Canada's once wounded hope to shake off rust in world junior camp

At Team Canada’s world junior summer camp in Brossard, Que., Jake Virtanen skated alone. He was still rehabbing after shoulder surgery and no chances were being taken with his health. There was a malaise in the way he put pucks in the net by himself after the rest of the team had left the ice.

It’s a different story now that he’s healed and able to skate with full-contact in Canada’s final selection camp in Toronto.

“It’s definitely a great feeling,” said Virtanen after his first practice with the team at the MasterCard Centre. “It’s good to get back because it was frustrating and depressing that I couldn’t be out there (in the summer) having fun with the guys on the ice. I’m just thankful to be back.”

In the months that passed, Virtanen was finally healed enough to start playing for the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen. The 18-year-old forward was able to suit up for 20 WHL games before camp. He admits his return has been tough because he’s had to correct a few “bad habits” that have crept into his game while trying to get into game shape.

“I’m still trying to get back into my groove,” said the first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks. “I’m really trying hard to remove those habits like looping – just kind of skate by the puck and not stop – that’s one of the main things I’m trying to focus on.”

At camp there are five players – Virtanen, Samuel Morin (fractured jaw), Morgan Klimchuk (wrist), Nick Baptiste (shoulder), and Shea Theodore (elbow) - who are healthy now, but missed significant time this season due to injuries. Connor McDavid, who broke his hand in a fight on Nov. 11, is the only player at camp still on the mend skating in practice with a yellow non-contact jersey.

In Morin’s case, he has only played in 12 games this year for the Rimouski Oceanic and seven since returning from surgery. The defenceman needed screws and metal plates to stabilize his decimated jaw after he was hit by a Cody Donaghey slap shot during an Oct. 12 game against Quebec.

“It was a one-timer right in the face,” Morin said. “He missed the net pretty hard.”

It’s been a long, three month recovery and he’s still required to wear a full face-shield for another few weeks. To be thrown into a high-intensity camp like this has been a challenge.

“Sure, it’s hard,” said the 6-foot-7, 225-pound behemoth on Friday. “But I worked a lot with my junior team to be in shape and now I’m just trying to do my best here.”

Team Canada head coach Benoit Groulx and head scout Ryan Jankowski have said that they’re looking for a big, skilled team and both Morin and Virtanen, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound power forward, most definitely fit the bill.

Morin has the bonus of having played against Groulx’s Gatineau team in the past, including the 2013 QMJHL playoffs where the Olympiques defeated the Oceanic in six games.

“I played against him in the playoffs and I think I played pretty well,” said Morin. “So for sure it helps but I still need to have a good camp here.”

The only question is whether he’ll be hindered by missing time through injury.

But it’s not all bad. Jankowski believes that while there’s nothing good in being hurt, it’s still not all negative when it comes to a short, intense camp leading into the pressure-packed world junior tournament.

“I look at it as an advantage from our standpoint because they’re a little more rested,” said Jankowski. “The top 19-year-old and the top 18-year-old players, they play so much. They get so much ice time, it’s nice that they get a little bit of a rest and it’s obviously different circumstances with an injury. … They’re back enough that they can shake out the rust before we really have to get in and get to this level.”

This is particularly true for McDavid, who has been under intense scrutiny since joining the OHL’s Erie Otters as a 15-year-old. The break might have given him a little mental and physical respite from the daily junior hockey grind.

If there’s any consolation for the others, it’s that many of them have received additional viewings prior to being invited to camp. Jankowski said he was able to see both Virtanen and Klimchuk after they returned and Groulx, said he was able to see Morin play in his second game back from injury.

“It always depends on how they react,” said Groulx. “When you look at Jake Virtanen I thought he had a good Subway series, he played well and he played with pace and so far he’s been good on the ice with us here.

“(Morin) the report we have on him here is that he’s doing well and he seems to be in good shape here and in a good frame of mind, so so far it seems like everybody is feeling good about themselves and they feel confident and this is what we like to see.”

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