Since the August camp roster has been announced, so it makes sense to say a few words. I’ve looked over that roster and decided to try to make a very early prediction. It would be interesting to come back to it in December to see what and how much has changed.
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Between the pipes:
Fucale as a starter,
Comrie as a backup,
Jarry as an emergency goalie.
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D-men:
Morrissey- Sanheim,
Bigras- Bowey
Nurse- McKeown
Fleury
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Attackers:
Domi- Fabbri- Lazar
Dal Colle- McDavid- Horvat
Perlini- Petan- Virtanen
Gregoire- Point- Ritchie
Dickinson
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This version considers the worst-case scenario as if Drouin, Bennett, Reinhart and Ekblad all will play in the NHL.
Goalie’s situation is pretty clear, Fucale is only one that has the World Junior experience and it would be enough for him to not fail along the regular season and in the December training camp to be in the team again.
Next, you need at least a couple of right-handed defensemen (Bowey and McKeown), such good playmakers as McD and Petan logically should be combined with perfect-shot wingers (two guys with Italian names) and two big lads, Horvat and Virtanen to provide some power pressure. Top-line is a combination of rocket-scorer Robbie, steady Max and omnipresent two-way Curtis. Checking-line are huge assertive Ritchie, classic hard-worker Gregoire and tiny, but very agile (evil and gritty,too) Point, who can add some “brains” for this line. Last year I didn’t like Gauthier as a checking-line center at all and I didn’t like that whole line, actually. Dickinson can be 13th forward, he’s capable to play as a center and as a winger, in the PP unit, as well, if it’s necessary.
Interestingly,
Benoit Groulx could have been the Juniors’ head coach 5 years ago, since he accepted this post back in the summer of 2008. But then, before the 2008/09 season he went to conquer the AHL, so Hockey Canada had to look for a replacement, which is found in the person of Pat Quinn. Everyone knows what happened then. Yes, that was last gold for the Canadian team in the WJC. So, Groulx somehow participated in that win
As for his assistants,
Dave Lowry and
Scott Walker , apparently,they are much more known as the NHL players, although they seem to have some success as junior level coaches , Walker has just led his Guelph team with Fabbri and Dickinson to the OHL title, and Lowry has just been awarded as the best WHL coach.
P.S. It’s extremely desirable that
Brathwaite will prove to be a more suitable person for the goalie coach role than Tugnutt was. Ron was awful. Previous WJC in Sweden...OK, let’s say, was a take-off run for Freddie...
