Canada’s Redemption
Written by: Jesse Michael for the Canadian Hockey League
Redemption is the theme of the 2011 SUBWAY® Super Series, as the three regional teams comprised of CHL All-Stars will look to avenge their first tournament loss ever to the Russian National Junior team in its eight year history.
Team QMJHL kicked off the 2010 tournament by falling behind early to the surprisingly tough Russian team, losing both of their games 5-4 and 4-3 respectively.
Team OHL evened the series with a pair of victories to remain undefeated in their history against the Russians, winning 4-0 and 2-1 in games three and four.
The wheels fell off for the WHL squad once the series moved to Western Canada, as the Russians fought back from a three-goal deficit in the third period, and eventually won game five in a shootout 7-6. They went on to win game six easily, 5-2, and clinched their first series win.
Hockey Canada Head Scout, Kevin Prendergast, explained that there might have been some complacency with the players in last year’s tournament, as they came in winning seven straight years in a row.
“I’m sure they were anticipating that it wasn’t going to be a good Russian team,” he said. “At the end of the day, there were 17 players on the [World Junior] gold medal team that played against us and I’m sure it won’t be any different this year. Any time a team comes to play a Canadian team they desperately want to win, especially the Russians.”
Even though the series is headed into its ninth year, it’s still an important process for all three leagues within the CHL, for different reasons.
“It gives the coaches on the Canadian National Junior team an opportunity to look at guys they don’t normally see in their leagues, and for the guys to showcase themselves a little bit,” said Prendergast. “That kind of opposition bodes well for us and gives us an idea of how well they’ll react under pressure.”
The topic of pressure is even more important this time around, after not only the loss to the Russians in the SUBWAY® Super Series, but in the IIHF World Junior tournament in Buffalo, squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period in a 5-3 defeat.
It marked the second time in two years that the Canadians lost in the gold medal game.
Hockey Canada was back to the drawing board once again this summer however, and will be using the SUBWAY® Super Series as a further evalutation camp for the upcoming tournament in Alberta.
“We’ve worked really hard this year putting three solid teams together,” Prendergast said. “There will be different players in each game, but we’re looking at the best players from each team that are going to give us the best opportunity to win us a gold medal in December and January.”
Some of those players Pendergrast speaks of won’t even be on Hockey Canada’s radar at the beginning of the series, but, as many have in the past, will be when it’s over.
“I think you have to look at a player like Ryan Johansen last year,” Prendergast said. “He came into camp as sort of an unknown to a lot of people and left as a valuable player of our hockey club. These kids can showcase themselves and people start to realize who they are and what they’re all about. It’s a huge learning process for everybody but it’s a great stepping stone for some too.”
The players won’t have many opportunities following the SUBWAY® Super Series to show that they belong on the National Junior Team, as the team will be selected one month after the series ends.
“It’s not the final straw for them as far as the two games [each] against the Russians,” Prendergast continued. “But it will go a long way towards the final roster that we bring in in December.”
And as for redemption, Prendergast knows that the three CHL teams will be looking forward to getting back on the ice and settling the score with a familiar rival.
“It’s up to the coaches and the players themselves to understand how important, not only for them and us, but for their respective leagues,” he said. “It’s going to be televised nationally (Sportsnet and TVA Sports) so it’s a big thing for the leagues to come out of it successfully.”
The 2011 SUBWAY® Super Series Schedule of Games is as follows:
Game 1 – Monday November 7 at Victoriaville, QC
Game 2 – Wednesday November 9 at Quebec City, QC
Game 3 – Thursday November 10 at Ottawa, ON
Game 4 – Monday November 14 at Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Game 5 – Wednesday November 16 at Regina, SK
Game 6 – Thursday November 17 at Moose Jaw, SK
