fleury and Sanheim are considered strong candidates for a spot on the roster as 19 year-olds.
The man who will have a lot of say in that final decision is Canadian Junior Team head coach Dave Lowry (Victoria Royals). After serving as an assistant coach to Benoit Groulx last year, the former long-time NHL forward has taken the reins in the lead job with Canada’s Junior squad this time around and sees the disappointment some hopefuls experienced last year as a character builder.
“We always talk to guys, and there’s no better way to learn than to live it,” he told NHL.com’s Aaron Vickers. “Those guys have lived through the disappointment, and you hope they take it and channel it the right way and come out and prove to us they’re worthy of a spot this year.”
Both smooth-skating defencemen with imposing size (Sanheim – 6’4″, 199Ib., Fleury – 6’3″, 207Ib), the two are well aware of what’s at stake in the months to come.
“To be honest, it’s been on the back of my mind since I was cut,” Sanheim told calgaryhitmen.com’s Jason Pirie. “It’s a team that most Canadian kids grow up dreaming about playing for, and it’s definitely a goal of mine, but at the same time I have other things to focus on before that happens. Right now, I’m focused on helping the Calgary Hitmen win hockey games.”
Hitmen assistant coach Trent Whitfield, who captured gold with Canada in the 1997 World Junior Hockey Championship, said that Sanheim will need to prove himself as a reliable defensive option to Lowry and his staff.
“They will be looking for a defenceman who doesn’t try to do too much,” he told Pirie. “One that can move the puck up to the forwards and play a solid defensive game.”
Fleury’s eyes are also fixed firmly on the task at hand as the 2015 CHL Canada Russia Series approaches.
“I just need to prove I can be that guy that they need on that team,” Fleury told Vickers. “I need to play like a guy like Darnell Nurse was for them last year. He was a key part of their team last year. I need to show I can play like that. I always look at Darnell and how he didn’t make it his first year. Last year he was a really key part of their team. He was a leader. He played in all situations. … That’s how I want to try to play.”
The WHL squad features a pair of returning World Junior gold medalists in defenceman Joe Hicketts (Victoria Royals), who overcomes his small stature with a big heart and booming shot from the blueline. Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Point will also suit up after serving as a versatile role player for the gold medalists last December. Injured forward Rourke Chartier (Kelowna Rockets), who will not play in the game due to an upper body injury, joins Sanheim and Fleury as only additional WHL invitee to Canada’s National Team Selection Camp last December that didn’t make the squad.
With 11 forwards from last year’s gold medal team currently in the pro ranks, jobs will also be available up front as 19 year-old hopefuls in Jayce Hawryluk (Brandon Wheat Kings), John Quenneville (Brandon Wheat Kings) and Conner Bleackley (Red Deer Rebels) among others try and leave a lasting impression next week.
Several younger options in 18 year-olds Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds), Nick Merkley (Kelowna Rockets) and 17 year-old Brandon Wheat Kings phenom Nolan Patrick will be sure to get a look from Hockey Canada as well.
The WHL holds an all-time record of 16-6-2 against Russia in the history of the event, but have dropped seven of their last 10 meetings with the Russians dating back to 2010 including both games last year.
While the WHL enters next week’s encounter with something to prove on the league front, several individuals will be closely monitored as they compete for a chance to represent Canada this December in Finland.