Category: Sports

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — It’s the part of his job that Team Canada head coach Dominique Ducharme doesn’t like.

After all, no one wants to be the one to crush a player’s dream, especially right before Christmas. But, with nearly three dozen players invited to selection camp, it was inevitable that several players would go home earlier than they wanted.

“It’s always hard,” Ducharme said. “We have the 33 best junior players in Canada. They’re all good players, but it’s about evaluating who can take that step and play with an edge against the best players.”

On Thursday, a few hours after playing a selection camp game against the U Sports all-stars, six players were cut: forwards Jonathan Ang (Florida Panthers fourth-rounder), Cody Glass (Vegas Golden Knights first-rounder) and Kole Lind (Vancouver Canucks second-rounder), defencemen Dennis Cholowski (Detroit Red Wings first-rounder) and Logan Stanley (Winnipeg Jets first-rounder), as well as undrafted goalie Samuel Harvey.

It was an emotional night for the teenaged players, many of whom were surprised that their world junior experience had ended before it had really begun.

The biggest shock was perhaps Glass, a Winnipeg native selected sixth overall in this past summer’s draft. Despite scoring 20 goals and 48 points in 30 games with the Portland Winterhawks, the 18-year-old blamed a lack of edge for not making the team.

“Obviously, it’s hard at first and you don’t always like getting cut from a team, but it’s how you roll with it,” said Glass, a centre eligible to play for next year’s team. “I know Sam Steel was in the same position last year and he ended up winning CHL Player of the Year. So, I’m not too worried.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of talent and I’m lucky enough to be invited. I’m just going to have a good second-half to the year.”

While Glass is eligible to return for the 2019 tournament, this was the final opportunity for Ang, Cholowski, Harvey, Lind and Stanley to play in the world juniors.

“It’s obviously heartbreaking for me, for sure,” Lind said, “but it’s something that’s out of my control. I did what I could and I played pretty well and I think there’s some things that I can take away from this, both in good and bad. This is just a learning experience for me.”

“Well, you know, it sucks. Everybody wants to make the team,” Cholowski added. “I played my game and did the best I could, but I fell a little short.”

A final round of cuts is expected after Friday’s exhibition game against Denmark, with the 27-man team expected to get down to a 22-man roster by Dec. 25.

The tournament begins in Buffalo on Boxing Day, with Canada playing against Finland.

HAPPY WITH COMPETITION

Kale Clague had a goal and an assist, but Team Canada lost 4-3 to U Sports on Thursday. It was the second straight loss to the university all-star team, which shutout Canada 3-0 on Wednesday.

According to Ducharme, the pair or tight losses were better than a couple of blowout wins.

“We’re happy with the opposition we got,” Canada’s bench boss said. “That’s exactly what we wanted to create to see our guys facing adversity. It’s perfect for our evaluation.

“That’s something that we worked with U Sports to make sure they’re coming with the best team possible. They’re 23, 24, 25 (years old), so obviously when you get into a battle they’re physically more mature. That’s the kind of adversity that we wanted to see.

“It’s pretty hard to evaluate when you have 7-1, 8-1 games. We wanted tight games, so that was perfect.”

Projected No. 1 goalie and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Carter Hart, who had a shutout while playing for U Sports in Wednesday’s game, allowed two goals on nine shots for Canada on Thursday.

St. Louis Blues first-rounder Robert Thomas and Alex Formenton, an Ottawa Senators pick, also scored for Canada.

CLAGUE AND WHO?

Clague’s goal on Thursday came on the power play, with the defenceman firing a point shot through traffic that found the top corner. It was a familiar goal for the L.A. Kings prospect, who will likely play an offensive role for Team Canada.

As for who might join him on the point on the power play, Ducharme wouldn’t tip his hand.

“It depends on the decisions that we are going to be making right,” he said. “There’s multiple things that we can do and set ups and it all depends on who’s on the team. We could be having one unit with one defenceman and one unit with two defencemen. It depends.”

DANTE PROUD OF BUDS

Losing last year’s championship game in an overtime shootout to the Americans was made more difficult for Dante Fabbro when the Team Canada defenceman returned to Boston University afterwards and had to watch as the school honoured five of his teammates in a pre-game ceremony.

But Fabbro, a Nashville Predators pick, said he was also proud in how Team USA forward Clayton Keller and defenceman Charlie McAvoy — who were both named to last year’s all-star team — used the tournament as a springboard for NHL success.

“When he made that jump to playoffs, obviously everyone was really proud of him,” Fabbro said of McAvoy, who has 15 points in 28 games for the Bruins this season. “He’s done an unbelievable job so far. I think the sky’s the limit for that guy. It just goes to show that different leagues can develop you differently. Charlie went to college and he’s made the jump and been great.”

• Email: mtraikos@postmedia.com | Twitter: @michael_traikos

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — It’s the part of his job that Team Canada head coach Dominique Ducharme doesn’t like.

After all, no one wants to be the one to crush a player’s dream, especially right before Christmas. But, with nearly three dozen players invited to selection camp, it was inevitable that several players would go home earlier than they wanted.

“It’s always hard,” Ducharme said. “We have the 33 best junior players in Canada. They’re all good players, but it’s about evaluating who can take that step and play with an edge against the best players.”

On Thursday, a few hours after playing a selection camp game against the U Sports all-stars, six players were cut: forwards Jonathan Ang (Florida Panthers fourth-rounder), Cody Glass (Vegas Golden Knights first-rounder) and Kole Lind (Vancouver Canucks second-rounder), defencemen Dennis Cholowski (Detroit Red Wings first-rounder) and Logan Stanley (Winnipeg Jets first-rounder), as well as undrafted goalie Samuel Harvey.

It was an emotional night for the teenaged players, many of whom were surprised that their world junior experience had ended before it had really begun.

The biggest shock was perhaps Glass, a Winnipeg native selected sixth overall in this past summer’s draft. Despite scoring 20 goals and 48 points in 30 games with the Portland Winterhawks, the 18-year-old blamed a lack of edge for not making the team.

“Obviously it’s hard at first and you don’t always like getting cut from a team, but it’s how you roll with it,” said Glass, a centre eligible to play for next year’s team. “I know Sam Steel was in the same position last year and he ended up winning CHL Player of the Year. So, I’m not too worried.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of talent and I’m lucky enough to be invited. I’m just going to have a good second-half to the year.”

While Glass is eligible to return for the 2019 tournament, this was the final opportunity for Ang, Cholowski, Harvey, Lind and Stanley to play in the world juniors.

“It’s obviously heart-breaking for me for sure,” Lind said, “but it’s something that’s out of my control. I did what I could and I played pretty well and I think there’s some things that I can take away from this, both in good and bad. This is just a learning experience for me.”

“Well, you know, it sucks. Everybody wants to make the team,” Cholowski added. “I played my game and did the best I could, but I fell a little short.”

A final round of cuts is expected after Friday’s exhibition game against Denmark, with the 27-man team expected to get down to a 22-man roster by Dec. 25.

The tournament begins in Buffalo on Boxing Day, with Canada playing against Finland.

HAPPY WITH COMPETITION

Kale Clague had a goal and an assist, but Team Canada lost 4-3 to U Sports on Thursday. It was the second straight loss to the university all-star team, which shutout Canada 3-0 on Wednesday.

According to Ducharme, the pair or tight losses were better than a couple of blowout wins.

“We’re happy with the opposition we got,” Canada’s bench boss said. “That’s exactly what we wanted to create to see our guys facing adversity. It’s perfect for our evaluation.

“That’s something that we worked with U Sports to make sure they’re coming with the best team possible. They’re 23, 24, 25 (years old), so obviously when you get into a battle they’re physically more mature. That’s the kind of adversity that we wanted to see.

“It’s pretty hard to evaluate when you have 7-1, 8-1 games. We wanted tight games, so that was perfect.”

Projected No. 1 goalie and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Carter Hart, who had a shutout while playing for U Sports in Wednesday’s game, allowed two goals on nine shots for Canada on Thursday.
St. Louis Blues first-rounder Robert Thomas and Alex Formenton, an Ottawa Senators pick, also scored for Canada.

CLAGUE AND WHO?

Clague’s goal on Thursday came on the power play, with the defenceman firing a point shot through traffic that found the top corner. It was a familiar goal for the L.A. Kings prospect, who will likely play an offensive role for Team Canada.

As for who might join him on the point on the power play, Ducharme wouldn’t tip his hand.

“It depends on the decisions that we are going to be making right,” he said. “There’s multiple things that we can do and set ups and it all depends on who’s on the team. We could be having one unit with one defenceman and one unit with two defencemen. It depends.”

DANTE PROUD OF BUDS

Losing last year’s championship game in an overtime shootout to the Americans was made more difficult for Dante Fabbro when the Team Canada defenceman returned to Boston University afterwards and had to watch as the school honoured five of his teammates in a pre-game ceremony.

But Fabbro, a Nashville Predators pick, said he was also proud in how Team USA forward Clayton Keller and defenceman Charlie McAvoy — who were both named to last year’s all-star team — used the tournament as a springboard for NHL success.

“When he made that jump to playoffs, obviously everyone was really proud of him,” Fabbro said of McAvoy, who has 15 points in 28 games for the Bruins this season. “He’s done an unbelievable job so far. I think the sky’s the limit for that guy. It just goes to show that different leagues can develop you differently. Charlie went to college and he’s made the jump and been great.”

mtraikos@postmedia.com

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — It’s probably an over-exaggeration to suggest that if Cale Makar had been trying out for Canada’s world junior hockey team 10 years ago, the 5-foot-10 and 175-pound defenceman wouldn’t have lasted past the first day of cuts.

After all, Ryan Ellis was the same size and he played in three straight tournaments from 2009 to 2011. The difference is that Ellis actually looked really small at the time. Even as a 19-year-old veteran, he always seemed more like someone’s kid brother than someone who ended up making the all-star team.

This year, it’s the opposite.

At a selection camp full of Lilliputian defencemen — three are three who are 5-foot-10 and six others are 6-foot-1 or shorter — it’s 6-foot-4 Cal Foote and 6-foot-7 Logan Stanley who stick out.

Makar, meanwhile, has become the new norm.

“I feel like the game’s going more towards speed and hockey sense, and whether you’re a big guy or a small guy, you have to adapt to the changes of the game,” said Makar, whom the Colorado Avalanche selected fourth overall in this year’s NHL Entry Draft. “Smaller and speedier guys are getting integrated on the backend in the game, which is pretty cool for me. We’ll see where the game goes, but I feel like a lot of it’s turning into speed and skill from the backend.

“I think speed’s going to be a big thing for the team this year, whether I make it or not.”

The roster hasn’t been set, but even if an oak tree like Stanley ends up making the final cut, this should be one of the smaller teams Canada has put together. Consider it a sign of the times. We’re long past the days when the boys in red-white-and-black would intimidate the opposition with their physicality.

Now, it’s about speed and skill — and Smurf-sized players who can intimidate the opposition with their ability to join the attack.

“I think times are changing with how hockey is being played,” said 6-foot-1 defenceman Dante Fabbro. “You look at last year (in the NHL) and all the top scorers were under six feet tall. With defencemen in the NHL like (Boston’s Torey) Krug and Ellis, you kind of start to see the trend changing with smaller defencemen.”

Just as Johnny Gaudreau did for undersized forwards, Makar could become the poster boy for pint-sized defenders. The 19-year-old is a game-changer. Scouts have compared him to Erik Karlsson because of his ability to join the rush and essentially become a fourth forward.

Last season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, he finished sixth in scoring with 75 points in 54 games — 23 more than the next-highest defenceman. As a freshman for UMass-Amherst, he leads defencemen on his team with nine points in 16 games.

“Right away, everyone notices his skating and his deceptiveness on the ice,” Fabbro said of Makar. “It’s a big reason why he’s here. He’s obviously a really good puck mover.”

Still, Makar has his limitations. He’s not Dion Phaneuf in that he’s going to catch any opponent with his head down. And against a bigger, physical team, his lack of size could be a disadvantage — something he learned the hard way earlier this year when making the transition to the NCAA.

“Guys are on you right away,” said Makar, who took his lumps in a physical game against Providence College. “They’re just a very hard-working team and they chip-and-chase and they’re on you right away. I think just going back on pucks, you’re going to get hit all the time if you’re not able to avoid it.”

It was the challenge of playing against bigger and older opponents — as well as a greater emphasis on off-ice training versus games — that led Makar to the NCAA rather than play major junior in Canada. He’s already noticed benefits. He’s added more muscle from the start of the year, something he hopes will help him at the world juniors and beyond.

The only question is whether Canada, a country whose hockey identity is built on playing with heart and physicality, can win with a group of players who would get picked last in a game of basketball. According to head coach Dominique Ducharme, the answer is yes — to an extent.

“If you’re small and you don’t skate, that might be a problem,” said Ducharme. “The guys that we might consider to be a little bit smaller, they’re moving. It’s a question of balance at one point, too. It’s something that we look at and we talk about building the best team possible. We’re looking at combinations and groups of guys on defence and at forward, and the same thing in net.”

• Email: mtraikos@postmedia.com | Twitter: @michael_traikos

Your midday sports snack.

Toast points

• Canada’s world junior team opened its slate of pre-tournament exhibition games with a 3-0 loss to a team of U Sports all-stars last night. On the brighter side, junior goalies Colton Point and Carter Hart tended net for the all-stars and shut out their prospective teammates with a combined 32 saves, and two of the goals Canada allowed were via an empty net. If anything, the result should be seen as an endorsement of the level of play in Canada’s university ranks — or as an understandable growing pain this far out from the championships.

The teams will face off again in St. Catharines, Ont., at 4 p.m. today. Canada plays Denmark at 2 p.m. Friday and is expected to pare its roster from 33 players down to 22 after that. The world juniors start Dec. 26 in Buffalo.

• Longtime Senators forward Chris Neil announced his retirement this morning. Neil spent his entire 15-season, 1,026-game career with Ottawa, scoring 112 goals and 250 points and adding 2,522 penalty minutes — an average of 202 every 82 games. His last NHL action came in the second round of last year’s playoffs, when he was inserted into the lineup for two games against the New York Rangers. He’ll play in a Senators alumni game on the outdoor rink at Parliament Hill tomorrow night, a day before the Senators and Canadiens face off outside in the Heritage Classic at TD Place.

• The Blue Jays stood pat during MLB’s annual Rule 5 draft this morning: they didn’t select a player, nor did they lose any of the prospects they had left off their 40-man roster. Toronto did select three players — Giants pitcher Andrew Muren, Cubs catcher Alberto Mineo and Cleveland shortstop Ivan Castillo — in the minor-league portion of the draft, where they lost Single-A third baseman Mitch Nay to the Reds.

Muren is already 29, but is a converted outfielder who has only been pitching in the minors for the past three seasons. And he’s capable of throwing 100 mph. Winnipeg baseball fans might remember Muren for the two seasons he spent in the independent American Association playing for Goldeyes opponents in Sioux Falls, Gary and Fargo before making the position switch. The Jays will need to keep all three at least as high as Triple-A this season or offer them back to the original clubs for half of the acquisition price of US$24,000.

• Henrik Sedin became the 31st player in NHL history to collect 800 assists last night in Vancouver’s 7-1 loss to Nashville. He’s one of only eight players on that list who have played exclusively for one team, and he’s only the second Swede on the list, joining Nicklas Lidstrom. Fifteen more assists this season will get Sedin ahead of Pierre Turgeon (812), Mike Modano and Johnny Bucyk (813), and Gilbert Perreault (814).

• Cam Ward and Kari Lehtonen became the 32nd and 33rd goalies in NHL history to reach 300 wins. Ward earned his milestone win on Tuesday in Las Vegas and Lehtonen did it last night against the Islanders. The game was Lehtonen’s 624th in the NHL, moving him past Miikka Kiprusoff for the most by a Finnish goalie in NHL history.

• Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist joined a more exclusive list last night — the 15th goalie to make 20,000 saves (at least since the statistic started being recorded in the 1955-56 season).

• The Steelers and Eagles locked up their NFL post-season spots last weekend, and they are among the six teams on this week’s playoff scenario report. Pittsburgh (11-2) plays New England (10-3) on Sunday; a victory would give them the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They can also secure a first-round bye with a tie and a Jacksonville loss.

The Patriots can clinch the AFC East with a win and a Buffalo loss; they can clinch a playoff spot if Baltimore loses. The Jaguars (9-4) can earn their spot with a win or a combination of other outcomes.

Philadelphia (11-2) can earn the top spot in the NFC with a win and a Minnesota loss. They can secure a first-round bye with a win. The Vikings (10-3) clinch the NFC North with a win or losses by both Detroit and Green Bay. They’ll get their playoff spot with a combination of outcomes that all include a loss by Seattle and a loss or tie by Atlanta.

The Rams (9-4) can also clinch a playoff spot with a victory and losses by all four of Detroit, Green Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta.

Nutritional analysis

Below is a custom-made interactive data visualization from Qlik that shows every goal scored in the Montreal Canadiens’ history as a member of the National Hockey League. We’d like to apologize to our friends at Qlik, a Boston-based company, for making them stare at those thousands of Canadiens goals.

In this post we published earlier today, which also contains the interactive graphic, we picked out 10 of the most significant and dramatic Canadiens goals in the 100 years of the NHL.

Back in March, we did the same thing for the 100 years of Toronto Maple Leafs goals.

Photo of the day

Here’s a shot of the 23,235th — and latest — goal in Canadiens history: Phillip Danault’s marker at 15:58 of the third period in a 6-2 loss to the Oilers last Saturday.

At nationalpost.com

• The news that four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome failed a doping test back in September came out of the blue yesterday, but it was hardly surprising. At best, Froome’s positive test for excessive levels of an asthma drug was a rookie mistake, writes Juliet Macur. But even if his intentions weren’t nefarious, Froome’s name will forever be associated with scandal — just like every other great cycling champion of the last couple decades.

• How does it feel to win world junior gold — or to lose it in heartbreaking fashion? Former NHL forward Anthony Stewart experienced both results with Team Canada back in the mid-2000s. He joined the Off the Post podcast to share memories of the TSN door knock, keeping away from social media during the championships, playing with a 16-year-old Sidney Crosby and more.

TV tonight

All times Eastern

7 p.m. NHL: Washington at Boston SN 360, SN East, SN Pacific
7:30 p.m. NHL: New Jersey at Montreal TSN2, RDS
7:30 p.m. NBA: Detroit at Atlanta NBATV
8 p.m. NHL
— Toronto at Minnesota SN Ontario
— Chicago at Winnipeg TSN3
8 p.m. NBA: LA Lakers at Cleveland SN One
8:25 p.m. NFL: Denver at Indianapolis NBC, TSN1,4,5
9 p.m. NHL
— Nashville at Edmonton SN West, TVAS
— San Jose at Calgary SN Flames
10 p.m. NHL: Pittsburgh at Vegas Sportsnet, SN 360
10:30 p.m. NBA: Dallas at Golden State SN One

TV this weekend

All times Eastern

Friday

4:04 a.m. Skeleton: World Cup men’s heat 1 CBC.ca streaming
— Heat 2, 5:49 a.m.
6:15 a.m. Alpine skiing: World Cup men’s super-G CBC.ca streaming
8:04 a.m. Skeleton: World Cup women’s heat 1 CBC.ca streaming
— Heat 2, 9:34 a.m.
10 a.m. Luge: World Cup doubles first run CBC.ca streaming
— Second run, 11:20 a.m.
11:25 a.m. Hockey: Channel One, Canada vs. Czech Republic TSN1,5
12:40 p.m. Luge: World Cup men’s first run CBC.ca streaming
— Second run, 2:15 p.m.
7 p.m. NHL: Los Angeles at NY Rangers Sportsnet, TVAS
7:30 p.m. NHL: Toronto at Detroit TSN4
7:30 p.m. NBA: Brooklyn at Toronto TSN1,3,5
9 p.m. NCAA Hockey: Dartmouth at Denver TSN2
9:30 p.m. NBA: San Antonio at Houston NBATV
10 p.m. NHL: San Jose at Vancouver SN Pacific
10:30 p.m. Women’s hockey: Canada vs. U.S. at San Jose TSN1,3

Saturday

12:30 a.m. Freestyle skiing: World Cup aerials CBC.ca streaming
3:34 a.m. Bobsleigh: World Cup women’s heat 1 CBC.ca streaming
— Heat 2, 5:04 a.m.
4:40 a.m. Alpine skiing: World Cup women’s downhill CBC.ca streaming
6:15 a.m. Alpine skiing: World Cup men’s downhill CBC.ca streaming
7 a.m. Soccer: Premier League, Leicester vs. Crystal Palace SN World
7:30 a.m. Cross-country skiing: World Cup men’s 15km CBC.ca streaming
7:34 a.m. Bobsleigh: World Cup two-man heat 1 CBC.ca streaming
— Heat 2, 9:04 a.m.
8:55 a.m. Hockey: Channel One Cup, Canada vs. Russia TSN1,5
9:30 a.m. Luge: World Cup women’s first run CBC.ca streaming
— Second run, 10:50 a.m.
10 a.m. Soccer: Premier League
— Chelsea vs. Southampton Sportsnet
— Watford vs. Huddersfield TSN3
— Arsenal vs. Newcastle TSN4
— Stoke vs. West Ham SN One
12:05 p.m. Luge: World Cup doubles sprint CBC.ca streaming
— Women’s sprint, 12:45 p.m.
— Men’s sprint, 1:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m. Soccer: Premier League, Manchester City vs. Tottenham TSN3,4
1 p.m. NCAA Football: New Orleans Bowl, Troy vs. North Texas TSN2
1:20 p.m. Snowboard: World Cup parallel slalom CBC.ca streaming
2 p.m. NHL: Edmonton at Minnesota SN West
3:30 p.m. NCAA Football: Las Vegas Bowl, Boise State vs. Oregon ABC
3:30 p.m. CHL: Acadie-Bathurst at Moncton Sportsnet
4:30 p.m. NFL: Chicago at Detroit TSN1,3,4
4:30 p.m. NCAA Football: New Mexico Bowl, Marshall vs. Colorado State TSN2
7 p.m. NHL
— Montreal at Ottawa CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS
— Winnipeg at St. Louis City
7:30 p.m. NBA: Utah at Cleveland SN One
8 p.m. NCAA Football: Camellia Bowl, Middle Tennessee State vs. Arkansas State TSN2
8 p.m. NBA: Phoenix at Minnesota NBATV
8:25 p.m. NFL: LA Chargers at Kansas City TSN1,3,4
10 p.m. NHL: Nashville at Calgary CBC, Sportsnet

Sunday

12:30 a.m. Freestyle skiing: World Cup team aerials CBC.ca streaming
8:04 a.m. Bobsleigh: World Cup four-man heat 1 CBC.ca streaming
— Heat 2, 9:34 a.m.
9:30 a.m. Soccer: Premier League, West Brom vs. Manchester United Sportsnet
11:30 a.m. Soccer: Premier League, Bournemouth vs. Liverpool TSN1,4
1 p.m. NFL
— Cincinnati at Minnesota CTV (B.C., Alberta, Sask., Winnipeg, Northern Ont.), CBS (regional)
— Miami at Buffalo CTV (Toronto, Kitchener), CBS (regional)
— Philadelphia at NY Giants CTV (Montreal), FOX (regional)
— NY Jets at New Orleans CTV (Ottawa, Atlantic), CBS (regional)
— Green Bay at Carolina TSN3,5, FOX (regional), RDS
— Baltimore at Cleveland CBS (regional)
3:30 p.m. NBA: Sacramento at Toronto TSN1,4
4 p.m. NFL: LA Rams at Seattle CTV (B.C. only), TSN5, FOX (regional)
4:25 p.m. NFL: New England at Pittsburgh CTV, CTV Two (Atlantic), CBS (regional), RDS
6 p.m. NHL: St. Louis at Winnipeg TSN3
6 p.m. NBA
— Cleveland at Washington TSN4
— Indiana at Brooklyn NBATV
7 p.m. Women’s hockey: U.S. vs. Canada at Edmonton TSN2
8 p.m. NHL: Calgary at Vancouver Sportsnet
8:30 p.m. NFL: Dallas at Oakland NBC, CTV Two, TSN1,3-5

Hot Buttered Post is served Monday through Thursday.