Cosentino on WJHC: Replacing roles
Posted December 28, 2011 12:34 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Team Canada took to the ice Tuesday morning minus Devante Smith-Pelly, who sat by his lonesome with a cast and crutches. One of Don Hay’s heart and soul players suffered a fracture in his left foot blocking a shot in Canada’s 8-1 opening night win over Finland on Monday. Obviously he was disappointed and what compounds matters is that his NHL status may all of a sudden be in question.
Smith-Pelly is still listed on the official roster of the OHL’s Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. The Majors are in the playoff hunt in the OHL’s Eastern Conference and Smith-Pelly’s return may secure a playoff spot or at least be a big trade chip to improve what looks to be a pretty good future for James Boyd’s Majors.
Although, Smith-Pelly has already secured the first year of his NHL contract by playing more than the obligatory 10 games, he really only has two options when he returns. Because he’s 19 years old, he’s not eligible to play in the American Hockey League. With two healthy feet, Smith Pelly played just under 11 minutes per game with the Ducks. When 100 per cent healthy, he’s an NHL player, but returning from a foot injury he may not be able to keep up in the NHL, and may have to continue his rehab in the OHL. If nothing else it makes for interesting fodder.
The decision was made for Smith-Pelly to remain with the team, something he, Hockey Canada wanted and the Ducks agreed to. What makes it such a shame is that this will be the last kick at the can for the Ducks second-round pick of 2010.
Jaden Schwartz suffered a similar fate last year, two games into Canada’s tournament. And had Schwartz not been dealing with his sister Mandi’s health issues, he would’ve chosen to be around the team. It’s never easy when you know you can have an impact yet there’s not a thing you can do about it.
With Smith-Pelly gone, the first order of business Tuesday morning was to see who would replace him on Don Hay’s top checking line. The trio of Smith-Pelly, Freddie Hamilton and Quinton Howden did a marvelous job keeping the Granlunds/Pulkkinen line in-check and off the score sheet. That job was given to Brett Connolly.
It’s interesting that the two players the NHL loaned are/were both being used in the unglamorous checking line role. According to Hay though, he considers it one of the most important jobs on the team. Connolly has been pushed by the coaching staff to be more physical, and he has responded. We’re talking about a guy who had 152 points and 72 PIM in 144 WHL games played with Prince George.
Make no mistake, Connolly is as gifted a forward as there is on this team and he deserves a lot of credit for accepting the role given to him without complaining about it. And although Don Hay would accept nothing less, if anyone would have the right to complain about what some perceive as a demotion in roles, it would be a guy who has played 28 games in the NHL this season.
As a result of the injury to Smith-Pelly, Canada is left with 12 forwards, four even lines. And the “13th” forward which many consider to be Tanner Pearson is now on a line of his own. Pearson will play the right side (as he has in Barrie) on a line with Michael Bournival and Boone Jenner.
After the skate, Hay spoke about how roles change throughout the course of the event. How pressure can be the number one factor in why roles change. Those who handle pressure will have added responsibility and will boogie up the depth chart, while those who struggle in that department will experience a decline in responsibility and fall in the depth chart. Hay did point out how happy he is with Freddie Hamilton. He feels Hamilton could be a much more potent offensive contributor if asked to do so, but his team-first mentality has made him a Hay favourite. Hay feels Hamilton’s smarts and ability to execute what the coaching staff is trying to preach have put him in high-stead.
Another player high on the coaches list is Mark Stone. Impressive in the summer camp, Stone has picked up where he left off in August. He was the top point-getter in pre-tournament play and his opening night hat trick has him off to a wonderful start. Hay likes the fact Stone listens, never second-guesses and has a nice knack of finding open space in high-traffic areas. Stone is strong as an ox, has a hard shot and a quick
release. He possesses all the traits of a high-end goal scorer.
With Mark Visentin’s 24-save effort against Finland, expect him to be back in the nets Wednesday vs. the Czech Republic. Scott Wedgewood will likely play against Denmark on Thursday and Visentin back between the pipes for the much anticipated match-up against the US on New Year’s Eve. However, Wedgewood has not been sitting idly-by. He treats the pre-game warm-up as if he were playing, getting a good stretch, and then a good sweat. Once the game starts, he offers encouragement to Visentin. He keeps an eye on the opponent’s shooters as well as the opposition’s goaltender, passing along any flaws he may see to his shooters. In speaking to Wedgewood, he’s itching to get in there, and the competition he’s created has definitely pushed Visentin. Of note, something I learned today, the goalies room alone. Apparently it has been that way for some time with the world junior team.
Quick note about the Czech Republic: no Martin Frk. The Halifax Moosehead who’s eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft declined the invite to play for his team as he continues to recover from a concussion he suffered on September 2nd. He has played in seven games this year, all from December 9th to December 18th, yet with just one goal and a minus-6 rating; he’s clearly not in top form. Because of an agreement between the IIHF and the CHL, once a player declines an invite to play in an IIHF sanctioned event, he becomes ineligible to play for his club team until the completion of that event. The Mooseheads feel Frk will be ready to play before the completion of the World Junior Hockey Championship and therefore appealed the ruling, but the appeal was denied. Frk is practicing at full speed with the Mooseheads. He is expected to be ready for the CHL/NHL Home Hardware Top Prospects game in Kelowna Wednesday, February 1st, 2012. We will have that game on Sportsnet.
In the meantime, you can tune into the Canada vs. Czech Republic game on the Sportsnet Radio Network. Rod Pedersen, Andrew Walker and I will have the call, we’ll go to air with the pre-game show beginning at 5:30 local time, 7:30 ET, 4:30 PT.
Our radio schedule is listed below, all times ET.
Wednesday December 28th – 7:30 p.m. vs. Czech Republic Thursday December 29th – 7:00 p.m. vs. Denmark Saturday December 31st – 7:30 p.m. vs. USA
Quarter Finals* – Monday January 2nd – 4:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. Semi-Finals – Tuesday January 3rd – 4:30 p.m. AND 8:30 p.m.
Bronze Medal Game* – Thursday January 5th – 3:00 p.m. Gold Medal Game – Thursday January 5th – 7:30 p.m.
In the meantime, be sure to check-out Friday Night Hockey. We’ll be back at it on January 13th when Halifax plays host to Chicoutimi. Who could pass up the opportunity to see Nathan MacKinnon?
