Kayden Guhley of Canada has been long-awaited captain of the junior team Canada; It is now official. It remains to be seen whether the “bubble” of the World Championships in Edmonton and the Red Deer will be maintained.
Hockey Canada confirmed on Monday afternoon that Guhley will wear the “C” in the tournament, which officially begins on December 26.
Guhley heard the news from the Sydney Crosby voice in a previously recorded video message. “It’s a special moment. We do not receive messages from players of this level every day,” Guhley admitted in a video conference, not the type to express his emotions.
“Kaiden is a true pro. He works every day, he speaks through his actions and he is very humble. His experience from last year will help, ”said Team Canada junior head coach Dave Cameron.
“He has it all, he leads by example, he speaks at the right time and he can say things that guys never want to hear,” added Jake Neighbors, who was hired as an assistant on Monday.
Photo by Jeff Mickintosh, Archives The Canadian Press
Jake Neighbors was named assistant to junior team Canada on Monday.
[Guhle] He has been to this tournament before and knows what it takes to make it to the end. He also had the motivation to lose in last year’s final.
Jake Neighbors
Guhle is one of three players likely to compete again this year in the 2021 edition of the tournament. Last year, Canadians first round selection in 2020 (16E Overall) scored three points in seven games.
The young man will not have first experience as a captain. He had that role in Prince Albert last year and this season, until the Raiders traded him to the Edmonton Oil Kings earlier in December.
But at Prince Albert, he played under head coach Mark Hubsheed and his assistant Jeff Trout. Now these two Coaches He also led a certain defender with a specific personality reminiscent of Guhlen.
“Mark and Jeff were lucky to lead Shia Weber in Klovna,” Guhley said. They explained to me Shea’s leadership: keeping his teammates accountable, being supportive of them. I try to be a leader on and off the ice. ”
Comes with Omicron
As the wave of Kovid-19 infections is hitting Alberta, Guhley will now have to cross his fingers to wear a ‘C’ on a maple leaf sweater. In light of today’s statistics, the bubble that singles participants in the tournament should be waterproof.
On Monday afternoon, the Alberta government unveiled a weekend update on the COVID-19 cases in the province. In the main lines:
- There were 1,925 new cases in the last three days, with an average of 642 cases per day. On December 11, the 7-day moving average was 298.
- Of these 1,925 new cases, 872 belonged to the Omicron variant. In the previous update (Friday), only 54 cases were reported in this variant (over 24 hours).
Joined a few minutes before the publication of these statistics, DR Joe Wipand, an emergency physician at Rockyview Hospital in Calgary, is already sounding the alarm from 54 Omicron cases registered Friday.
“By Friday, Omicron was doubling every two days,” the doctor said.R Vipond, on the phone. That is 200 cases today, 400 cases on December 22 and 1,600 cases on December 26. “His expectations were quickly exceeded …
At the height of the third wave, on April 30, the province registered 2,406 new cases in a single day.
This level can be reached by December 28. That’s it, exponential growth.
DR Joe Wipand, emergency physician at Rockyview Hospital
“No sports event has been successful in preventing COVID cases,” the doctor continued. We did not succeed in the NFL, NBA or NHL. So, am I optimistic? I do not know. In the middle of the wave, with a new variant of mortality levels unknown, needless to say about the long COVID, I can not adapt to internal events. Hockey is not played in Zoom! Masks really help and athletes can not wear such protection. ”
The warm-up matches were canceled
However, unlike the professional circuits mentioned above, world championship teams must limit themselves to the bubble, which includes the arena and the hotel. The teams are due to remain in custody for two days after arriving in Alberta on December 15-17.
The tournament organizers also limited the warm-up matches. The Canadians are scheduled to play three matches on December 19, 20 and 22. They will eventually play only one and ticket sales for these events will be discontinued.
Currently, the event is still scheduled in front of the public with no limit to the number of spectators.
However, given the rate at which it is taking place, the World Junior Championships could be a rare hockey match between Christmas and New Year’s. Capturing the Spengler Cup seems to be getting shorter and shorter and NHL teams continue to add names to the COVID-19 protocol. At the time of writing, 10 more names were added to the list on Monday alone.
“Who knows what will happen? We will take care of everything and whatever happens will happen. We will follow protocols and we will cross our fingers,” head coach Dave Cameron replied.
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