Bozak, Cujo, and Juniors
Bozak does his part
Rookie Tyler Bozak meshed with linemates Phil Kessel and Nikolai Kulemin in his first game since being recalled from the Toronto Marlies. Each member of the line had a point on the Leafs second goal in Toronto’s 4-2 loss to Carolina. Kulemin capped off the play by cutting into the middle of the ice and sniping the puck over the shoulder of Cam Ward, all while being tripped by a Hurricanes defender.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Bozak of the opportunity to play with newly-named U.S. Olympian Kessel. “It’s a great privilege and something that I definitely didn’t think would happen this year.”
One game is hardly an indication of long-term success, or failure, but head coach Ron Wilson liked the trio’s initiation as a unit. “They created a bunch of chances and were never a defensive liability”, observed the coach.
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Kudos to Cujo.
Curtis Joseph officially bade his farewell to the NHL Tuesday, announcing his retirement after 19 years in the NHL. Joseph’s 454 career wins rank him fourth in league history behind Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour. His 138 wins as Leaf place him fourth on Toronto’s all-time list, while his 32 playoff victories trail only Turk Broda and Johnny Bower, for the franchise.
“Cujo” attended Tuesday’s game in the platinum level at Air Canada Centre and was given a resounding ovation by the sellout crowd when being acknowledged during a first period stoppage in play.
By coincidence, Joseph’s departure came on a day when the Leafs played the Hurricanes; a matchup that has played a dubious part in Cujo’s Leaf career on two other occasions. Joseph’s infamous ‘blocker snub’ of Pat Quinn in 2002 happened in a pre-game ceremony between Toronto and Carolina in the Leafs first game after the Olympic break that year. Quinn, who coached Team Canada to gold in Salt Lake City, replaced Joseph with Brodeur for the rest of the Olympic tournament after the Swedes trounced the Canadians 5-2 in the opening game. Worse for Joseph, he suffered a hand injury in that post-Olympic outing against the Hurricanes and missed several weeks of action.
Three months later, Joseph addressed scores of reporters at the conclusion of what would be his final game in his first tenure with the Maple Leafs. The netminder declared that he “absolutely” wished to stay in Toronto, though in the end made the decision to sign on with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent. The opponent in that final 2002 game – Carolina. The result? The Leafs had been eliminated from the playoffs on an overtime goal by Martin Gelinas. The Carolina coach? Paul Maurice – who was also behind the ‘Canes bench on Tuesday.
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World Junior aftermath.
Marc-Andre Fleury knows how the Canadian juniors feel. His accidental clearing pass off teammate Braydon Coburn that deflected into his own goal held up as the game-winning goal for the U.S.A. six years ago.
“It was tough, because you work so hard to get there,” lamented Fleury of Canada’s silver medal in 2004. “It’s frustrating when you come so close to it and lose it.”
At the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championship in Saskatoon, Team Canada was poised for a hometown celebration, coming within a goal of an unprecedented sixth consecutive gold medal.
However an overtime tally by New Jersey native John Carlson clinched the title for the United States, leaving the host country to depart from the Christmas time tournament with a lump of coal in their stocking.
Understandably, the defeat left Canadians with a bitter aftertaste that hasn’t been experienced since the infamous 2004 game, when the same rival Americans won 4-3 to claim gold in Helsinki, Finland on Fleury’s miscue.
Yet even the staunchest Canuck supporter must concede that the end of the five-year winning streak was the best result for the Under-20 tournament, both as a storyline, and as a catalyst for generating interest outside of ‘our home and native land’.
The WJHC’s host broadcaster TSN has created a proverbial monster, with its annual airing of the event having been transformed into a holiday tradition. Certainly the television ratings indicate the degree of the audience’s captivity, with an all-time high of 5.3 million viewers having watched the final game.
But, Canada’s success has come at the expense of any competitive drama to whet the appetites of fans who enjoy being glued to the edges of their seats. In five straight gold medal games in which they outscored their opponents 23-6, Canada cruised to anti-climactic finish – with the lone exception of an overtime scare in 2008 versus Sweden.
Furthermore, the agreement to have the Under-20 tournament hosted by Canada once every three years only serves to fuel the perception that only the team assembled in the Great White North is destined – or entitled – to win it. In fact, the 2011 event is set to be staged in Buffalo, New York, meaning the United States will be the home country only by geographic and immigration standards, as the vast majority of attendees are expected to be Canadians from just across the border.
The U.S. victory produced not only less monotonous headlines, but will also serve as an inspiration for young American hockey players, particularly those in less traditional markets such as Oklahoma and Las Vegas – the respective birthplaces of Matt Donovan and Jason Zucker.
With the loss, Canadian fans are justified in feeling disappointment.
At the same time, hockey fans who enjoy competitive results should embrace the outcome by looking past their rose-coloured, and red-and-white coloured, glasses.
Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca
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