“That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
That is from Peter Anholt, the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, as he reflects on his experience at the recent IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.
Anholt was part of Team Canada’s management group, joined by Hurricanes alum and Stanley Cup champion Brent Seabrook.
The squad did not necessarily have the finish most fans were hoping for, as the Canadians were eliminated from the tournament by eventual bronze medal winners Czechia in a 4-3 quarterfinal loss. Anholt remains proud of the performance and work of Canada’s players.
“The players that played in it were really good players and dedicated to Canada and did it out of loyalty to Canada,” he says.
“I think Dave Cameron didn’t need to come back as the head coach. He had won before. He came because he was asked, and he did it out of loyalty for Canada.”
“The experience on the ice is one thing – there’s nothing greater than representing Canada at the world stage, I mean, it’s unbelievable,” Anholt adds.
“With that, if things haven’t gone [perfectly], things can turn and, in some cases, [turn] ugly and it’s an experience. You learn from it.”
The GM notes it was losing and being eliminated from the tournament that really impacts the players, as opposed to any criticism the team faced on platforms like social media. “I don’t worry about that, I don’t care about that,” he says, regarding online criticism.
“I’ve had a thousand texts in support, but I haven’t had one call [of criticism], so I think that part is really unfortunate, that our country and everything’s kind of gotten to that.”
READ MORE: Lethbridge Hurricanes represented at World Juniors
Anholt believes Canada “had a really good group” at the tournament, and praised the work of the “awesome” coaching staff and the event showcased how difficult it truly is to win at that level of hockey. “There’s five or six teams that can win at that level and it can turn at any time, and ultimately we didn’t get it done.”
“That doesn’t really sit well with me, but it doesn’t matter what people say. I feel sick because of us losing and I feel bad for the players and the team.”
HURRICANES REPRESENTED
The Hurricanes were well-represented on the ice at the tournament, with forward Brayden Yager serving as team captain for Canada, forward Leo Braillard suiting up for Switzerland and defenceman Vojtech Port playing for and winning a bronze medal with Czechia.
READ MORE: Hurricanes’ Brayden Yager named captain for Team Canada at World Juniors
Anholt says even though the Canadians did not make it past the quarterfinals, it was special to see some of his WHL team’s players perform well, especially Port with Czechia.
“[I’m] really proud of Port. I thought that was awesome,” he states.
“He played really, really well over there [and] I was really excited about seeing that. I hated to lose to his team, but you’re proud of the player, right? When he walks in here and he’s excited about being back here [in Lethbridge] after, and he’s proud of what he’s done -rightfully so – I’m happy for him.”
Czechia defeated Sweden 3-2 in the bronze medal game. The United States won the tournament with a 4-3 overtime win against Finland in the gold medal game. It was Team USA’s second straight championship victory at the annual tournament.
