By Mark Janzen /
Two years. Two goals. And two silver medals laced with disappointment.
For the second year in a row at the World Hockey Championshps, Canada lost the gold medal game to a Russian Red Machine that seems to be picking up steam just as the hockey world rounds the bend toward the ?2010 Olympics.
Last year it was 5-4 in overtime. This year, 2-1 in regulation. And both years tasted ?like Buckley’s.
“It’s incredibly tough when you make it that far and you don’t get what you went there for,” said Nashville blueliner Shea Weber who collected 12 points in nine games and was named the tournament’s top defenseman. “We accomplished a lot but it’s frustrating when you get so close.
We played well. We had enough chances in the second and third but you have to give [the Russians] credit.”
While players like Weber will lament what coulda, woulda, shoulda, for Hockey Canada, the last official dress rehearsal before Vancouver gave several players the audition they needed to at least be entered into the great 2010 roster debate.
“We [learned] a lot about the players, what they can do, and in some cases, what they can’t do,” said Steve Yzerman, executive director for Canada’s 2010 entry, to reporters after the final. “I’m glad I was here. A couple of the guys really impressed me. I learned a lot about our players. I learned a lot about the other countries, so from that perspective it was ?very worthwhile.
For players like Dany Heatley—who now has a combined 30 points in his last two World Championships—and Weber, their performance pretty much solidified a spot on Canada’s Olympic roster. But for youngsters like defenseman Drew Doughty and Steven Stamkos, this tournament went a long ways to at least garner an invitation to Canada’s summer camp.
“Players like Stamkos were unbelievable,” Weber said of the Tampa Bay forward who was named to the tournament all-star team. “He was scoring right from the get go and was a big part of our success. And [Doughty] handled himself very well. It was a real eye-opener. He’s a poised young guy with the puck who’s always looking to make plays.”
While the peach-fuzzed ones made a strong case for themselves, so too did 2010 bubble players Jason Spezza (seven goals and four assists) and Marty St. Louis (four goals and 11 assists) who put themselves squarely in the middle of the conversation.
Sure the tournament didn’t produce the desired result. And sure Canada now only has one gold medal at the World Championships in the last five years. But with less than a year to go before the hockey world congregates in Vancouver, this year’s silver medal performance was about more than just the outcome.
Over the past two world championships, the Red and White has learned a lot about itself and its competitors, most notably Russia.
And in the grand scheme, come 2010, two goals over the last two years won’t matter all that much. |