MALMO, Sweden – Hockey Canada will continue to tinker with the way it approaches the world junior championship after finishing out of the medals for an unprecedented second-straight year.
“I thought at times in the tournament we played really well. But we have work to do,” said Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada senior director of hockey operations.
“We need to look at our program. It’s not one team. I think we need to look at our overall program and how we are doing things, and we will do that and try to get better.”
A 2-1 loss to Russia in the bronze-medal game meant Canada wasn’t won a medal in back-to-back tournaments.
Canada’s Derrick Pouliot, center, reacts with teammates after losing the World Junior Hockey Championships bronze match against Russia at Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Ludvig Thunman, TT News Agency)
That has never happened since Hockey Canada created the Program of Excellence in 1982.
“Disappointed, for sure,” Salmond said. “It is not just this year. I think the disappointment is over the last couple of years. Little bit of mystery in the way we performed in the semifinal game.”
Hockey Canada announced in November that Canada will begin sending three all-star teams to the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge next year as opposed to six regional teams.
That change should help create chemistry with elite players at a younger age, Salmond said.
“First of all, what you see here is a lot of good teams that spend a lot of time together,” he said. “You can see in their structure and in the way they play.
“We need to find ways for our best players to play together more often.”
Canada’s coach Brent Sutter (C) reacts during the World Junior Hockey Championships bronze medal match between Canada and Russia at Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden. (LUDVIG THUNMAN / TT/AFP/Getty Images)
Salmond is also open to the possibility of hiring a full-time national team coach.
Salmond said it is too early to make a decision about Brent Sutter returning behind the behind for the 2015 tournament.
Sutter, who led Canada to gold medals in 2005 and 2006, said that decision is up to Hockey Canada.
Under Sutter, Hockey Canada invited only 25 players to its selection camp this year, ultimately cutting three to form the final roster.
In the past, more than 40 players have been invited to camp.
Sutter said the new way of doing things is the most sensible as it allows for earlier team continuity.
He advised against simply picking a 22-man team in case of injuries though.
“Trust me, the changes that were made were not something that was just thought of and done,” he said. “A lot of people put a lot of thought into it and it’s right.”
Canada’s goaltender Zachary Fucale, center, dives for a save during the World Junior Hockey Championships bronze match between Canada and Russia at Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. (AP Photo / TT News Agency, Ludvig Thunman)
To keep pace with some of the European teams, Sutter said a greater emphasis on skill development needs to be made at the minor hockey level.
“At 16, 17 when they hit the CHL, there should already be a standard of skill already in place,” said Sutter, who coaches, manages and owns the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels.
“We’re a developmental league, no question. But a lot of that development has had its roots started and they continue to grow from there.”
“We do a great job, but where are the areas we can be better?” he added. “That’s my feelings. There are probably a million people out there thinking I’m full of crap. That’s fine. When you’re in this, you see it firsthand. You see where the skill-sets are in some of these other countries, the speed of the game they play at.”
Sutter spoke about the parity of tournament after the semifinal and bronze-medal losses, noting how much the level of competition has improved since he last coached in 2006.
Finland won gold on Sunday, becoming the fourth country in as many years to do so.
Canada hasn’t won since 2009 and has been on the wrong side of losses at key times.
Salmond would like that to change.
“I am not a big believer in looking outside,” he said. “I like to look inside and if they are getting better, we better get better.
“I have been around long enough. I have lost some tournaments here with teams and won some. The ones we won were tight too. It can go either way. They are one-offs. I like the way in the past we found ways to win. We’re going to look for those ways to do it again.”
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