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Canada’s Xavier Bourgault (18) and Owen Power (25) celebrate a goal against the Czech Republic during the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship at Rogers Place on Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021. Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images
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In December, the World Junior Hockey Championship is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that young players wouldn’t want to miss.
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In mid-August, right in the heart of their offseason training schedule?
To pass.
As much as they love the tournament and the opportunity to represent Canada, the timing is wrong.
That’s why a Canadian team that was rich in local flavor has turned bland now that four of Edmonton’s five connections — three Oil Kings and Oilers prospect Xavier Bourgault — have opted to skip this summer’s World Series juvenile.
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Oil Kings forwards Jake Neighbors and Dylan Guenther and defenseman Kaiden Guhle were all on Canada’s original team in December but, like Bourgault, opted to pass on the corporate makeup event scheduled for 9-20 in August at Rogers Place.
Goalkeeper Sebastien Cossa is the only Oil King returning from December’s squad.
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“It’s a very difficult decision,” said Neighbours, the 26th overall pick in the 2020 draft. “Representing Canada is something you dream about as a kid, so to say it wasn’t very difficult. But with the long view term of my career, with some injuries I’m dealing with, St. Louis and I decided it was best not to participate.
Bourgault, Edmonton’s first pick (22nd overall) in the 2021 draft, also wants to focus on his offseason training ahead of his first pro season. August is when players need to build strength and muscle, not drain the tank before training camps begin.
“I made a decision with the Oilers,” said Bourgault, who believes his time would be better spent in the gym. “I had a pretty long season, I went to the world junior camp for a month in December, I had some injuries during the season and I just want to take care of my body and be ready to go forward with the Oilers and make sure I’m in the 100 percent so he can compete for a spot in camp.
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“I want to gain some strength, gain some weight, so I think it was the best decision for me. It’s better for me to do this. I wanted to play, but I have to respect my body for my first professional season”.
It’s a long list of players who have been deactivated. In addition to Bourgault, Guenther, Guhle and Neighbors, Mavrik Bourque, Cole Perfetti, Justin Sourdif, Shane Wright and 2021 first-round draft pick Owen Power opted to focus on offseason training and camps of the NHL.
“Bourgault, Bourque, Sourdif, myself, Guenther, Guhle, we all played in the Memorial Cup at the end of June,” Neighbors said. “That also influences the decision. When you have such a long season, that time in the gym is very valuable.
“Even without going to the junior world championships, this summer I only have a month, a month and a half of training. If I had gone to the world juniors, I would have barely been able to train.”
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They are a little surprised that the tournament is still going ahead.
“It’s kind of weird,” Bourgault said. “It gives a chance for some players who didn’t make the squad (in December) to show what they can do, but it’s strange because it’s during the training period that you want to build strength and make sure you’re ready for the season.”
For Guenther, the ninth overall pick in the 2021 draft, his knee injury in the WHL final made the decision for him.
“It was just a matter of me trying to get stronger and get back on the ice and I wasn’t ready to go,” he said, adding that he needed to be ready for the Arizona Coyotes’ camp.
Having the games in August is just bad timing all around — smack dab in the middle of everyone’s offseason and four months before the real world juniors in December.
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“I train with a couple guys that go to the tournament,” Neighbors said. “They’re upset that I’m not going and so am I, but the only thing we’ve talked about is that it shouldn’t even be happening now. It was supposed to be done at Christmas. It’s distressing that it wasn’t.”
The canceled Christmas tournament was doomed from the start. The organizers didn’t seem to take the necessary precautions (players didn’t have the protection of a full bubble, they were quarantined in hotels open to the public, so contact in common areas like elevators and lobbies was inevitable) and then the IIHF dropped at the first sign of trouble.
It left everyone bitter about how it ended.
“We wanted to play,” Neighbors said. “A lot of guys were really upset about the tournament being shut down. We put a lot of time into summer camp, coming to Christmas for a full camp and only playing two games before it was shut down was pretty upsetting.”
Especially when it was his only chance.
“We would have liked to move forward,” Guenther said. “At that point, we had all been through COVID-19 for two years, so we were prepared to carry on no matter what, but it wasn’t our choice.
“It all happened so fast. One team tested positive, then another team and the next thing you know it’s closed. It was tragic, really.”
rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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