During his three seasons with Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL, Barrett Hayton never lost to London winning all nine games he played against Dale Hunter and the Knights. That perfect record was a point of discussion during Team Canada’s summer camp at the World Junior Showcase.
“He was on me a bit about that,” Hayton said with a smile. “He actually brought it up. I don’t have that in me to throw that out there. He just brought it up and it was a funny, little joke.”
Hayton scored four goals and added three assists in two games against London last season.
“I said, ‘Take it easy on us,'” Hunter recalled with a laugh. “It’s a good thing he didn’t come back.”
Instead, Hayton made the Arizona Coyotes. Canada has five returning players at the World Juniors, but only Hayton has NHL experience on his resume.
“It makes a big difference,” said Hunter. “He’s one of those kids who absorbs so he’s watching everything and he’s here and he’s working his tail off and he’s ready to go. On and off the ice he’s a character kid and everybody looks up to him.”
In a team meeting before Wednesday’s practice, Hunter officially named Hayton captain of Team Canada with Flint centre Ty Dellandrea, Grand Rapids centre Joe Veleno and Spokane defenceman Ty Smith serving as alternates.
“Just incredibly honoured,” said Hayton, who wore the ‘C’ with the Greyhounds last season. “This is the tournament you grew up watching and you idolized the guys who played here so to be able to lead this team and lead the group we have is a special feeling. Having that responsibility is something I love and have a lot of pride in.”
The 19-year-old from Peterborough, Ont. possesses the blend of skill and grittiness that Hunter hopes will become the identity of this year’s Team Canada.
“He’s hard to play against,” noted Dellandrea. “He has that skill and poise with the puck, but what is underrated is how hard he works and how aggressive he is too. So, a lot of people think of him as a skill guy, always playing with the puck, but he’s tough and aggressive and I think that’s underrated about him.”
The NHL experience also carries a lot of weight inside the dressing room.
“His presence,” said Dellandrea when asked what stands out, “the way he carries himself, everybody listens to him.”
Hayton scored a goal and recorded three assists in 14 games with the Coyotes before being loaned to Hockey Canada for the World Juniors. Those months spent in the NHL accelerated his development.
“It’s the best league in the world,” Hayton said as his eyes lit up. “It’s an incredible league. The biggest thing for me was just the guys I was surrounded with. There’s so many tremendous leaders, it’s a great group there, there’s a lot of older guy and some young guys and they’ve all been incredible for me in learning how to carry yourself, learning how to take care of yourself, learning how to play on the ice, it’s really everything. It’s a whole package of learning.”
Hayton looks to use NHL experience to elevate his game at World Juniors
Barrett Hayton was quite excited when he received the news that the Arizona Coyotes would release him so he could represent Canada at the World Juniors and spend another year with the Maple Leaf on his chest.
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Hunter didn’t name a starting goalie on Wednesday, but whoever gets the call – Guelph’s Nico Daws or Portland’s Joel Hofer – will be playing for Canada at an international tournament for the first time.
Does the lack of experience matter?
“It’s a big setting, very intimidating, I guess you could say, but I’m just here to stop pucks,” Daws said. “I don’t think it really matters too much aside from the bigger ice. No matter what jersey you’re wearing you’re still doing the same thing.”
Daws has done that thing very well this season posting a .939 save percentage in the OHL and carrying that into Canada’s camp where he has a .942 save percentage in his four appearances.
As for intimidating settings, Daws has some experience with that thanks to the Barrie Colts, who visited Guelph on Dec. 6 and seemed determined to get under his skin.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Daws said. “They just came into the game and they were hitting me. I got hammered behind the net when I was playing the puck, they were yelling at me and trying to get in my head. I was told before the game even started that the first shot was going to go in. It didn’t really work out too well for them.”
Daws stopped all 39 shots he faced and was the first star in a 4-0 Storm win.
“It didn’t really faze me,” he said. “You know, obviously, a little bit more motivation so it probably helped me.”
Emotions will likely run hot on Boxing Day as Canada and the United States renew their rivalry and that’s fine by Daws.
“It’s something I’ve watched my whole life,” the Burlington, Ont. native said. “It’s one of those things, you always have it out for the States and it would be cool to be a part of one of those games.”
Daws on performance against Finland: ‘I felt really good, really confident’
Goalie Nico Daws was perfect in his last tune-up game before the tournament begins on December 26th, stopping every shot he faced in the 30 minutes he played. The decision on who starts in net for Canada has not been finalized yet, but Daws likes his mindset right now, feeling really good and confident.
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Unlike last year when Canada throttled Denmark 14-0 in a breezy opener, this year’s first tournament encounter is full of intrigue. The United States has won a medal in four straight World Juniors and, like Canada, has five returning players.
“Playing each other I think grabs both teams’ attention right away,” said Team USA coach Scott Sandelin.
“There’s no putting your foot in the water,” said USA centre Shane Pinto. “You got to go full in and it’s going to be a tough one.”
The battle will happen on the ice and between the ears. Discipline is key and trash talk is expected.
“The boys are really hyped up,” said Veleno. “Going to be a lot of chirping and some physicality going on. It’s going to be a real good game to watch and real fun game to be a part of. We like playing in those types of games, it’s kind of the Canadian way a little bit so we’re excited.”
How does Veleno rate his chirping skills?
“Not very good,” he said with a laugh. “I just like being a part of it, hearing the other guys chirp cracks me up a little bit, but I’m not really that type of person. I don’t really talk too much on the ice.”
So, who will lead Canada’s verbal barrage?
“I got to say (Aidan) Dudas is the best one,” Veleno said. “You can speak to him and he’ll probably tell you the same thing. He’s just a tenacious little guy, who likes to stir the pot.”
Ferraro shares which line has impressed him the most so far
After getting a glimpse at what this team has to offer, Ray Ferraro believes that the most impressive line so far is the line that stayed together for both their pre-competition games. Liam Foudy, Ty Dellandrea, and Aidan Dudas are an aggressive and ‘in your face’ line that seems to have earned the trust of head coach Dale Hunter.
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When the United States finalized their roster on Monday night, Canadian defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker sent a congratulatory text to Pinto, a fellow Ottawa Senators prospect and his teammate at the University of North Dakota. But there will be no more communication between the pair until after Thursday’s game.
“We aren’t really going to talk right now,” Pinto said.
Bernard-Docker and Pinto did speak about the World Juniors back at school, but they didn’t get too deep into it, because neither guy felt they had a spot secure. Fast forward to Christmas and Bernard-Docker is skating on Canada’s shutdown pair with Kevin Bahl while Pinto is skating with Nick Robertson and Oliver Wahlstrom, a top-six unit on Team USA.
“He’s just so poised with the puck,” Pinto said of Bernard-Docker. “He’s very mature in his game. He’s very good defensively.”
“He’s a two-way guy,” noted Bernard-Docker of Pinto, “big, has a great shot and has great vision as well.”
The mutual admiration will be put on hold as of 1 pm ET on Boxing Day.
“I know his tactics up at the point,” said Pinto, “but I don’t know if he knows mine so hopefully he kind of gets surprised by that. We’ll see.”
“I know everything he’s going to do,” Bernard-Docker said with a chuckle. “He thinks he has stuff up his sleeves, but I’m pretty sure I know his moves.”
Pinto isn’t about the slow up on the forecheck just because he’s playing against a teammate.
“I’m going to hit him,” Pinto vowed. “USA versus Canada, it’s going to be intense so, yeah, I’m going to hit him.”
Team Canada Ice Chips: A year after being final cut, Bernard-Docker full of confidence
Last year, Jacob Bernard-Docker was the last defenceman cut at Canada’s selection camp. That moment, still fresh in his mind, motivated the Senators prospect, who started this season strong at the University of North Dakota. Bernard-Docker will be a scratch tonight as Canada’s hopefuls take on the U Sports all-stars, which is a good sign for his World Junior chances.
PARIS – Canada won its first Paralympic medal in women’s sitting volleyball and ended the country’s team sport podium drought Saturday.
The women’s volleyball team swept Brazil 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-18) to take the bronze medal at North Paris Arena.
The women were the first Canadian side to claim a Paralympic medal in a team sport since the men’s wheelchair basketball team won gold in London in 2012.
“Oh my gosh, literally disbelief, but also, we did it,” said veteran Heidi Peters of Neerlandia, Alta. “It’s indescribable.”
Canada finished seventh in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and fourth in Tokyo three years ago.
Seven players of the dozen Canadians were Rio veterans and nine returned from the team in Tokyo.
Eleven were members of the squad that earned a silver medal at the 2022 world championship.
“I know how hard every athlete and every staff member and all of our family back home have worked for this moment,” captain Danielle Ellis said.
“It’s been years and years and years in the making, our third Paralympic Games, and we knew we wanted to be there.”
The women earned a measure of revenge on the Brazilians, who beat Canada for bronze in Tokyo and also in a pool game in Paris.
“There’s a lot of history with us and Brazil,” Peters acknowledged. “Today we just knew that we could do it. We were like, ‘This is our time and if we just show up and play our style of volleyball, serving tough and hitting the ball hard, the game will probably going our way.’ And it did.”
Calgary’s Jennifer Oakes led Canada with 10 attack points. Ellis of White Rock, B.C., and Peters each contributed nine.
Canada registered 15 digs as a team to Brazil’s 10.
“Losing to Brazil in the second game was tough,” Ellis said. “It just lit the fire beneath us.”
Canada’s men’s wheelchair basketball team fell 75-62 to Germany in the bronze-medal game in Paris.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.
PARIS – Canadian para canoeist Brianna Hennessy raced to her first Paralympic medal with a reminder of her mother on her paddle.
The 39-year-old from Ottawa took silver in the women’s 200-metre sprint Saturday in Paris.
The design on Hennessy’s paddle includes a cardinal in remembrance of her late mother Norma, the letter “W’ for Wonder Woman and a cat.
“My mother passed away last year, so I said I’d be racing down the course with her,” Hennessy said Saturday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
“In our family, a cardinal represents what our love means. My mum was my Wonder Woman, and this is a cardinal rising up. This is our family pet that passed away two months after my mum, of cancer, because I think their love was together.
“All this represents so much to me, so it’s my passion piece for Paris.”
Hennessy finished just over a second behind gold medallist Emma Wiggs of Britain in the women’s VL2 Va’a, which is a canoe that has a support float and is propelled with a single-blade paddle.
Hennessy’s neck was broken when she was struck by a speeding taxi driver in Toronto in 2014 when she was 30. She has tetraplegia, which is paralysis in her arms and legs.
“This year’s the 10-year anniversary of my accident,” Hennessy said. “I should have been dead. I’ve been fighting back ever since.
“This is the pinnacle of it all for me and everything I’ve been fighting for. It made it all worth it.”
After placing fifth in her Paralympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, Hennessy was a silver medallist in the last three straight world championships in the event.
She will race the women’s kayak single Sunday. Hennessy and Wiggs have a tradition of hugging after races.
“I always talk about the incredible athletes here, and how the Paralympics means so much more because everyone here has a million reasons to give up, and we’ve all chosen to just go on,” the Canadian said. “It’s more about the camaraderie.”
Hennessy boxed and played hockey and rugby before she was hit by the taxi.
She was introduced to wheelchair rugby by the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre.
She eventually turned to paddling at the Ottawa River Canoe Club, which led her to the Paralympic podium in Paris.
“It has a good ring to it,” Hennessy said. “I’m so happy. I feel like we’ve had to overcome so much to get here, especially in the last year and a half. I’m just so proud.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.
