Team Canada's Anthony Duclair 'suited' for star turn at world junior championship

Draft day is the first day of the rest of a hockey life. Two memories linked to Anthony Duclair from the 2013 draft in Newark, N.J. — which thanks to a NHL lockout was a one-day sprint — remain vivid, although both are more inside baseball than a window into the 19-year-old New York Rangers forward who's been loaned to Team Canada for the world junior championship.

The tote board the NHL sets up to direct media to podiums where draft picks take questions malfunctioned, causing a spot of chaos. One reporter interviewing Duclair was jotting down quotes believing the Rangers had used their No. 80 overall choice to take Jordan Subban, P.K.'s brother. Hours later, as everyone scattered toward hotels, Duclair was sitting in the lobby with his family awaiting a lift, looking content but with an expression that his mind was on how he got there.

That was a bit of prologue to the terrific calendar year Duclair has fashioned during the build-up to wearing the Maple Leaf at a world junior championship that will begin in Montreal, his hometown, on Dec. 26. He was, in Canada coach Benoit Groulx's opinion, "probably the best player in our league" player in the second half of the past Quebec League season, finishing with 50 goals for the Quebec Remparts. The dangerous wing stood out at Canada's summer development camp, then stuck with the Rangers.

It all really began to kick in after New York gave Duclair the impression they knew they got a third-round steal.

"I got a lot of attention from the Rangers," says Duclair, whom Team Canada currently has on right wing alongside 19-year-olds Sam Reinhart and Max Domi for a true cross-Canada scoring line. "A guy like Daniel Dore, one of their French scouts, really helped me a lot. I had a great season last year, a rebound year, so to speak. I think I matured off the ice with my preparation before games. All along the years, I've really improved that part of my life.

"Even though I was a third-round pick, I've proved a lot of people wrong by being in the NHL this year," Dulcair adds. "I even surprised myself. I didn't see myself being in the NHL this year ... Being in a pro environment there has helped my development so far. I'm really happy to being starting the season there and I look forward to continuing [after the WJC]."

Canada has need of a scorer who can combine finesse with power while cutting toward the goal. For all the questions Team Canada's brass has faced about the surfeit of left shots on the camp roster, a left-shooting right wing is a must for flanking Reinhart, a right shot whose forte is dishing and distributing. After his NHL experience, Duclair should be well-suited to the role. His breakout with the Remparts came about in part due to spending more time on right wing.

"I think it's more old school," Duclair says of the notion about players manning their 'natural' side. "To play this game, you need to be able to play either side if you're a winger or if you're a D as well. If you're a lefty on the right wing, you have more space to shoot. it's good to be playing both sides.

"I built some chemistry with Sam in camp this summer and Max Domi is obviously a great player."

As a QMJHL newcomer in 2011-12, Duclair lived up to his advance notice with a 30-goal season for the Remparts. His sophomore season was marked and marred by a high ankle sprain and a much publicized episode in January when then-Remparts coach Patrick Roy scratched Duclair and fellow star Adam Erne, only to reinstate them. That's ancient history within the junior game.

"Anthony's matured a lot since his first year in Quebec," Groulx, who coaches the QMJHL's Gatineau Olympiques, says of Duclair's unique development arc. "I thought he had a chance to play for very good coaches over the years — like Patrick [Roy], Philippe Boucher and now Alain Vigneault [in New York]. The talent has always been place. He had to understand certain things, like being more consistent with playing the whole 200 feet. Last year, after Christmas, he was probably the best player in our league. He had a good summer camp and we know all what he did this September.

"He's suited for that [world junior] tournament," Groulx adds. "He's got speed, skills, can shoot the puck."

Duclair notes that with "all the distractions that happened" in 2012-13, it was understandable why he was available in the third round. Since the summer camp, it's been evident that he was bent on giving his hometown some presence on Team Canada. The fact he achieved his second objective first almost dashed that, but it was the only impediment that's truly relevant.

Three months in Manhattan, of course, is a good prep course for dealing with the maelstrom that awaits the Team Canada production in Montreal. As far as Duclair is concerned, it's all the same and he's prepared to deal.

"This tournament is really important in Canada and there's obviously a lot of pressure with it being in my hometown," Duclair says. "I'm pretty used to all of that.

"It is huge though. As a kid growing up in Canada, you have two dreams — one is to play in the NHL and one is to be part of this tournament. For myself, the timing is perfect. It's my last chance, it's in my hometown, I'm just happy to be there.

"The pressure's there, but it's not on me. It's on the whole team. Canada, every year, they want nothing but gold."

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Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.