BROSSARD, Que. -- Aaron Ekblad says no one has a right to expect a spot on Canadas world junior roster, even those players returning for a second tour of duty. The first overall pick in this summers NHL entry draft said that a fourth-place finish at least years world junior championship means everyone vying for a spot on the Canadian squad to play on home soil later this year is on equal footing -- himself included. "Theres something left on the table," said Ekblad of the opportunity squandered in Malmo, Sweden that ended abruptly with a bronze medal game loss to Russia. "Obviously were coming into this with positivity, but we lost last year," added Ekblad, a defenceman for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Barrie Colts. "None of us, I think, have earned the right to say we deserve a spot again." Head Coach Benoit Groulx says thats exactly what he wants to hear. "Thats the attitude we like -- hes coming here as the first pick overall and hes first on every drill and hes probably the hardest working player on the ice," said Groulx, the Gatineau Olympiques coach who served as an assistant-coach for Canada in Sweden. Ekblad is among 39 players in suburban Montreal this week taking part in development camp that runs until Aug. 8. The Canadian players will play in exhibition games in Sherbrooke, Que. and at Concordia University in Montreal against teams from Russia and the Czech Republic. Groulx says he wants to see how players will adapt to what theyre being taught during practice and how theyll put those lessons to the test during games. Everyone will get a chance to play. "We want to be a team, we want to play as a team, we want four lines going hard, playing the same way," Groulx said. "This is our challenge and this is their challenge to be fitting on this team in a specific role." The coach said this week is just the first step in a very long process to decide on who will make up the Canadian squad that will play at the world junior championship in Montreal and Toronto at the end of the year. Ekblad is among a group of ten players at the camp who are back. The group also includes fellow first-round pick Sam Reinhart and young phenom Connor McDavid, the only draft-eligible player among them. Groulx had praise for all returnees who have been exhibiting leadership qualities since camp began Sunday night. "Theyre here, you can tell their ready and they dont take anything for granted," Groulx said. For McDavid in particular, its expected to a pressure-packed year. The Erie Otters forward is projected to be a top NHL draft pick in 2015. McDavid says hes got plenty of people around him keeping him grounded and helping him keep the focus on the task at hand. "At the end of the day, youre here for the world junior championship and nothing else," the soft-spoken McDavid said. "Youre not here for your draft stock or anything like that, youre just here to represent Team Canada and thats it." Canada hasnt won a gold medal in since 2009, when it won its last of five straight. The country hasnt had a medal since 2012 and has back-to-back fourth place finishes in the past two years. "Even to this day, I know a lot of the returning guys are disappointed and have the drive and fire to improve on last year," said Reinhart, a first-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres. "If we were all privileged enough to play, I know everyone is going to be motivated to get the best result possible." The 11-day tournament in Montreal and Toronto opens on Boxing Day and runs to Jan. 5, with the final at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Its up in the air how many of the players at camp this week will still be eligible to play come December. Many, like Ekblad, expect to challenge for NHL spots. In the case of this years first overall pick, Ekblad made it clear he wants to secure an everyday spot on the Florida Panthers. But he assures that hell be ready and willing if he ends up suiting up for Canada. "We dont know whats going to happen with him (Ekblad) but one thing we know is that if hes with us at Christmas time, hell have the respect of his peers, which is key, and the respect of his coaches," Groulx said. NOTES: Thirty-nine players of the 41 players invited are expected on the ice this week. The exceptions are Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jonathan Drouin, who isnt obliged to be here because it is his third invite. Vancouver Canucks prospect Jake Virtanen is present but is recovering from an injury and wont be on the ice. Tyler Bertuzzi didnt dress Monday due to illness.
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Johnny Manziel Jersey . The Bulls brought back James on Wednesday with Kirk Hinrich sidelined by a hamstring injury.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to Russias national mens hockey program, which is still making reverberations a week after Sochi. After falling in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics, Russias NHL stars came back angry. As Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were unhappy for many reasons, but most of all resented the programs bias towards KHL players, which greatly distorted playing time, pairings, strategy, and felt like a punishment to Russian stars who dont play at home. Russia was one of the worlds great hockey powers, and a worthy rival to Canada; now its a mess, riven by petty rivalries. Its a shame, really. The Russians havent won a best-on-best tournament since the 1981 Canada Cup, and somehow they feel further away than ever. Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee for the mess it made of the Nicklas Backstrom gold medal game allergy pill fiasco. As a member of Swedens hockey delegation said, the IOC destroyed one of the greatest days in Olympic hockey history for the country. Backstrom, who did test positive for pseudo-ephedrine, didnt disagree with that assessment. The IOC first tested Backstrom last Wednesday. In the three days that followed, they never did do a second test. The Swedish team was not informed of Backstroms status until two hours before game time. Now dont get me wrong, the Swedes could have had Nicklas Baackstrom, Ralph Backstrom, and all the Backstroms you can name available for the gold medal game and the result wouldnt have been different.dddddddddddd What they didnt need was an unnecessary disruption, born of IOC ineptitude. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to John Tortorella, not for his most recent apology but for the continual need to apologize. This time, the Canucks coach launched into a mea culpa after saying he favored Sweden in the Sochi final because he wanted his Swedish Olympians - Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler - to return with smiles on their faces. Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, he sees the small picture, nothing beyond his team. Belatedly, of course, he grasped context - Vancouver … Canada. So four weeks after apologizing for losing his mind between periods against Calgary, he again was at a microphone wearing a hair shirt and a tight expression. Thats Tortorella, the never-ending sorry. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the excellence shown by Canadas Gold-medalists in curling - Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg and Brad Jacobs and his rink from Sault Ste. Marie. We used to take for granted Canadas worldwide dominance in curling, and then we didnt, because as good as the Canadians continued to be, several other countries showed they were capable of winning world titles. Not that Jones and Jacobs allow Canada to rest on its laurels, but the Sochi results were very impressive, and hows this for proof of Canadas wealth of curling talent - the Brier is underway in Kamloops and the field is strong with Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, John Morris, and Brad Gushue. And imagine talking about a strong field that doesnt include Jacobs, Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin.
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Topic: . We used to take for granted Canadas (Read 813 times)
