2003 World Championships

[zenga]

World Championships

From tsn.ca.

And for anybody who cares.


Team Canada roster taking shape


Canadian Press

4/7/2003

Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Sean Burke will represent Canada for a record-tying fifth time at the world hockey championships later this month in Finland.

The first 10 players were named to the Canadian team by general manager Steve Tambellini on Monday.

Burke, 36, will join Kirk Muller, James Patrick and Rob Blake among Canadian players having five world championships under their belt.

This year's tournament is scheduled for April 26 to May 11 in Helsinki, Turku and Tampere.

Canada promises to be strong in goal with Burke and Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers among the first players named to Canada's roster Monday.

``I feel our goaltending is probably as strong as it's ever been with Sean Burke and Roberto Luongo,'' Tambellini said Monday from Vancouver. ``I don't think we could ask for much more than that.

``They both expressed early on that they wanted to play at the world championships and we're thrilled to have them.''

Up front, rising star Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers was joined by Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks, Daniel Briere of the Buffalo Sabres, Kyle Calder of the Chicago Blackhawks, Shane Doan and Chris Gratton of the Coyotes and Anson Carter of the New York Rangers.

The lone defenceman to have accepted an invitation so far is Florida Panthers rookie Jay Bouwmeester.

That three Phoenix players accepted invitations should come as no surprise since Wayne Gretzky is the managing partner of the Coyotes and a strong believer in the Canadian Hockey Association and the world championship.

The same goes for Coyotes executive Cliff Fletcher, the GM of Canada's team at the 2000 world tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Gretzky wants to return as Olympic boss for the Winter Games in 2006 and look for him to push some of Canada's younger NHL stars to play in the world championship in the next few years.

Not among those named Monday was Calgary Flames winger Jarome Iginla, who is said to be nursing a stomach muscle injury.

Burke, meanwhile, last played at the world championship in 1997, when Canada last won the gold medal. He was the backup to Curtis Joseph. Burke also played in 1987, '89 and '91.

Burke followed up a career NHL season in 2001-02 with an injury-plagued year this season, going 12-6-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in only 22 games.

Luongo, who turned 24 last Friday, played for Canada at the 2001 world championships in Hannover, Germany, but was forced out of the lineup just before the medal round with a broken index finger. He was also named top goalie at the 1999 world junior championship in Winnipeg, where Canada lost to Russia in overtime in the gold medal game. He went 20-34-7 with a 2.71 GAA and .918 save percentage with the struggling Panthers this season.

Heatley, 22, played for Canada last year in Goteborg. Coming off his sensational rookie season (67 points) which won him the Calder Trophy, Heatley put up 89 points (41-48) in 77 games this year and was named the all-star game MVP after scoring four goals. He will be one of Canada's go-to guys in Finland.

Carter, 28, had 26 goals and 34 assists in 79 games with the Edmonton Oilers and Rangers this season.

Marleau, 23, will play in his third world championship after representing Canada in 1999 in Norway and 2001 in Germany.
Marleau had career highs of 28 goals and 57 points this season.

Doan, 26, was second on the Coyotes in points with 58 (21-37) in 82 games. The right-winger also played for Canada at the 1999 world championship. The power forward would look good on a line with Heatley and Marleau.

Briere, 25, continued to show he can put up offensive numbers in the NHL, scoring 24 goals and adding 34 assists in 82 games this season. His speed and playmaking abilities will be even more evident on the larger international ice. Ironically, Gratton and Briere were traded for each other March 10.

Gratton, 27, won gold with Canada in '97 and also played in '98. He had 45 points (15-30) in 80 games this season, although only one assist in 14 games with Phoenix.

Calder, 24, had 42 points (15-27) in 82 games this season, down from 53 last year. He played for Canada last May in Goteborg.

Bouwmeester, 19, is no stranger to international hockey, having played in three world junior championships. The six-foot-four, 210-pound blue-liner had his ups and downs in his rookie NHL season, collecting four goals and 12 assists and posting a minus-29 in 82 games.

The world championships will be great experience for the slick-skating Bouwmeester, who will probably end up being Canada's seventh blue-liner by the time Tambellini has done filling out his 23-man roster.

Tambellini was working the phones again Monday, along with his assistants Don Maloney of the New York Rangers and Jim Nill of the Detroit Red Wings and head coach Andy Murray of the Los Angeles Kings. There is still plenty of time to add players. Canada's first game isn't until April 26 against Latvia, four days after the last possible game in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
So Canada will have eight more NHL teams to pick through.

Canada hasn't won a medal at the world championships since the gold in '97 - when Murray was behind the bench. Canada has lost the quarter-finals the last two years with rosters lacking true NHL star power.

 

[the power]

Open Bets :
Placed : 08/04/2003 06:24:07 Bet Type : Singles Stake : 5.75
1 bet @ 5.75 per bet Status

World Championships: 2003 Canada @ 5.50 Open

Transaction Number : 693437801

 

[zenga]

The Czecks are pissed off because IIHF wont let Nedved play for them.

Remember he played for Canada in the Olympics was it Lilihammer or Albertville????

 

[the power]

Heatley's hat trick eliminates Czechs


Canadian Press

5/9/2003

HELSINKI (CP) - First they lost their goalie, then their composure and eventually, their lead.

But just when it looked as bleak as ever, Canada demonstrated the kind of heart and determination at the world hockey championships Friday that has long been associated with Canadian hockey.

``Here we are in the gold-medal game,'' centre Kris Draper said after Friday's 8-4 semifinal win over the Czechs. ``It's amazing to see how this team has responded, how we find ways to win hockey games. Our resolve has been huge.''

Head coach Andy Murray deserves a lot of the credit, calling a timeout after Milan Hejduk tied it 3-3 early in the third period. It worked in spades as Kyle Calder of the Chicago Blackhawks scored on the next shift and Canada was on its way to its first gold-medal final since winning it here in 1997.

``Andy made a huge decision to call the timeout, that was big for our hockey club,'' said Calder. ``He just said to us: `You guys worked way too hard in this tournament. It's upon yourself now to go out and get it.'''

Murray, who coached Canada's gold medal winning team in '97, recognized that his team was a little rattled.

``We just talked about the fact we're representing our country over here and the character we have as Canadians is that we stand up in moments like that and answer the call,'' said Murray. ``We were being challenged. We needed to pick our game up and be more assertive.

``We had to realize that we've had a great tournament and needed to go out and play like we were capable of.''

From then on, Canada owned the third period. Rising star Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers scored his second and third goals to complete the hat trick while Shawn Horcoff of the Edmonton Oilers and Mathieu Dandenault of the Detroit Red Wings also scored as Canada outshot the stunned Czechs 14-7 in the period and 31-29 overall.

And Canada won despite losing veteran netminder Sean Burke just over eight minutes into the second period. The Phoenix Coyotes goalie - one of the major reasons Canada (7-0-1) hasn't lost in the tournament - went to the dressing room and never returned. A lower body injury is the official party line from Team Canada. But the team remains hopeful he'll be back in net for Sunday's final (TSN, 9:30 a.m. EDT) against Sweden, who beat Slovakia 4-1 in Friday's other semifinal. He'll be re-evaluated on Saturday.

Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers came in cold to replace Burke and gave up four goals. But to be fair he faced the Czechs during their most impressive stretch of the game. No. 3 man Martin Biron of the Buffalo Sabres quickly got dressed and was on the bench to start the third period.

``(Luongo) played great, he made the saves when we needed them,'' said Heatley. ``Our goaltending is rock solid. Any of those three guys would be great for us and we have faith in any of them.''

Shane Doan of the Coyotes and Jay Bouwmeester of the Panthers also scored as Canada snapped a five-game losing streak against the Czechs that dated back to the 1999 world tournament in Norway.

``We want to get back on top,'' said Heatley. ``We did in the Olympics and we want to do it here. We want to show everyone that we're the best hockey country in the world and we have to prove it Sunday.''

Not many observers at this tournament picked Canada to make the final so there were many satisfied faces when Canadian players addressed the European media.

``A lot of the European teams and European writers didn't expect us to do well but as Canadians, never underestimate us,'' said New York Rangers forward Anson Carter. ``We have the will, we have the emotion and we have the great pride when we put on that jersey. It's a great feeling to be playing in that game on Sunday.''

Murray shuffled two of his lines before the game, switching centres Patrick Marleau and Steve Reinprecht. Marleau - who hasn't scored - dropped to the fourth line between Horcoff and Calder while Reinprecht, one of Canada's best performers in this championship, took over on Canada's top scoring line between Heatley and Briere. It was another great call on Murray's part as both lines were outstanding.

``I thought Patrick Marleau played his best game of the tournament today,'' Murray said. ``It seemed to work for us.''

Robert Reichel of the Toronto Maple Leafs, again showing he's capable of being more than a third-line forward in the NHL, scored twice for the Czechs. Radek Duda also scored.

Canada jumped out to a 3-0 lead in an entertaining second period that had a little of everything.

First, Heatley ripped a wrist shot between Tomas Vokoun's legs after a nice drop pass from Briere, ending the Atlanta star's four-game goalless streak and giving Canada a 2-0 lead 3:57 into the second.

The Canadians had wings at this point, beating the stunned Czechs to every loose puck and looking as though they were the ones who grew up playing on the big ice.

Then came Burke's sudden departure and Luongo was thrust into action.

``I'm very thankful the guys were able to get some goals,'' said Luongo. ``That was a tough situation. All of a sudden I get the word to start stretching because I might go in. It wasn't even 10 seconds later and I'm there. It wasn't an easy situation but everything worked out well.''

A pinching Bouwmeester made it 3-0 at 9:39 and pulled in favour of Roman Malek, a Czech league star and Philadelphia Flyers draft pick.

The Czechs then improved their play and began buzzing around the Canadian zone. Reichel finally put the Czechs on the board during a 4-on-3 power play.

The Czechs continued to pour it on and just as it looked like Canada could escape the period and regroup with a two-goal lead, Reichel deflected Petr Kadlec's point shot. Hejduk tied it up 2:04 into the third and suddenly the Czechs were back in it.

But then came Murray's timeout and Calder's quick goal, his first of the tournament.

``I played with Steve Thomas most of the year and he always told me: `You score the big ones and everyone forgets about all the other ones you miss.' I learned a lot from him,'' Calder said. ``It was a big goal for our hockey team. The Czechs had come back and they had all the momentum.

``I had been hacking and whacking all tournament trying to get one and tonight it finally went in.''

Heatley scored what turned out to be the winner 8:41 when he picked up Krys Kolanos' backhand pass across the crease and fired over a sliding Malek.



Booya, in the final. Go Canada Go!