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| The Hamilton Brothers |
What am I referring too? Well my American readers might be a bit out in the dark on this one but any of my Canadian readers know EXACTLY what I'm talking about!
World Junior Championship Time!!!
The WJC's are pretty much a National Holiday for two weeks in Canada...for some reason its just a blip on the radar screen for American Hockey fans though. Which is truly a shame because its an AMAZING tournament.
Bruin fans should be paying close attention to this tournament though because I predict this will be a MAJOR coming out party for our boy Dougie! Yes I know being a first round pick he obviously is already known throughout the hockey world but I predict after this tournament there will be a few GM's who had a pick before the Bruins did last year who will be kicking themselves they didn't take Dougie.
Also as a side note to my loyal Bruin readers...2010 2nd round pick Ryan Spooner who I think would have easily made Team Canada unfortunately was diagnosed with Mono the day before all players reported for the Selection Camp. I was looking forward to watching him in this tournament but he will be back strong to finish out his season in the OHL where he has been one of the top forwards in the entire league.
Now on to a brief rundown of Team Canada's Roster.
Goaltending - As always we should be strong in net. Mark Vistentien (Dougie's teammate in Niagara) returns from last year's team will start as the # 1. He hasn't had a GREAT year so far in the OHL this season but he is a great goalie and has a lot to prove after last years heartbreaker in the final. Backing him up is Scott Wedgewood who since he plays in the OHL as well (Plymouth) I've seen a few times and it would not surprise me at all if he ends up being the # 1 by the time the tournament is over. Regardless much like my Bruins Team Canada really has a 1A and 1B in net!
Defence - Anchored by my boy and yours DOUGIE HAMILTON our defense has a bit of everything. No returnees on the blue line BUT 1st round NHL picks all over the place back there. Dougie will play a ton and in all situations. It was a surprise when we cut Ryan Murphy (which just goes to show how deep we are) but Nathan Beaulieu outplayed him in the Selection Camp and along with Dougie will quarterback our powerplay. Of note Beaulieu is the son of Jacques...the Head Coach and GM of my beloved Sarnia Sting!!! I'm also familiar with Scott Harrington who will most likely be the 7th D...he was a big surprise to make the team and despite playing for the London Knights I suppose I can get behind him for a couple of weeks...
Forwards - There was some concern at the selection camp that offense might be somewhat of a concern. But fear not fellow Canadians ( or fear lots to my American readers) when you have two guys who were playing in the NHL all season in Smith-Pelley and Connolly along with Scheifle who played a few games with the Jets and who I saw in person this year (he was dominant) I don't think we will have any problem scoring goals. Also of interest Dougie's big brother Freddie made the team and he has been great in the "O" so far this season!
All in all a VERY talented group as usual. Now just imagine if we had Segs and Skinner who amazingly enough are both still eligible to play in this tournament!
The Official Honey Pot Prediction is.......GOLD!
Again to all my dear American friends do yourselves a favour and start paying attention to this tournament. Obviously in Canada we're spoiled with all the coverage TSN has of the WJC but I think the NHL network shows a lot of the games in the States.
Go Dougie Go and Go Canada Go!!!
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